The War in the Ukraine

sheogorath said:

Some observations by an Ukranian soldier regarding some equipment received, namely that the M777 chews through barrels to the point they can have ammo but can't use the gun as the barrel is busted and replacements are harder to come by than ammo, and that M1's are way too heavy for some of the weather and filters clog easily and often forcing the tank to stop to clean them out.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1787904119014891611

Ukranians and Reuters claim Russia used KN-23 Hwasong 11 missiles

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1787855250608500736

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Excalibur shells have long ranges and high precision, but its precision was based off of using GPS guidance and the warzone reports that the use of Russian EW systems reduced their effectiveness to 6% in accurately hitting targets and this is not including the short life of the barrels of the howitzers or the current lack of shells while Russians use laser guidance krasnopol shells which they started to mass produce and have no problems with their shell productions.

Western tanks were not modified like with cages or EW systems to deal with this war currently

South Korean F-35 hits a bird in which the repairs cost more than the aircraft they purchased with other issues like pilots self-ejecting or a member from congress such as Gaetz saying of all the F-35s produced more than 2/3rds of them can't fly.

Is western military equipment really made for war? It wouldn't matter if eastern European countries gave Ukraine the brave Ukrainian patriots and they all got converted into being super soldiers like Simo Hayha or Chris Kyle to solve the manpower issue and Russian troops that have been training for months and doing rotations for this war all had the firearm accuracy of Star Wars storm troopers. I have seen too many western mercenaries with go pros with the last footage before it blacks out is when they are under artillery fire running.

blackjack21 said:

Excalibur shells have long ranges and high precision, but its precision was based off of using GPS guidance and the warzone reports that the use of Russian EW systems reduced their effectiveness to 6% in accurately hitting targets and this is not including the short life of the barrels of the howitzers or the current lack of shells while Russians use laser guidance krasnopol shells which they started to mass produce and have no problems with their shell productions.

Western tanks were not modified like with cages or EW systems to deal with this war currently

South Korean F-35 hits a bird in which the repairs cost more than the aircraft they purchased with other issues like pilots self-ejecting or a member from congress such as Gaetz saying of all the F-35s produced more than 2/3rds of them can't fly.

Is western military equipment really made for war? It wouldn't matter if eastern European countries gave Ukraine the brave Ukrainian patriots and they all got converted into being super soldiers like Simo Hayha or Chris Kyle to solve the manpower issue and Russian troops that have been training for months and doing rotations for this war all had the firearm accuracy of Star Wars storm troopers. I have seen too many western mercenaries with go pros with the last footage before it blacks out is when they are under artillery fire running.

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Your comment reminds me of the "legendary" Carlos Hathcock.
The trophy rifle he took from a VC he killed was conveniently stolen from the armoury
The VC general he killed after crawling 1500yrds and spent days in hiding hoping for a perfect shot, his name, unit, and position are unknown to this day. And honestly, if the US knew exactly when and where a high-ranking VC officer would show up and wanted to kill him, they would just shell and bomb the sh*t out of the place, saving a lot of trouble.
But of course, it's a Western "war hero", especially he is a US one, we must believe it is true

Was it true that the man from the Russian 20th Division mutinied against their commander?

Fire in fuel facility in Lugansk extinguished. Several fuel tanks damaged. Fortunately no deaths. The attack was conducted with ATACMS.


Artillery hits a Ukrainian warehouse in Kurakhovsky.


TOS working on Ukrainian positions.


ODAB-1500 working on Ukrainian positions in Krasnogorovka.


Bradley taken out in Semenivka.


Ukrainian artillery system gets Krasnopoled in the Avdeyevka Ocheretino sector by the Siberian Association.


Russian MLRS takes out a Ukrainian ammo depot near the border.


RBK-500 lands on Ukrainian positions in Novopokrovka.


LMUR hits a Ukrainian deployment point in Ivanivka in Kherson.


Massive attack on Ukrainian infrastructure. Huge wave of missiles from the RuAF and the Black Sea Fleet. Geran drones arriving in Poltava.


Takeout of a Ukrainian transport by FPV drone.


The TPP in the Vinnytsia region was successfully hit.


Another new batch of Su-35S delivered to the RuAF.


Unusual. LMUR takes out a Leopard 2A4. Normally this missile isn't used as an ATGM although it has that capacity.


No link posted due to human casualties. A Lancet was used by the Black Hussars special forces unit to hit a house used by Ukrainians. The resulting explosion was surprisingly strong sending the Ukrainians flying all over. Four are left not moving while the rest managed to stagger away. The footage is unusual because Lancets are not generally used for anti shelter work. But this could change and may indicate a new type of warhead.

Three Ukrainian TPP came under attack and significantly damaged according to DTEK.


NATO will sign a declaration not to send troops to Ukraine.


Ukrainian mortar site hit by 152mm shell from a MSTA-B of the 238th Brigade in Krasnogorovka.


