Jayhawk said:

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The Russians are grinding them and adding territory. The Ukrainian counterattacks have been localized and have yet to really threaten any significant number of Russian troops with encirclement. My uninformed impression is that the Ukrainians should be okay on gear, weapons, and ammo thanks to western assistance, but trained soldiers formed into cohesive and effective combat formations may become a more difficult commodity to replace as this thing grinds on. The Russian Army is incompetent, just as it has always been pretty much since there has been a Russian army, but they can still deliver an enormous amount of pain drawn out over time. The Ukrainians' fighting spirit may not break.. but their EU backers, particularly the Germans, French, and to a lesser extent the Italians, I would be much less confident of. The old bear might be able to steamroll its way into a fait accompli in the Donbas, perhaps trade back Kherson as leverage etc. for some kind of negotiated settlement that the Euros will try and force upon Zelensky .. particularly if there is a global equities collapse and LNG remains sky high heading into the winter...

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Three Chinese banks have already rejected Russia's requests to start a new payment system, analysts believe China wants Russia to be heavily damaged so as to devour it

— Anonymous Operations (@AnonOpsSE) May 12, 2022

BattleGrackle said:

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I don't doubt it. Wouldn't It will be funny when Russia turns to Europe for relief from China.

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Pro-Russian seperatists using old wire-guided missile to blow up an OSCE camera tower, miss, with wire getting caught on the tower 😂

Never seen anything like it in all these years of watching wire guided ATGMs. pic.twitter.com/9Fw2H1QBM3

— Gissur Simonarson 🇮🇸🇺🇦🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (@GissiSim) May 12, 2022

Jayhawk said:

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The Russians are grinding them and adding territory. The Ukrainian counterattacks have been localized and have yet to really threaten any significant number of Russian troops with encirclement. My uninformed impression is that the Ukrainians should be okay on gear, weapons, and ammo thanks to western assistance, but trained soldiers formed into cohesive and effective combat formations may become a more difficult commodity to replace as this thing grinds on. The Russian Army is incompetent, just as it has always been pretty much since there has been a Russian army, but they can still deliver an enormous amount of pain drawn out over time. The Ukrainians' fighting spirit may not break.. but their EU backers, particularly the Germans, French, and to a lesser extent the Italians, I would be much less confident of. The old bear might be able to steamroll its way into a fait accompli in the Donbas..

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This #Russian lost her husband in #Ukraine, and all she got is 5,000 rubles. $72, rounding up.

The cost of #Russian life is plummeting. Just a couple of weeks ago it was 10,000 rubles.

JFC. pic.twitter.com/XwgVP3iu0d

— Canadian Ukrainian Volunteer 🇺🇦🇨🇦✊🏻 (@CanadianUkrain1) May 10, 2022

He was from the Ukraine’s Border Guard Service. She was from Azov. They got married at #Azovstal on may 5. In three days he died. She says their rings made of foil were ideal. They were happy. She will love him forever. Unbearable. pic.twitter.com/ywdP8AAbNs

— Olena Tregub (@OTregub) May 11, 2022

Savelii, 10 years old, at the grave of his father Ihor, who died defending the city of #Irpin.#RussianWarCrimes pic.twitter.com/kFmP0w8Rpu

— UkraineWorld (@ukraine_world) May 2, 2022

A story of Tamara, who lost her husband in Mariupol due to the Russian invasion. From a Facebook post by Tamara Yanina. A must-read 1/9 pic.twitter.com/gXTVSrM4Bd

— UkraineWorld (@ukraine_world) May 12, 2022

Quote:

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"Today, I got a call and was told that my husband had died. They said that his body is there, but they can't say when it will be brought to me because Mariupol is completely blocked. I won't believe it until I see him in the coffin", she says. 2/9

"My world was first shattered when Lyosha decided to return to serve with Azov. We lived together as a family for only a year and a half, our child was one year old, and we were given an apartment from the city: live and be happy, man," Tamara continues. 3/9

But no. Her husband was drawn back to the war, to his brothers. There was a thirst for revenge for lost friends. She saw that nothing she had could keep him: not their child, not an apartment, not her love, nothing. 4/9

And Tamara fell into the abyss. Her nest, her family, her world - everything fell apart into small pieces. Being the wife of a soldier is a very difficult task. You are more worried without a husband than with. You have constant anxiety for his life. 5/9

But he couldn't not go his own way anymore. His appointment called him. And it would be much worse for him in the rear than there in Mariupol - she knew that for sure. 6/9

And so, on April 9, when she received a call from the Azov Patronage Service, Tamara's world collapsed for the second time. And then it seemed to her that it was final. There was no need to collapse anymore. She is Mariupol: everything has been desecrated and burned down. 7/9

She walks around the city, eats cakes, laughs at her son, meets a friend, and has even ordered a door to the bathroom, but inside she is Mariupol. 8/9

"My wish now is one thing: to bring my husband's body to me. That's all, my love, your hell is over. I hope you are not in pain anymore, you are warm, quiet and calm. And my hell is just beginning…" 9/9

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