Before the siege of Vicksburg, circa 1863, Grant's army made a detour into Jackson to destroy the Confederate forces there and prevent them from coming up behind him while his forces were pointed west at Vicksburg. Do you think Putin read Shelby Foote? Or is he winging it at Kiev?

ATX_AG_08 said:

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Red Pear Realty said:

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The #Ukrainian army is ready to meet Kadyrov's thugs pic.twitter.com/SctOP0N9Lq

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) February 26, 2022

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Im just flat out amazed by the Ukes winning mentality. Such bravery against an army that has been so feared historically. It's amazing.

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As is said often on this board- the 48 hour rule. Well actually it might need to be the 48 weeks rule. Lots of propaganda out there.

That said I hope you are right.

Build It said:

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You could be right, how many battle fronts can he be on? Will be interesting to see what happens in Crimea. Lots of nato ships nearby.

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Several and he's facing opposition to the war at home.

Unless Turkey is actively patrolling the Balck Sea or there is British or US sub lurking below the surface, the nearest NATO force is in the Mediterranean or further west. The Harry Truman Carrier Group was in the Mediterranean area but the were set to depart right around the time all this kicked off. Adding to the tense atmosphere, Russia was/is doing exercises off the coast of Syria as well.

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it is a strange war.

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indeed. the middle east was easy for Putin. he could be as savage as he wanted because all he was trying to do was kill terrorists then leave. 'collateral damage' didnt matter to him or his people because he/they didnt gaf about the innocents that were killed because they were muslims. now he wants to control a nation of people who the citizens of Russia identify with...he cant just bomb them into the stone age and ruin their infrastructure.

maybe putin has a tiger by the tail after all?

Ulrich said:

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I think Putin may have misunderstood the polling. Maybe some identify with Russia, speak Russian, or even favor voluntarily joining Russia. That is NOT the same as favoring the armed invasion of their country and being absorbed at gunpoint. I suspect he turned a lot of Eastern Ukrainian pro-Russians against Russia.

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Very much so: "When Putin took Crimea in 2014, he lost Ukraine." "After it declared independence in 1991, Ukraine was divided between an unabashedly pro-Russia segment of its population and a more nationalistic one. But by annexing Crimea and plunging eastern Ukraine into open conflict, Matthews writes, Putin has energized Ukrainian nationalism and fed a growing anti-Russia sentiment. And the math does not help. Putin took millions of pro-Russia Ukrainians in Crimea and Donbas out of the country's political calculus. (Those in Donbas don't vote in Ukrainian elections because the area is too unstable.) As a result, a Ukrainian politician estimated to me that the pro-Russia seats in Ukraine's parliament have shrunk from a plurality to barely 15 percent of the total."

.......and by subsequently declaring the Donbas break-away region to be independent, Putin has permanently diluted pro-Russian political and social influence in Ukraine.

MISTAKE

is there twitter video to support that claim?

the video with the tank is very clear

TX04Aggie said:

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I am beginning to wonder if a lot of these Russian trips didnt have a full understanding of what they were being sent in for. Part of the "patience" may be a wtf moment, they didnt tell us we were taking this place by force, and these people dont want us here…

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that's what I'm thinking too.

some units are not sure if they are supposed to "conquer" the town or occupy it or just pass thru and so forth

If Russia starts raining thermobaric munitions on Kiev, it could create slaughter amongst the Ukrainian civilians packed into the subway tunnels and stations. ON THE WAY

Sentinel-1 SAR-imagery, at 1538z today, shows 5 x unknown ships off western Crimea.

I assess these as probable Black Sea Fleet or FSB Coast Guard ships. pic.twitter.com/qur13F2FOM

— The Lookout (@The_Lookout_N) February 26, 2022

Same pass Sevastopol.

A self propelled crane is alongside a smaller warship, poss a Buyan-M.

Personal theory: This could indicate reloading of SS-N-30 / Kalibr LACMs. pic.twitter.com/T9P6dvuCzk

— The Lookout (@The_Lookout_N) February 26, 2022

If this assessment is correct, I would expect to see more cruise missile attacks.

SPSAg05 said:

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txags92 said:

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W said:

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it is a strange war.

it appears that Russian units have been told to be nice or patient with civilians.

certainly not the way business was done in the past by the red army

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Harder to make a conscripted 18 year old shoot people in cold blood if they don't look like his friends and family and don't speak the same language. That is what makes fighting Ukrainians different than Syrians, afghans, or Chechen. They are being told that these people are Russians who want to be part of Russia, so no surprise they are hesitant to shoot them for resisting.

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This is why, while my heart is with Ukraine and her people, I also feel for these Russian soldiers who are killing and being killed through simply following orders while their hearts (at least to some percentage) almost assuredly disagree with what they're being ordered to do.

