NPR

tabascoboy wrote: ↑Wed Oct 12, 2022 3:21 pm

Blackmac wrote: ↑Wed Oct 12, 2022 3:40 pm

tabascoboy wrote: ↑Wed Oct 12, 2022 3:21 pm

I have a friend who is an ex army major. He reckons that Russian officers are barely taught defensive tactics as they assumed they would always be on the offensive.

President Vladimir Putin has said the gas taps can be still turned on for Russian supplies to the EU, despite sharp political disagreements. Russia has not delivered gas to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 line since August, and Nord Stream 2 was halted after Russia invaded Ukraine.

The February invasion led to gas price hikes, and EU customers face record tariffs this winter.

But Germany quickly rejected Mr Putin's offer to send gas via Nord Stream 2. At the same time, a government spokesman in Berlin said Nord Stream 1 - which is not under sanctions - was an option, but gas was not flowing "because Russia did not deliver".

Russia has been accused of using gas supplies as a weapon against the West since the invasion of Ukraine - a charge repeatedly denied by the Kremlin.

"The ball, as they say, is now in the European Union's court - let them just open the tap," Mr Putin said on Wednesday at the annual Russian Energy Week in Moscow.

"We do not limit anyone in anything," he said, adding that Moscow was ready to supply additional volumes of gas in the autumn-winter period.

But despite Mr Putin's words, a resumption of gas supplies to Europe seems unlikely.

Wyndham Upalot wrote: ↑Wed Oct 12, 2022 8:54 pm This weekend, albeit not officially recorded, substantial ordinance plus a/d will be delivered. Plain terms, not a leveller but, numerically a significant force multiplier.

Wyndham Upalot wrote: ↑Wed Oct 12, 2022 8:54 pm This weekend, albeit not officially recorded, substantial ordinance plus a/d will be delivered. Plain terms, not a leveller but, numerically a significant force multiplier.

Ukraine needs to get its act together to be able to sustain a continuous push. They've been unable to organise themselves to chase a retreating enemy.

yermum wrote: ↑Thu Oct 13, 2022 8:08 am
The West spent 60 years shitting themself about this?

fishfoodie wrote: ↑Thu Oct 13, 2022 9:25 am

yermum wrote: ↑Thu Oct 13, 2022 8:08 am
The West spent 60 years shitting themself about this?

The 3rd Reich rolled thru Russia, & on to Moscow, & down to the Black Sea, & took millions of prisoners in weeks in 1941.

But the Russian army regrouped, & once it was led by real Generals, & properly equipped, the Russian soldiers out fought & out thought the best the Wehrmacht could throw at them !

By the time the war ended, the Russians Army was a formidable animal.

petej wrote: ↑Thu Oct 13, 2022 10:08 am

fishfoodie wrote: ↑Thu Oct 13, 2022 9:25 am

yermum wrote: ↑Thu Oct 13, 2022 8:08 am
The West spent 60 years shitting themself about this?

The 3rd Reich rolled thru Russia, & on to Moscow, & down to the Black Sea, & took millions of prisoners in weeks in 1941.

But the Russian army regrouped, & once it was led by real Generals, & properly equipped, the Russian soldiers out fought & out thought the best the Wehrmacht could throw at them !

By the time the war ended, the Russians Army was a formidable animal.

Who helped equip and supply it? Who helped build their factories?

tabascoboy wrote: ↑Wed Oct 12, 2022 3:21 pm

Flockwitt wrote: ↑Thu Oct 13, 2022 4:00 am

Wyndham Upalot wrote: ↑Wed Oct 12, 2022 8:54 pm This weekend, albeit not officially recorded, substantial ordinance plus a/d will be delivered. Plain terms, not a leveller but, numerically a significant force multiplier.

Ukraine needs to get its act together to be able to sustain a continuous push. They've been unable to organise themselves to chase a retreating enemy.

fishfoodie wrote: ↑Thu Oct 13, 2022 9:25 am

yermum wrote: ↑Thu Oct 13, 2022 8:08 am
The West spent 60 years shitting themself about this?

The 3rd Reich rolled thru Russia, & on to Moscow, & down to the Black Sea, & took millions of prisoners in weeks in 1941.

But the Russian army regrouped, & once it was led by real Generals, & properly equipped, the Russian soldiers out fought & out thought the best the Wehrmacht could throw at them !

By the time the war ended, the Russians Army was a formidable animal.

fishfoodie wrote: ↑Thu Oct 13, 2022 7:33 pm I wonder is train line actually open ?, & if it is, what the weight restrictions are for the wagons.

Immediately after they re-opened the remaining carriage ways, it was reported there were limits on how many cars could be on the bridge at any time; but it looks like trucks are all having to take the ferries,with predictable results.



Won't be long before food & fuel have to be rationed in Crimea, & war materials have to be prioritized over civilian traffic, & then the citizens will decide to take a long, Holiday, outside of Crimea.

As a result of the culmination of all the evidence we have at this time, I feel fairly certain in the conclusion that the explosion on the Crimea Bridge was caused by the detonation of a large volume of explosives loaded onto a truck. All pieces of photographic evidence from the scene of the explosion corroborate the truck bomb theory.

I remain open to any evidence to counter this cause, but at this time it is the only remaining theory without significant evidence debunking it as a probable cause.

tabascoboy wrote: ↑Fri Oct 14, 2022 9:55 am Another analysis of the explosion, need to visit the site for supporting photo evidence but here is his conclusion

As a result of the culmination of all the evidence we have at this time, I feel fairly certain in the conclusion that the explosion on the Crimea Bridge was caused by the detonation of a large volume of explosives loaded onto a truck. All pieces of photographic evidence from the scene of the explosion corroborate the truck bomb theory.

