Sorry if this has already been discussed, I've been sticking to the tactical thread....

I have seriously been contemplating how citizens could aid in stopping these military caravans. One idea I had is I know here in Houston there are a lot of junker cars laying around, could these not be towed to major pinch points and then disabled by letting the air out of the tires to create a physical barrier. I wouldn't think it would be that hard to round up a few dozen junker cars and create a barrier to slow things down, heck you could raid a junkyard and have all kinds of vehicles for this type of purpose. Coupled with tires, sandbags and the bent rod deals we have seen this would have to buy the Ukranians some time for not so much effort.

Would love to hear everyone's thoughts on this tactic or alternatives.

TXCityAggie said:

---

So is there a possible off-ramp here? Is there anything that could be done at this point that would allow Russia to withdraw from Ukraine? I've been racking my brain but can't think of anything that won't look like total Russian failure.

---

None. And Putin has zero incentive to back down. If it's true to EU countries are no longer looking at giving the Ukes those MiGs/Su aircraft it's likely b/c the Russians would have considered it a declaration of war. Europe has done everything but that. Honestly they could start getting drones to the Ukes without it being an issue but MiGs and Su is so visible. Could still happen or they may not publicly acknowledge it.

TXCityAggie said:

---

So is there a possible off-ramp here? Is there anything that could be done at this point that would allow Russia to withdraw from Ukraine? I've been racking my brain but can't think of anything that won't look like total Russian failure.

---

He's gonna sling a nuke

The Fife said:

---

aeroag14 said:

---

aggiehawg said:

---

Rapier108 said:

---

RONA Ag said:

---

Beat40 said:

---

No Spin Ag said:

---

javajaws said:

---

Dilettante said:

---

But Russia won't leave. They will likely accomplish their aims, right? Even if the cost was higher than expected (although I don't think we know what they expected). The region could be relatively stable then, leaving the question of how long we intend to maintain these sanctions.

---

You leave the sanctions in place so long as Putin remains in the Ukraine. It's that simple.

---

This.

---

The part that takes it from simple arithmetic to calculus is the nuclear component. Going to have to walk that line and not push the dangerous animal so far into the corner that he feels the only recourse is to let one fly.

---

We have nuclear deterrents for that. If he launches a nuke so be it. His own people will remove him from office. We can't be afraid to act because of something as trivial as a "will he push the button"

---

It's not letting 1 nuke fly.

It is letting his entire strategic arsenal fly all at once.

---

I seriously doubt his generals would let him do that. Our submarine nuclear arsenal would take them out.

---

The problem, whether correct or incorrect, is that Putin also believes that his submarine nuclear arsenal would take us out.

---

At this point I'm wondering how much of the total arsenal is INOP?

---

So am I. I would imagine the ones on the subs would be the best maintained. But the ones in the silos?

They are using poorly trained conscripts in a major invasion. Their comms are messed up. Their logistics are messed up.

How often would they have test drills for their nuclear arsenal? It's a fair question.

No Spin Ag said:

---

TChaney said:

---

WARNING - VERY GRAPHIC

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

📢Суки! Прошу максимального поширення!!Результат обстрілу Маріуполя!! Рекомендую переглянути до конца! Тварюки, палати вам у пеклі!🤬🤬🤬#FckPutin #StopWar #PutinHitler pic.twitter.com/dlVt2beJBC

— Сергей Нещадим (@nevedimka123) February 28, 2022

---

---

---

WARNING - VERY GRAPHIC
Only watch if you want to ruin the rest of your day.

I'm stopping for a bit.

Mariupol aftermath

EDIT
I was suspicious of this video mainly because of all of the recycled footage
So far it checks out.
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-a8bb96288aaf70f9a7f70e9a4fac8160

---

Mother Effers. All of them.