AFU unable to identify thousands of its dead.


Two Humvees destroyed by FPV drones.


Rare Ukrainian Dozor-B armored vehicle destroyed by FPV drone.


M777 gets Krasnopoled.


Ukrainian convoy trying to hide in forest still gets Krasnopoled.


M113 knocked out by ATGM.

Zaluzhny seems pretty chuffed about his new job
He's won. He got the London retirement package worth millions, no more hiding from Iskanders in smelly bunkers, and once the war's over he'll write a best-selling book about how Ukraine would have won if he remained in charge.

gelgoog said:

All of a sudden those long barrels for long distance sniping don't sound that smart anymore. The Russians use shorter barrels for most systems precisely of this. You need to drill the gun tube to make the rifling pattern. The longer the gun tube the longer it takes to make one. And using higher pressure by packing more propellant in the gun to increase range also means the barrel wears out faster.

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M777 has a short barrel (L39) relative to most European artillery
In fact, this is shorter than MSTA-B (L47)
US M109 also has a similarly short barrel

M777 wearing out (IMO, but I believe I have also seen some sources state this), it's nature was not meant to be sustained fire support. It is actually by name "Lightweight".


It was designed for USMC to be easily moved (ie. dropped by a Chinook and carried by C-130) and give their expeditionary forces extra punch over 105s. Extended firefights of this nature were never part of the mission profile. It also uses relatively expensive Titanium over Steel fitting it's more esoteric nature.

The criticisms of the US equipment are understandable, but the equipment is also being used out of context. We are talking about a military force that can drop a Burger King into a third world country and simply abandon hundreds of Humvees like it was nothing. An out of service M1 for the US is nothing because it has thousands it doesn't even need. Ukraine problems are not US problems.

SolarWarden said:

There not going to tell when and where ammo is going to show up the Russians will know when they are on the receiving end just like ATACMS. ATACMS were already in Ukraine, and when US made it official Ukraine started firing them.

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To follow up on this, I have found a number:

Participants of a Czech-led artillery initiative have contracted the first 180,000 out of 300,000 ammunition rounds for Ukraine, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala wrote in an op-ed for the Financial Times on April 15.

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"These will be delivered to the Ukrainian front in the coming months," Fiala said.

Czech President Petr Pavel announced in February that the Czech Republic had identified 500,000 155 mm shells and 300,000 122 mm shells outside of Europe that could be bought and sent to Ukraine after the necessary funds were allocated.

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So I'm guessing those 180,000 are 122mm rounds, to be delivered in the coming months.

phrozenflame said:

I think the story of 300bn being taken away is still to play out.

If they do take that money, it will immediately lead to irreversible damage on trust of these financial institutions that are the foundation of today's global financial systems. It will immediately lead to alternate systems being established and countries to use it to diversify their risks and invest in the alternate system. The alternate system will naturally arise from non-NATO countries. It will also lead to Russia claiming war damage claims to Germany and Skorea and China claiming the damages from Japan. It'll open a Pandora's box and legal hodge podge.

This will be short sighted self inflicted wound.

Now if they don't do that, Russia ofcourse will eventually take that money back.

Another outcome is this being used by both sides as a point at negotiations whenever their are final peace talks.

Either way, this is going to be a tricky and delicate act of balancing.

This will be an interesting space to keep an eye on as global balance of power shifts towards East.

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That money is going to be frozen like Iran's money was. It's going to be in limbo for a long time, it's a blow for Russia. They could really use that money, but it's not a death knell or anything.

ZeEa5KPul said:

Zaluzhny seems pretty chuffed about his new job

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1788116122190901406

He's won. He got the London retirement package worth millions, no more hiding from Iskanders in smelly bunkers, and once the war's over he'll write a best-selling book about how Ukraine would have won if he remained in charge.

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I always knew he was smart, but so is Shoigu. These guys didn't just survive, they thrived.

blackjack21 said:

Is western military equipment really made for war? It wouldn't matter if eastern European countries gave Ukraine the brave Ukrainian patriots and they all got converted into being super soldiers like Simo Hayha or Chris Kyle to solve the manpower issue and Russian troops that have been training for months and doing rotations for this war all had the firearm accuracy of Star Wars storm troopers. I have seen too many western mercenaries with go pros with the last footage before it blacks out is when they are under artillery fire running.

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Did you honestly need this war to draw that conclusion? The signs were obvious decades ago, see the F-35 project. An aircraft that is astronomically expensive, requires constant updates via internet connections, needs to be fueled with refrigerated fuel and can only be operated from specially constructed facilities where they are bunched up in a nice tight parking area underneath a tin-roof.

HighGround said:

I always knew he was smart, but so is Shoigu. These guys didn't just survive, they thrived.

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Shoigu has way more access to money than some General. As the Defense Minister he basically controls all the military procurement.
Zaluzhnyi's equivalent in the Russian hierarchy would have been Gerasimov. Not Shoigu.