The War in the Ukraine

There' a video trending on X now showing 3 Russian soldiers running, middle one gets hit by something, smoke clears, he's lying on the ground but still moving, including his legs. He asks the 3rd soldier to shoot him in the head, and is duly obliged. I'm not sure what this says about morale and medevac on the Russian side, but nothing good.

B777LR said:

Somehow omits the part of the story where the Ukrainians waste loads of useful drones on the supposed desperate junk.

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And the Russian wasted useful(?) troops to operate it as well, who fortunately for them were captured. Ukraine can replace the drones a lot quicker than Russia can train new troops. Also the logistics required to get this heap of junk to the front are the same as for a T90M.

Maikeru said:

There' a video trending on X now showing 3 Russian soldiers running, middle one gets hit by something, smoke clears, he's lying on the ground but still moving, including his legs. He asks the 3rd soldier to shoot him in the head, and is duly obliged. I'm not sure what this says about morale and medevac on the Russian side, but nothing good.

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No. Actually this gruesome anecdote tells us no such thing. You are just wildly extrapolating.

On the condition of the Russian tank force, I found this open-source thread pretty interesting as an example of Russian tank regiment development. There may be errors in the evidence found but it seems convincing:


153rd Tank Regiment was raised in 2023 out of volunteers/contract troops. TOE strength 1,800 men as a component of the 47th Tank Division.

The maneuver elements are in the main 3 x Tank Battalions and 1 x Motor-rifle battalion, 1 x Howitzer battalion, plus support units.

153rd regiment has 94 tanks [T-72 older models and 2022 models), 32 other AFVs [apparently BMPs], 12 D-30 howitzers, and ~140 other vehicles and pieces of equipment.


This can be contrasted to the BTG of 2022/prewar which were 1 Tank Battalion, 1 Mech. Inf battalion, 1 X SP Artillery battalion plus support units. The BTGs of 2022 had a much higher ratio of mech. infantry & self-propelled artillery per Tank. Of course they were independent rather than subordinated to a divisional or brigade structure.

Other claims here is that the 153rd Tank Regiment is a second-echelon exploitation force held in reserve, meant to allocated after motorized infantry achieve penetrations.

Overall the Russians are parceling tanks/IFV to support small scale infantry operations for the most part, not the other way around. And there's been times over the past year where massed use of tanks merely meant more losses with marginal results.

Despite heavy fortifications on Shumy, the Russians broke through quickly. Russians have launched a new front on the Toretsk-Niu York sector.



Two Ukrainian P-18 radars destroyed by X-35U strikes. These antiship missiles would have been launched from Su-30 or Su-35 aircraft. Such radars are used in air defense. The radars are located in the Dnipropetrovosk region and represent the first line of early warning volume search radar.


Ukrainian UAV operators bases and launch sites struck by UMPB D30SN long range glide bombs in Kherson region. These are either launched from Su-34 or Tornado-S from the ground.


X-101 missiles flying overhead.


FABs with UMPK arrive in Kharkhiv.


Another Ukrainian UAV operator base hit by a LMUR missile. The LMUR along with the Krasnopol, has become a favorite weapon for such tasks.


Ukraine may not be able to repair it's energy system by winter. Russian massive attack on energy facilities in Lviv and Zaporozhye.


Odessa hit with missiles, presumably X-59.


Russian breakthrough beyond Novoolexandrivka, towards Pokrovsk by 1.5km. The vital Ukrainian logistics hub is now well within range of artillery fire at 6km, and soon by drone and tank fire.


US stops exporting LNG to Ukraine for 'green' environmental considerations. This is a major face palm moment.


FAB and TOS continues to hit Ukrainian positions in Volchansk.


Ukrainian D-20 howitzer hit by Lancet in the Kharkhiv front.


Ukrainian 'police department' discovered by reconnaissance, dispatched soon enough with arty, presumably Krasnopol shells.


Fighting in Razdolovka as elements of the 106th VDV Division engages the 54th Brigade. Knocked out M113.


First confirmed use of Iranian Arash kamekaze drones in Nikolaev region. These drones can be confused as cruise missiles.


Ukrainian field ammo depot hit by the 69th Brigade.


House used by Ukrainian UAV operators sighted and attacked with FPV drone.


FAB hit Ukrainian temporary deployment point in Kurakhove.


FAB hits Ukrainian position in Prechystivka.


Lancet takes out Ukrainian howitzer. By the 238th.


FPV drone takes out another Bradley.