---

Nobody wants this to escalate, but this is horrific. I understand war is terrible and innocent people die. But indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas cannot be allowed to continue. Sometimes even when you don't go looking for a fight, the fight comes to you. Wrong is wrong. If the EU and UK and US have the ability to put a stop to this and don't do it then we are just as much to blame.

Not to mention Russian officers tend to comply with their orders without thinking about the ramifications outside their personal career and safety. That's why the Russian Lt. Col. that stopped Armageddon in 1983 was such a hero.

They are setting up road blocks with everything you stated.

Russian truck and D-30 howitzer abandoned on the side of the road in Mykolaiv.

Truck is probably carrying ammunition as well. pic.twitter.com/v5wbuhGhIt

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) March 1, 2022

BQ78 said:

---

Not to mention Russian officers tend to comply with their orders without thinking about the ramifications outside their personal career and safety. That's why the Russian Lt. Col. that stopped Armageddon in 1983 was such a hero.

---

That's true, there wasn't a whole lot of thinking going on when they shot down KAL 007.

It's ridiculous that they're threatening to destroy civilization if their invasion of a small neighbor is expelled. It's not like we're talking about invading Russia here. It's literally just the denial of their aggression.

A group willing to threaten mutual destruction over this level of conflict is a problem that must be addressed. How can we back down? It sends the message that threatening annihilation over peanuts gets you what you want. Putin must be deposed or they must be forcefully denied. There are going to be too many people with red buttons in the coming century to send the message that they are the primary negotiating tools.

No sufficiently large group of individuals is willing to burn it all down. Idle threats to do so are worse in the big picture than any dispute with Ukraine.

How long until Putin starts listing off countries who are complicit in war crimes against Russian peacemakers by providing arms?

I Have Spoken said:

---

How long until Putin starts listing off countries who are complicit in war crimes against Russian peacemakers by providing arms?

---

So what if he does?

You are consuming western propaganda. Truth is likely somewhere in the middle.

DTP02 said:

---

BAP Enthusiast said:

---

If you want to see the Russian perspective, this telegram channel is pretty good: https://t.me/intelslava

This one is pretty impartial but they are very much of a pro-nationalism telegram channel that often reports news from a nationalism slant all over the world, they are obviously heavily focused on Ukraine/Russia right now: https://t.me/BellumActaNews

This guy is an American expat living in Kiev so he knows exactly what is happening there, he's been pretty accurate so far: https://t.me/realCRP

This is another nationalist telegram with a focus on geopolitical issues, they are really good as well: https://t.me/CIG_telegram

Telegram has some excellent sources like the above that present angles you won't get many other places. Tons of videos and solid analysis. The Russian one has some propaganda obviously, but is interesting nonetheless. This is, honestly, one of Telegram's major strengths over other locations.

---

Man, I checked out your American ex-pat's channel and he's either bought the Russian propaganda or being paid to propagandize. I'd be skeptical of any source you recommend based on that recommendation.

---

I think he's more of the opinion that Ukraine has no chance at all in this war so that rather dominates his personal worldview. He made this post yesterday:

Quote:

---

The following is a status report of what appears to be happening at this time (2022. 02. 27 at 12:00 noon Kiev time) in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

I am trying to be as realistic as possible. I mean no disrespect or animus to either the Ukrainian side or the Russian side. I am not in any sense questioning the bravery of the soldiers of any nation, nor do I mean to give any offense. I live permanently in Ukraine, I love the Ukrainian people, and my children are Ukrainian citizens. In what I am about to say, I am trying to give a realistic, sober assessment of the current state of play.

The Russians have entered the center of Kharkiv, I know this from eyewitness accounts of people that I know there. There is small arms fighting, but generally light resistance. In the south, Kherson has fallen and the Russian army seems to have captured Zaporozhia. It seems clear that Dnipro will be reached within 3 to 5 days. At this time, Kiev is being surrounded by Russian tanks. There is sporadic small arms fire outside the city, but no big battles.