I remain open to any evidence to counter this cause, but at this time it is the only remaining theory without significant evidence debunking it as a probable cause.

The Cause Of The Crimea Bridge Explosion
Of the four theories circulating regarding the cause of the Crimea Bridge explosion, the physical evidence available has now eliminated three.

Grandpa wrote: ↑Fri Oct 14, 2022 10:03 am

tabascoboy wrote: ↑Fri Oct 14, 2022 9:55 am Another analysis of the explosion, need to visit the site for supporting photo evidence but here is his conclusion

As a result of the culmination of all the evidence we have at this time, I feel fairly certain in the conclusion that the explosion on the Crimea Bridge was caused by the detonation of a large volume of explosives loaded onto a truck. All pieces of photographic evidence from the scene of the explosion corroborate the truck bomb theory.

I remain open to any evidence to counter this cause, but at this time it is the only remaining theory without significant evidence debunking it as a probable cause.

The Cause Of The Crimea Bridge Explosion
Of the four theories circulating regarding the cause of the Crimea Bridge explosion, the physical evidence available has now eliminated three.

Wonder how they convinced the driver to drive the truck?

Grandpa wrote: ↑Fri Oct 14, 2022 10:03 am

tabascoboy wrote: ↑Fri Oct 14, 2022 9:55 am Another analysis of the explosion, need to visit the site for supporting photo evidence but here is his conclusion

As a result of the culmination of all the evidence we have at this time, I feel fairly certain in the conclusion that the explosion on the Crimea Bridge was caused by the detonation of a large volume of explosives loaded onto a truck. All pieces of photographic evidence from the scene of the explosion corroborate the truck bomb theory.

I remain open to any evidence to counter this cause, but at this time it is the only remaining theory without significant evidence debunking it as a probable cause.

The Cause Of The Crimea Bridge Explosion
Of the four theories circulating regarding the cause of the Crimea Bridge explosion, the physical evidence available has now eliminated three.

Wonder how they convinced the driver to drive the truck?

tabascoboy wrote: ↑Fri Oct 14, 2022 10:32 am Unfortunately we will never likely be shown true forensic evidence that hasn't been fabricated or doctored by Russia. Also any statements and "confessions" would also most likely be unreliable and given under duress if not totally made up.

What explosives were used and where did they originate from? Those are the key questions that would help to isolate a possible chain of events. If a truck bomb was involved then the explosives must originate from within Russia, seems to be totally unfeasible for Ukraine to covertly transport them into Russia to avoid the security checks on the Crimean side ( even if they are likely to be half-assed checks) and then back again.

Grandpa wrote: ↑Fri Oct 14, 2022 10:40 am

tabascoboy wrote: ↑Fri Oct 14, 2022 10:32 am Unfortunately we will never likely be shown true forensic evidence that hasn't been fabricated or doctored by Russia. Also any statements and "confessions" would also most likely be unreliable and given under duress if not totally made up.

What explosives were used and where did they originate from? Those are the key questions that would help to isolate a possible chain of events. If a truck bomb was involved then the explosives must originate from within Russia, seems to be totally unfeasible for Ukraine to covertly transport them into Russia to avoid the security checks on the Crimean side ( even if they are likely to be half-assed checks) and then back again.

That's what I find difficult... that this was all set up in Russia...

Hellraiser wrote: ↑Thu Oct 13, 2022 8:15 pm

fishfoodie wrote: ↑Thu Oct 13, 2022 9:25 am

yermum wrote: ↑Thu Oct 13, 2022 8:08 am
The West spent 60 years shitting themself about this?

The 3rd Reich rolled thru Russia, & on to Moscow, & down to the Black Sea, & took millions of prisoners in weeks in 1941.

But the Russian army regrouped, & once it was led by real Generals, & properly equipped, the Russian soldiers out fought & out thought the best the Wehrmacht could throw at them !

By the time the war ended, the Russians Army was a formidable animal.

Without American weaponry and equipment transfers via the Arctic convoys Russia would have been toast by the end of 1942. In the Cold War era the USSR was a beaten docket by 1980, the technology race with the West was lost exponentially from the late 1960s.

fishfoodie wrote: ↑Fri Oct 14, 2022 10:49 am

Grandpa wrote: ↑Fri Oct 14, 2022 10:40 am

tabascoboy wrote: ↑Fri Oct 14, 2022 10:32 am Unfortunately we will never likely be shown true forensic evidence that hasn't been fabricated or doctored by Russia. Also any statements and "confessions" would also most likely be unreliable and given under duress if not totally made up.

What explosives were used and where did they originate from? Those are the key questions that would help to isolate a possible chain of events. If a truck bomb was involved then the explosives must originate from within Russia, seems to be totally unfeasible for Ukraine to covertly transport them into Russia to avoid the security checks on the Crimean side ( even if they are likely to be half-assed checks) and then back again.

That's what I find difficult... that this was all set up in Russia...

Or Georgia, or Crimea, where there's plenty of people who hate the Russians !

If the IRA could assemble massive IEDs in a small place like NI, under the noses of the British Army, & Intelligence services; how hard would it be in a place as chaotic, corrupt, & inefficient as Russia ?

Mika Tyry, a retired military demolition specialist, told YLE, Finland's national broadcaster, that the flames and sparks are consistent with a thermite bomb. Russia's military has been known to use thermite, though Ukraine could have recovered the substance from unexploded Russian munitions.

"It's a successful attack on a guarded structure, with advanced explosives, and timed with the train," Barr says. "That's highly suggestive of a carefully planned military operation rather than a lone actor or other group."