Russian invasion of Ukraine | Fewer tweets, more discussion

Simbo

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I was watching the footage Russia released yesterday like "Wouldn't be surprised if Ukraine releases footage telling a different story in a min".


Though if there was a ship burning in the Black Sea we'd have probably seen more reports of it.

...Unless it just sank.
 

the hea

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I think there are some nuclear strategist in Russian scratching their heads after the Kinzhal and Iskander-M interceptions. Those 2 plus the KH555 and Kaliber cruise missiles are the main delivery systems for Russias tactical nuclear warheads and now over 90% of all launches with these missiles are getting intercepted by Ukraine.
 

Raoul

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I think there are some nuclear strategist in Russian scratching their heads after the Kinzhal and Iskander-M interceptions. Those 2 plus the KH555 and Kaliber cruise missiles are the main delivery systems for Russias tactical nuclear warheads and now over 90% of all launches with these missiles are getting intercepted by Ukraine.
True. This shouldn't come as a massive surprise to many given the broader Russian incompetence throughout this entire conflict. Their strategy and tactics have largely failed and their weapon system have flattered to deceive.
 

RoyH1

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How the heck can he get away with saying this? Has Putin really lost grip and is unable to enforce his rule and bring Wagner to knee? Or it one of their sneaky deceptions they are so fond of down there?
 

McGrathsipan

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How the heck can he get away with saying this? Has Putin really lost grip and is unable to enforce his rule and bring Wagner to knee? Or it one of their sneaky deceptions they are so fond of down there?
If ever a cnut needs a bullet between the eyes its him
I cant wait for that day
 

Bepi

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How the heck can he get away with saying this? Has Putin really lost grip and is unable to enforce his rule and bring Wagner to knee? Or it one of their sneaky deceptions they are so fond of down there?
It’s bad enough for everybody RU out there and the butcher only starts threatening his own boss? Mmmhhh.
 

Gehrman

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How the heck can he get away with saying this? Has Putin really lost grip and is unable to enforce his rule and bring Wagner to knee? Or it one of their sneaky deceptions they are so fond of down there?
A head of the wagner group can have Putin assassinated at will too i believe. But also perhaps he just decided to call it a day.
 

The United

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That being said, I'm surprised that Putin chose to not make him disappear by now when that level of criticism against the government is blunter than anything that Navalny ever dished against the Putin regime.
The only reason I can think of is that that guy has some use for Putin, especially in Africa.
 

harms

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The only reason I can think of is that that guy has some use for Putin, especially in Africa.
Plus Putin encourages unfriendly competition in his own ranks. As long as they’re fighting themselves they aren’t fighting him.
 

VorZakone

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But there are risks to Mr. Putin’s wait-and-see approach beyond the possibility of a battlefield breakthrough by Ukraine. Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, argues that Mr. Putin’s “tactic of inaction” could raise the influence of hard-liners like Mr. Prigozhin.

“Russia’s elites are liable to see defeatism in inaction,” she wrote this month. “Already, Putin is struggling to explain what exactly he is waiting for.”
 
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nimic

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And I'm all out of bubblegum.
Great to see Vlad taking the Ron DeSantis position on most issues.

It should be a wake-up call to right-wingers (in the US and Europe alike) when Vladimir Putin has exactly the same positions and rhetoric as them. It won't be, though. Honestly, if anything they're probably just happy to have him on their side. Putin must be very satisfied that the west seems to have stumbled upon the ultra-nationalist traditional conservatism he's been building in Russia for years.

Well, stumbled with some help from Russia, no doubt.
 

buchansleftleg

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Is this strike rate purely down to the effectiveness of air defences or are we in the situation where Russia is just doggedly doing the same thing over and over again?

I'd imagine these shahed drones must be programmed with a route and surely these could be varied? Or are they drones where they need to increase altitude to get a position fix before descending back down to near terrain level?

Or are they just simple point and shoot weapons like the V1 bomb in WW2?
 

stefan92

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Is this strike rate purely down to the effectiveness of air defences or are we in the situation where Russia is just doggedly doing the same thing over and over again?

I'd imagine these shahed drones must be programmed with a route and surely these could be varied? Or are they drones where they need to increase altitude to get a position fix before descending back down to near terrain level?

Or are they just simple point and shoot weapons like the V1 bomb in WW2?
They are designed to numerically overwhelm missile based air defences. But they are often up against Gepard SPAAG that have a field day shooting all of them down with some short bursts of its guns. It's just Russian stupidity to keep using them against areas where effective SPAAGs are operating.
 

11101

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It's interesting how people have been so fearful of hypersonic weapons from Russia and China and critical of US attempts to build them, just based on hyperbole and propaganda statements. It's becoming clear the Russian ones simply don't work, and it's highly likely the Chinese won't fare much better in a real combat scenario. Until they work seamlessly there is little added benefit over submarines off the coast and loitering aircraft nearby.