The Russian strategy seems to be to encircle the cities, while destroying military installations. The vast majority of civilian infrastructure in the areas under attack have been untouched and are functioning normally. It also seems very clear that the Russians have used their older equipment and less experienced soldiers in this initial assault. Very few of the high-tech modern weaponry that the Russians possess are being used in this first push. This would lead one to believe that the Russians want to probe and exhaust Ukrainian defenses before bringing out top-tier men and materiel.

The Russians are being incredibly disciplined insofar as their information management is concerned. The only information coming out of the Russians comes directly from the Ministry of Defense or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Their information so far has been 100% accurate, which I think is a deliberate strategy. There has been a great deal of Ukrainian propaganda that turned out to be complete fantasy, but even after these stories have been proven to be false, people cling to them.

At the current pace of operations, the Russians will completely capture Ukraine within 7 to 14 days. They are winning, and winning decisively. Maps comparing the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 to this current mechanized invasion show that the Russians are outpacing the Americans by a substantial margin. And as I said, they are using their second-tier men and weapons, and they did not use air power to soften Ukraine for several weeks, as the Americans did in 2003. Any claims that the Ukrainians are winning or holding back the Russians is complete fantasy.

This is the current state of play as I perceive it at this time.

Gonzalo Lira
Kiev, Ukraine

---

This has been corroborated by others recently and has been noticed by many who were wondering why the first wave was so weird or why they were untrained.

I just went down the rabbit hole of looking up Russian nuclear capabilities. I want to throw up.

Russian Multiple Launch Rocket Systems landing around Residential Apartment Blocks in the city of Kharkiv earlier tonight, so far this city has been shelled by Rocket Systems almost every night since the Invasion began. pic.twitter.com/C58wxJaOL8

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 1, 2022

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG also referred to as The German Automotive Manufacturer BMW has Officially Announced that they will no longer sell vehicles in the Russian Federation, there are already No BMW Dealerships in Russia only Authorized Dealers who will receive no more cars.

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 1, 2022

BREAKING: UK imposes sanctions on Belarus

— The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) March 1, 2022

Ambushed and Destroyed Russian Convoy that was on the road heading towards the Airport in the Sumy Region, seems like it was most likely destroyed by a Ukrainian Rocket Strike but I'm not entirely sure. pic.twitter.com/TbWmNDv8iW

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 1, 2022

AlaskanAg99 said:

---

I just went down the rabbit hole of looking up Russian nuclear capabilities. I want to throw up.

---

1,550 strategic nuclear warheads.

Yay.

BAP Enthusiast said:

---

DTP02 said:

---

BAP Enthusiast said:

---

If you want to see the Russian perspective, this telegram channel is pretty good: https://t.me/intelslava

This one is pretty impartial but they are very much of a pro-nationalism telegram channel that often reports news from a nationalism slant all over the world, they are obviously heavily focused on Ukraine/Russia right now: https://t.me/BellumActaNews

This guy is an American expat living in Kiev so he knows exactly what is happening there, he's been pretty accurate so far: https://t.me/realCRP

This is another nationalist telegram with a focus on geopolitical issues, they are really good as well: https://t.me/CIG_telegram

Telegram has some excellent sources like the above that present angles you won't get many other places. Tons of videos and solid analysis. The Russian one has some propaganda obviously, but is interesting nonetheless. This is, honestly, one of Telegram's major strengths over other locations.

---

Man, I checked out your American ex-pat's channel and he's either bought the Russian propaganda or being paid to propagandize. I'd be skeptical of any source you recommend based on that recommendation.

---

I think he's more of the opinion that Ukraine has no chance at all in this war so that rather dominates his personal worldview. He made this post yesterday:

Quote:

---

The following is a status report of what appears to be happening at this time (2022. 02. 27 at 12:00 noon Kiev time) in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

I am trying to be as realistic as possible. I mean no disrespect or animus to either the Ukrainian side or the Russian side. I am not in any sense questioning the bravery of the soldiers of any nation, nor do I mean to give any offense. I live permanently in Ukraine, I love the Ukrainian people, and my children are Ukrainian citizens. In what I am about to say, I am trying to give a realistic, sober assessment of the current state of play.

