War

Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
‘Putin’s Chef’ Admits His Mercenaries Hit Dead End in Ukrainian Stronghold
Russia’s shadow army boss has tried to explain away his mercenary group’s failure to take the Ukrainian stronghold of Bakhmut by claiming Ukraine has “500 lines of defense” there.

Yevgeny Prigozhin made the claim in an interview with RIA Novosti published Tuesday, telling the news agency that the Wagner Group can’t seem to break through Ukrainian defenses around the city.

Ukraine’s military has fended off a Russian takeover there during months of brutal battles against the notorious mercenaries. In the face of relentless Russian attacks, the city has gained huge symbolic significance.

While pro-Kremlin pundits and Prigozhin himself have for weeks taunted Ukrainians with threats that Bakhmut will soon fall to Russia, the Wagner boss now appears to be acknowledging what Western experts and British intelligence have already predicted: Russia is unlikely to achieve any major wins in the area any time soon.

“It’s a fortress in every home,” Prigozhin said in video published by RIA Novosti. “The guys lock horns for every home, sometimes not just for one day. Sometimes for weeks over one home. They take one home, they take a second, a third,” Prigozhin said.

But they still can’t break through defenses.

“To say [there are] 500 [lines of defense] would probably not be a mistake. Every 10 meters there is a line of defense,” Prigozhin said while meeting with his mercenaries.

One of the men under his command can be heard complaining in the footage that they don’t have enough equipment or weapons to push further into Bakhmut.

The Wagner boss’ admission comes after Western intelligence noted that the manpower behind Russian attacks in the area had been thinning out. The British Ministry of Defense noted in its latest assessment on Tuesday that while Russia has “increased the frequency” of attacks around Bakhmut, “many of these operations were poorly supported.”

A Ukrainian soldier near Bakhmut also says it seems the Russian side is “running out” of prison inmates to send to the frontline.

In an interview with Radio New Times, Yevgeny Oropai said Russian troops seem to be “out of breath” after unsuccessfully attempting to storm Ukrainian positions around the New Year holiday, leaving Wagner with “heavy losses.”

But they’re also learning from their own mistakes and not “mindlessly” carrying out so many offensives anymore, he said.

Both sides have suffered staggering losses in and around the city, leading even some pro-Kremlin figures to question whether Russia’s offensive there was worth the “senseless meat grinder” it had created for them.

But the city appeared to take on heightened significance for Moscow after a series of crushing losses elsewhere saw Russians retreat from territories Putin had proudly declared to be part of Russia. Bakhmut, seen in some ways as Russia’s “last stand” after Ukraine took back Kharkiv and Kherson, was also part of the Donbas region Putin had dubbed a priority after the Kremlin’s failure to take Kyiv.

Prigozhin, who for months has boasted that his guys are more ruthless and able to do what ordinary Russians troops cannot, released a series of attention-seeking propaganda videos said to be from Bakhmut in late December, in which he ordered his mercenaries to fire off weapons and taunted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with invitations to meet on the front line.

“Maybe by the evening we’ll be able to meet,” he said. “I’m sitting, waiting for you near Bakhmut.”

Days later, however, Russian airborne troops were sent to the area to prop up Wagner’s operations—a move widely seen as evidence that all was not going according to plan for Russia’s tough-talking shadow army boss.
just like all russians...can't put up OR shut up.
 

CCGNZ

Well-Known Member
Something is going on inside the CPP...


China’s Foreign Minister Says ‘Deeply Impressed’ With Americans

(Bloomberg) -- New Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang offered effusive praise of Americans after stepping down as his nation’s top envoy to Washington, signaling that ties between the world’s biggest economies appear to be warming despite recent tensions over Taiwan.
Cool,Qin Gang for pres. of CCP,where do I request a mail in ballot,seriously I can dig toning down the rhetoric between USA and China,I'm also pleased that it doesn't appear the Chinese are helping R
Joe probably greenlighted Chinese soft power expansion into central Asia at the expense of Russia, China will take advantage of their weakness. There is oil and gas there allowing China to get off coal and markets too, if they are selling oil and gas to China. That should keep them busy for a decade or two, that and picking up the pieces of the shattered Russian empire, again using soft power to control local governments and economies.
You and Roger might be on to something,it's enticing,a qt. quid pro quo between US and China all at the expense of Vlad sticking his johnson up his own keyster,I like it. China gains resources in a seriously neglected area of Russia who are closer to China ethnically anyway. The US gets a statue quo in Taiwan at least for a good while which in this time we can complete our Pacific pivot while shoring up our weaknesses and honing our strategy w/allies.
 

injinji

Well-Known Member
By presidential decree from 27.12.22 - Male debtors who arrive at banking institutions are to be issued mobilization summons, those who refuse to sign will be detained by police. - Elvira Nabiullina - Head of the Central Bank
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This interesting. poot-poot's neighbor is asking all men to update their info at the draft offices.

 

injinji

Well-Known Member
I would have thought with night vision equipment they could see them well enough to shoot at them during the night. Some LED flashlights are like WW2 search lights for low altitude work, a dozen 100W COBs in the right housing is pretty bright!
The thing is they have pairs of trucks stationed all around the spots they think they are most likely to hit. One truck has the spotlight, the other the machine gun. Not sure how night vision would work on the drones.
 

Roger A. Shrubber

Well-Known Member
The thing is they have pairs of trucks stationed all around the spots they think they are most likely to hit. One truck has the spotlight, the other the machine gun. Not sure how night vision would work on the drones.
depends on the drone i think, a gas drone should at the very least be visible, if not a bright little hot spot. an electric drone on the other hand, might not show up at all...
i know they don't use many electric drones, but they must still use a few for spotting, small stuff like that.
 
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