FPV drone takes out another M113.


Three destroyed Bradleys spotted in the Sokol-Pokrovsk area.

SolarWarden said:

A divisions worth of Russian men and armor in Kharkiv is an offensive.... it just didn't go as predicted. Maybe the Sumy one will go better.

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According to whom, exactly?. Its funny how you people keep pinning goals and schdules on the Russians that they haven't really stated anywhere so just you can go "see?. They totally failed!".

Kind of like when yo lot ran with the "Kiev in three days" which came out of the mouth of General Milley first.

There are a few ways to do Recon that do use divisions to take ground, too.

SolarWarden said:

US and the rest shouldn't have tied Ukraine's fighting ability they should have just allowed them to use western weapons however they see fit.

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They provide the weapons, the intel and the personnel, is not up to the Ukranian or their fanboys who like to yap but don't seem as willing to put their money where their mouth is and help plug the gaps in Ukraine's trenches.

Which also shows clearly how NATO is also quite involved in this war despite the insistent denials of some

Maikeru said:

And the Russian wasted useful(?) troops to operate it as well, who fortunately for them were captured. Ukraine can replace the drones a lot quicker than Russia can train new troops. Also the logistics required to get this heap of junk to the front are the same as for a T90M.

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Not really, it isn't and it assumes these guys are trained at the same level or to do the same tasks as a T-90M screw instead of just being zappers with a tank.

You make a lot of assumptions.

Yes I am assuming a T62 with a non-working gun takes the same amount of space on a flatbed railcar or low loader as a T90M. I think that is a reasonable assumption. I also assume that Ukraine can replace drones quicker and cheaper than Russia can replace even untrained conscripts. I think that is reasonable too.

Maikeru said:

Yes I am assuming a T62 with a non-working gun takes the same amount of space on a flatbed railcar or low loader as a T90M. I think that is a reasonable assumption. I also assume that Ukraine can replace drones quicker and cheaper than Russia can replace even untrained conscripts. I think that is reasonable too.

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The Ukrainians themselves claim that Russia has a 5:1 advantage in artillery.

Artillery is still responsible for like 80% of casualties.

Are we supposed to believe that Russians come from the Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy and don't hit anything with their artillery or what?

Russia also has drone operators. They produce drones as well. So the idea this is some kind of exclusive weapon to Ukraine is also nonsense.

January 25, 2024
Ukrainian estimates suggest that Russia can now produce or procure approximately 100,000 drones per month, whereas Ukraine’s production capability is only half that amount. International sanctions have not deterred various aspects of Russian military production. Russia has doubled its annual tank production from 100 to 200 before the military operation. Additionally, Russian companies manufacture munitions more cost-effectively than Western counterparts, sometimes compromising safety; for example, a 152-millimeter artillery shell costs around $600 to produce in Russia, while a 155-millimeter shell costs up to ten times as much to produce in the West. Overcoming this economic disadvantage will pose a formidable challenge for Ukraine’s allies.

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As for the modified tanks, I am fairly certain they will lead to factory made modifications later down the line.

gelgoog said:

The Ukrainians themselves claim that Russia has a 5:1 advantage in artillery.

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Artillery is still responsible for like 80% of casualties.

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Are we supposed to believe that Russians come from the Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy and don't hit anything with their artillery or what?

Russia also has drone operators. They produce drones as well. So the idea this is some kind of exclusive weapon to Ukraine is also nonsense.

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As for the modified tanks, I am fairly certain they will lead to factory made modifications later down the line.

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Sorry, none of that has anything to do with what I said about the T62 cope shed.

We also saw similar field modifications by US soldiers in Iraq when the conflict started.

On 8 December 2004, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld took part in a town-hall style meeting with US troops preparing to deploy from Kuwait to Iraq. One of the soldiers in attendance, Specialist Thomas Wilson, ‘complained that he and his comrades were rooting through Kuwaiti junkyards to find improvised armor for their military vehicles to protect against bomb blasts and small-arms attacks’:

A lot of us are getting ready to move north relatively soon … Our vehicles are not armored. We’re digging pieces of rusted scrap metal and
compromised ballistic glass that’s already been shot up … picking the best out of this scrap to put on our vehicles to take into combat. We do not have proper … vehicles to carry with us north.

Rumsfeld replied: ‘As you know, you go to war with the Army you have. They’re not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time.’

Eventually they will lead to factory made armor enhancements.
Just like the "cope cages" which now come factory installed on T-90M tanks.