YazataMar 2, 2023 12:27 AM (This post was last modified: Mar 2, 2023 12:42 AM by Yazata.)
The Ukrainians have been posting photos of additional Ukrainian soldiers heading into Bakhmut. They certainly don't seem to want anyone thinking they are pulling out.
On the other side, Prigozhin (Wagner boss) doesn't believe that the Ukrainians are pulling out of Bakhmut either. Nor does he think that there are only 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers there. He says:
"The AFU are bringing up new reserves in Bakhmut and trying to hold the city by all means. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian army fighters are fiercely resisting. The bloodiness of battles increases every day... So stop reading nonsense."
A journalist working for the American ABC News spoke with an American volunteer fighting with the Ukrainians (a former US Marine) who says that the average life-expectancy for new troops on either side arriving in Bakhmut is about "four hours". I hope he was exaggerating but it's clearly pretty bad there. A meat-grinder for both sides. Pour in more reinforcements, make more sausages.
Besides the extraordinary music (these soldiers must have been professional musicians before they were drafted) the video shows all kinds of rarely seen views of these S300PS heavy SAM missile systems in actual combat deployment: Shows several variants of "TELs" (transporter-erector-launcher), missile reloading, plus several search, tracking and missile guidance radars including some elevated on masts. Also shows ZU-23 anti-aircraft guns, some of them as improvised "technicals" on truck beds. We also get several views of igla manpads.
Also interesting are the photos of Ukrainians being mobilized and drafted into the army. These aren't bad-ass special forces types, they are regular people, many out of shape, many middle aged. That's both a strength and weakness for Ukraine. Their army is short of trained and experienced professional soldiers but it also shows that the Ukrainian army is a people's army. I think that surprised Putin in February 2022. He didn't expect that the Ukrainian people would be quite so willing to fight for Ukraine like they are doing. The Russian failure to know that before starting the war must be one of the greatest intelligence failures in recent memory.
Scroll down from the music to the thread below that tweet for identifications of what is being shown in the video.
Wonderful 30 second explanation of Polish/Belarus relations
YazataMar 3, 2023 11:28 PM (This post was last modified: Mar 3, 2023 11:34 PM by Yazata.)
Two maps of Bakhmut
First one according to Ukrainian Defense Ministry briefings:
The fact that the Ukrainians are blowing bridges in Bakhmut is suggestive that they are planning to pull out. Blown bridges will hinder movement by both sides, so blowing them suggests the Ukrainians expect the Russians to be there soon. There are reports that the Russians are attacking really hard from the north in hopes of cutting the road the Ukrainians are mainly using in and out. There are reports that English speaking Ukrainian army foreign volunteer units in Bakhmut have been ordered to an undisclosed new location to the west, probably Chasiv Yar. But fresh Ukrainian troops are still going into Bakhmut.
there is still civilians living in the city who refuse to be evacuated
i wonder what they believe the russians will do to them when the russians occupy the city.
some familys with small children included
Why do I think the Ukrainians are about to get crushed any day now? These little one on one or man vs tank videos don’t exactly paint the overall picture IMO. Seems to be less and less minor skirmish wins and intercepted anti war Russian battlefield phone calls.
(Mar 4, 2023 03:58 PM)Zinjanthropos Wrote: Why do I think the Ukrainians are about to get crushed any day now? These little one on one or man vs tank videos don’t exactly paint the overall picture IMO. Seems to be less and less minor skirmish wins and intercepted anti war Russian battlefield phone calls.
I can only presume the strategy has been hold the position long enough while both the training of forces and equipment have been assembled. As it gets more desperate, it's more likely going to trigger a very large and seemingly abrupt (although likely well planned and executed) counter-attack by the Ukrainians.
(Mar 4, 2023 03:58 PM)Zinjanthropos Wrote: Why do I think the Ukrainians are about to get crushed any day now? These little one on one or man vs tank videos don’t exactly paint the overall picture IMO. Seems to be less and less minor skirmish wins and intercepted anti war Russian battlefield phone calls.
I can only presume the strategy has been hold the position long enough while both the training of forces and equipment have been assembled. As it gets more desperate, it's more likely going to trigger a very large and seemingly abrupt (although likely well planned and executed) counter-attack by the Ukrainians.
Maybe so but same time I don’t think the Russians have been sitting on their hands. Appears they corrected any prison overcrowding problems they had and perhaps getting ready to fill them back up again with both Ukrainian sympathizers, rebels and political prisoners. Is Siberia still an option for POW’s?
Hopefully a new attack is planned and soon on the Kerch Bridge the moment they finish repairing it.
something like a small oil tanker(that will just fit under the railway bridge and hit the car bridge then sit there are burn & hopefully explode) that is driven by remote control to crash into it and catch fire would be great.
a burning oil tanker wedged under the bridge would be fabulous
alternatively
a container ship with 4 HIMARS launchers on board with 6 GLSDB rocks each = 24 GLSDB
targeting the rail bridge & vehicle bridge
YazataMar 5, 2023 12:11 AM (This post was last modified: Mar 5, 2023 12:24 AM by Yazata.)
The neck of Ukrainian controlled territory between Bakhmut and the rest of Ukraine is now only 2 miles (3.2 km) wide. All the main roads out are cut and secondary roads are being heavily shelled. There are increasing indications of a Ukrainian withdrawal, but nothing official yet. Ukrainian troops have been seen moving into Bakhmut as well, but they may be arriving to help cover the withdrawal of their comrades. There are photos that suggest that Ukrainian soldiers are walking out across fields, probably since vehicles on the roads are just attractive targets.
It's increasingly clear that we will know what's happening in the next few days.
Mar 2, 2023 12:27 AM
(This post was last modified: Mar 2, 2023 12:42 AM by Yazata.)
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