The Russians have entered the center of Kharkiv, I know this from eyewitness accounts of people that I know there. There is small arms fighting, but generally light resistance. In the south, Kherson has fallen and the Russian army seems to have captured Zaporozhia. It seems clear that Dnipro will be reached within 3 to 5 days. At this time, Kiev is being surrounded by Russian tanks. There is sporadic small arms fire outside the city, but no big battles.

The Russian strategy seems to be to encircle the cities, while destroying military installations. The vast majority of civilian infrastructure in the areas under attack have been untouched and are functioning normally. It also seems very clear that the Russians have used their older equipment and less experienced soldiers in this initial assault. Very few of the high-tech modern weaponry that the Russians possess are being used in this first push. This would lead one to believe that the Russians want to probe and exhaust Ukrainian defenses before bringing out top-tier men and materiel.

The Russians are being incredibly disciplined insofar as their information management is concerned. The only information coming out of the Russians comes directly from the Ministry of Defense or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Their information so far has been 100% accurate, which I think is a deliberate strategy. There has been a great deal of Ukrainian propaganda that turned out to be complete fantasy, but even after these stories have been proven to be false, people cling to them.

At the current pace of operations, the Russians will completely capture Ukraine within 7 to 14 days. They are winning, and winning decisively. Maps comparing the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 to this current mechanized invasion show that the Russians are outpacing the Americans by a substantial margin. And as I said, they are using their second-tier men and weapons, and they did not use air power to soften Ukraine for several weeks, as the Americans did in 2003. Any claims that the Ukrainians are winning or holding back the Russians is complete fantasy.

This is the current state of play as I perceive it at this time.

Gonzalo Lira
Kiev, Ukraine

---

This has been corroborated by others recently and has been noticed by many who were wondering why the first wave was so weird or why they were untrained.

---

Why isn't he fighting?

If we allow Russia or China to do as they will over the threat of using strategic nuclear weapons, they will rule the world and us with it. I prefer that they understand Mutually Assured Destruction. Putin, Xi and their comrades need to know we will destroy them. That has to be the case. I doubt any one man can suicide his country. Not all of the top leaders want to commit suicide.

This will help! I hope we give them some F35s too.

Yeah... That sounds like straight propaganda right out of pravda.

Old news and they aren't sending anymore.

aTmAg said:

---

BAP Enthusiast said:

---

DTP02 said:

---

BAP Enthusiast said:

---

If you want to see the Russian perspective, this telegram channel is pretty good: https://t.me/intelslava

This one is pretty impartial but they are very much of a pro-nationalism telegram channel that often reports news from a nationalism slant all over the world, they are obviously heavily focused on Ukraine/Russia right now: https://t.me/BellumActaNews

This guy is an American expat living in Kiev so he knows exactly what is happening there, he's been pretty accurate so far: https://t.me/realCRP

This is another nationalist telegram with a focus on geopolitical issues, they are really good as well: https://t.me/CIG_telegram

Telegram has some excellent sources like the above that present angles you won't get many other places. Tons of videos and solid analysis. The Russian one has some propaganda obviously, but is interesting nonetheless. This is, honestly, one of Telegram's major strengths over other locations.

---

Man, I checked out your American ex-pat's channel and he's either bought the Russian propaganda or being paid to propagandize. I'd be skeptical of any source you recommend based on that recommendation.