This might sound dumb, archaic, shallow and pedantic [/griffin], but what about going to the Kyiv Kinko's and putting together a good ol' leaflet air drop campaign saying, "This is bulls***. You know that it's bulls***. We don't want to kill you and you don't want to kill us. Here's how you can throw down your arms and be assured that you'll be appreciated and well taken care of."?

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This morning on fox they had an interview of the father of one of the Russian POW's. He said he didnt even realize his son was in the Ukraine.

Thermite might do the trick.

According to other reports, they were moved to another location.

I know the rules of the thread and don't want to derail it, but I promise this will just take a sec….

Is it "Ukraine," or "The Ukraine"? Please settle this for me…it's driving me nuts.

Why?

SPSAg05 said:

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I know the rules of the thread and don't want to derail it, but I promise this will just take a sec….

Is it "Ukraine," or "The Ukraine"? Please settle this for me…it's driving me nuts.

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Are you Russian or Ukrainian? Russians would say The.

SPSAg05 said:

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I know the rules of the thread and don't want to derail it, but I promise this will just take a sec….

Is it "Ukraine," or "The Ukraine"? Please settle this for me…it's driving me nuts.

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Ukraine.

We don't say The Germany. The Sweden

I believe Ukraine is the proper term now. The Ukraine referred to the area when it was part of the Soviet Union rather than an independent country.

If you need to catch up

By the way, guys, we do a liveblog of Russian attacks and engagements every day. I'm currently updating today's. https://t.co/8q73H7OFKN

— Igor Kossov (@IgorKossov) February 26, 2022

Here is what I can come up with on the current overall status from Live UAMAP:

• The RU's currently appear to control ~10% of the Ukraine.
• They control areas of the NW with Chernobyl being on the far NE edge. That area is roughly 60 miles long by 35 miles wide. This includes the one large airfield outside of the Kyiv ring road (Gostomel). This appears to be as close to Kyiv as they control (per another poster, airfield destroyed after RU counterattack to retake airport from UKR's).
• The RU's control two other small areas along the border to the North.
• The RU's control areas in the S adjacent to the Crimea
• The breakaway republics still appear to be within their original separatists borders and do not appear to have expanded to the full land mass of those two republics.
• Reports of attacks appear to be continuing from the NE to the Crimea.
• Kyiv is reportedly under attack; but the RU do not appear to be in control.

Critiques or corrections welcome. I put this on the other thread...Unclear to me where the current major thrusts of attacks are coming from.

What you're seeing:
- stinger flies in from behind the su-25 and explodes right in front of the canopy
- su-25 is terrified and shoots every flare/chaff countermeasure he has
- su-25 doesn't crash in video

Unclear how badly pilot is wounded or if the plane later crashes.

— Blueelectron (in solidarity with 🇺🇦) (@Blueelectron4) February 26, 2022

More from Kherson today.

TOS-1A thermobaric MLRS in Tokmak https://t.co/023aVCZsCN

— Michael Kofman (@KofmanMichael) February 26, 2022

TOS-1 seen in the open reportedly in Tokmak, southern Ukraine.

Spaceship said:

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My brother-in-law and his family are in Melitopol which is in southeastern Ukraine. They were under Russian control by lunch time yesterday. They lost power and phone service overnight, but its restored now. There has been street combat in the city and he said quite a few Russian soldiers have been killed. He said the Russians really aren't engaging with the locals and seems they've been directed not to harm locals.

His business windows were blown out and they are boarding them up now with plywood to prevent theft. Yesterday he sent his son to the grocery store and waited in line for hours for one bag of food. They have the option to go to Poland (they are US-duel citizens), but are waiting for things to calm down before they try to cross the entire country to head west. His church has opened up, and is full of women and children being housed and fed.

They have friends all over Europe and have been contacted by people all over the world inviting them to come shelter with them if/when they need. Americans have been sending them money as well, but right now they can't get that through the banking system.

Just some interesting notes from a local perspective. We're praying for their safety and protection.

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I posted this above yesterday but wanted to share it again since there are a lot of new folks in this thread. Melitopol was one of the first towns/cities to go under and remain under Russian control. There is a Russian flag flying over their police department right now and a local cancer clinic bombed by Russians yesterday. The city is very quiet and everyone is hunkered down.

Oh those exposed flanks of BTGs and those juicy fuel and ammunition trucks. Might be that Russia is overextending quite a bit and taking huge risks. https://t.co/7OZJniGufc

— RED2-1 (@Red_2_1) February 26, 2022

Both their condition is stable (not critical) two articles about it here (in danish) https://t.co/kA3ZiuG5jV https://t.co/kA3ZiuG5jV

— anders hansen (@hejtas) February 26, 2022

nhamp07 said:

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Third times the charm?