---

I think he's more of the opinion that Ukraine has no chance at all in this war so that rather dominates his personal worldview. He made this post yesterday:

Quote:

---

The following is a status report of what appears to be happening at this time (2022. 02. 27 at 12:00 noon Kiev time) in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

I am trying to be as realistic as possible. I mean no disrespect or animus to either the Ukrainian side or the Russian side. I am not in any sense questioning the bravery of the soldiers of any nation, nor do I mean to give any offense. I live permanently in Ukraine, I love the Ukrainian people, and my children are Ukrainian citizens. In what I am about to say, I am trying to give a realistic, sober assessment of the current state of play.

The Russians have entered the center of Kharkiv, I know this from eyewitness accounts of people that I know there. There is small arms fighting, but generally light resistance. In the south, Kherson has fallen and the Russian army seems to have captured Zaporozhia. It seems clear that Dnipro will be reached within 3 to 5 days. At this time, Kiev is being surrounded by Russian tanks. There is sporadic small arms fire outside the city, but no big battles.

The Russian strategy seems to be to encircle the cities, while destroying military installations. The vast majority of civilian infrastructure in the areas under attack have been untouched and are functioning normally. It also seems very clear that the Russians have used their older equipment and less experienced soldiers in this initial assault. Very few of the high-tech modern weaponry that the Russians possess are being used in this first push. This would lead one to believe that the Russians want to probe and exhaust Ukrainian defenses before bringing out top-tier men and materiel.

The Russians are being incredibly disciplined insofar as their information management is concerned. The only information coming out of the Russians comes directly from the Ministry of Defense or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Their information so far has been 100% accurate, which I think is a deliberate strategy. There has been a great deal of Ukrainian propaganda that turned out to be complete fantasy, but even after these stories have been proven to be false, people cling to them.

At the current pace of operations, the Russians will completely capture Ukraine within 7 to 14 days. They are winning, and winning decisively. Maps comparing the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 to this current mechanized invasion show that the Russians are outpacing the Americans by a substantial margin. And as I said, they are using their second-tier men and weapons, and they did not use air power to soften Ukraine for several weeks, as the Americans did in 2003. Any claims that the Ukrainians are winning or holding back the Russians is complete fantasy.

This is the current state of play as I perceive it at this time.

Gonzalo Lira
Kiev, Ukraine

---

This has been corroborated by others recently and has been noticed by many who were wondering why the first wave was so weird or why they were untrained.

---

Why isn't he fighting?

---

He's an expat, probavly figures it isn't his war. I don't know the guy so I have no idea really.

You don't just "give" someone an F-35.

K2-HMFIC said:

---

AlaskanAg99 said:

---

I just went down the rabbit hole of looking up Russian nuclear capabilities. I want to throw up.

---

1,550 strategic nuclear warheads.

Yay.

---

https://outrider.org/nuclear-weapons/interactive/bomb-blast

Mostly looked at ground burst/airburst at the 300kT range, but it's my understand many of the russian nukes are 550kT.

K2-HMFIC said:

---

AlaskanAg99 said:

---

I just went down the rabbit hole of looking up Russian nuclear capabilities. I want to throw up.

---

1,550 strategic nuclear warheads.

Yay.

---

How many have a delivery system, and out of those how many are operable?

Not trying to marginalize the threat; I just doubt they are capable of having but a small fraction of these reach an intended target.

At this point I'm just hoping that either Putin can't handle the shame and kills himself, or a coup happens.

K2-HMFIC said:

---

AlaskanAg99 said:

---

I just went down the rabbit hole of looking up Russian nuclear capabilities. I want to throw up.

---

1,550 strategic nuclear warheads.

Yay.

---

We have way more than enough to destroy them also. It is called MAD.

We can also intercept ICBM' s.

BAP Enthusiast said:

---

aTmAg said:

---

BAP Enthusiast said:

---

DTP02 said:

---

BAP Enthusiast said:

---

If you want to see the Russian perspective, this telegram channel is pretty good: https://t.me/intelslava

This one is pretty impartial but they are very much of a pro-nationalism telegram channel that often reports news from a nationalism slant all over the world, they are obviously heavily focused on Ukraine/Russia right now: https://t.me/BellumActaNews

This guy is an American expat living in Kiev so he knows exactly what is happening there, he's been pretty accurate so far: https://t.me/realCRP

This is another nationalist telegram with a focus on geopolitical issues, they are really good as well: https://t.me/CIG_telegram

Telegram has some excellent sources like the above that present angles you won't get many other places. Tons of videos and solid analysis. The Russian one has some propaganda obviously, but is interesting nonetheless. This is, honestly, one of Telegram's major strengths over other locations.

---

Man, I checked out your American ex-pat's channel and he's either bought the Russian propaganda or being paid to propagandize. I'd be skeptical of any source you recommend based on that recommendation.

---

I think he's more of the opinion that Ukraine has no chance at all in this war so that rather dominates his personal worldview. He made this post yesterday:

Quote:

---

The following is a status report of what appears to be happening at this time (2022. 02. 27 at 12:00 noon Kiev time) in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

I am trying to be as realistic as possible. I mean no disrespect or animus to either the Ukrainian side or the Russian side. I am not in any sense questioning the bravery of the soldiers of any nation, nor do I mean to give any offense. I live permanently in Ukraine, I love the Ukrainian people, and my children are Ukrainian citizens. In what I am about to say, I am trying to give a realistic, sober assessment of the current state of play.

The Russians have entered the center of Kharkiv, I know this from eyewitness accounts of people that I know there. There is small arms fighting, but generally light resistance. In the south, Kherson has fallen and the Russian army seems to have captured Zaporozhia. It seems clear that Dnipro will be reached within 3 to 5 days. At this time, Kiev is being surrounded by Russian tanks. There is sporadic small arms fire outside the city, but no big battles.

The Russian strategy seems to be to encircle the cities, while destroying military installations. The vast majority of civilian infrastructure in the areas under attack have been untouched and are functioning normally. It also seems very clear that the Russians have used their older equipment and less experienced soldiers in this initial assault. Very few of the high-tech modern weaponry that the Russians possess are being used in this first push. This would lead one to believe that the Russians want to probe and exhaust Ukrainian defenses before bringing out top-tier men and materiel.

The Russians are being incredibly disciplined insofar as their information management is concerned. The only information coming out of the Russians comes directly from the Ministry of Defense or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Their information so far has been 100% accurate, which I think is a deliberate strategy. There has been a great deal of Ukrainian propaganda that turned out to be complete fantasy, but even after these stories have been proven to be false, people cling to them.

At the current pace of operations, the Russians will completely capture Ukraine within 7 to 14 days. They are winning, and winning decisively. Maps comparing the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 to this current mechanized invasion show that the Russians are outpacing the Americans by a substantial margin. And as I said, they are using their second-tier men and weapons, and they did not use air power to soften Ukraine for several weeks, as the Americans did in 2003. Any claims that the Ukrainians are winning or holding back the Russians is complete fantasy.

This is the current state of play as I perceive it at this time.

Gonzalo Lira
Kiev, Ukraine

---

This has been corroborated by others recently and has been noticed by many who were wondering why the first wave was so weird or why they were untrained.

---

Why isn't he fighting?

---

He's an expat, probavly figures it isn't his war. I don't know the guy so I have no idea really.

---

You misspelled *****. Women are picking up arms to defend the country they live in. Why shouldn't he?

Why give this jackass any views at all?

The Fife said:

---

K2-HMFIC said:

---

AlaskanAg99 said:

---

I just went down the rabbit hole of looking up Russian nuclear capabilities. I want to throw up.

---

1,550 strategic nuclear warheads.

Yay.

---

How many have a delivery system, and out of those how many are operable?

Not trying to marginalize the threat; I just doubt they are capable of having but a small fraction of these reach an intended target.

---

It doesn't matter if only one gets through and hits DC, New York, or San Francisco.

It's just not worth it.