Putin's Invasion of Ukraine

[Hydra009]

I know I shouldn't, I've been looking at some war footage.

A Ukrainian drone followed alongside a walking Russian trooper and the Russian looks at it warily but keeps on walking. I'm not entirely sure he knew it was a Ukrainian drone. Because if he knew the danger, he'd likely try to run and hide than to just take it on the chin.

A couple of Russian vehicles encountered landmines and the cameras don't start rolling until after they took damage, with a couple Russian troops lying on the muddy road in obvious pain/distress while the guy with the phone is arguing with his unit before eventually setting the injured guys in the back of a pickup and setting off, presumably to a medevac point, scrapping the mission. He's clearly not happy with the situation, less happy than the injured guys, which struck me as strange. And they really took their sweet time doing anything for them - standing around arguing while one of their comrades is lying on the road, suffering from injury. No hospitality or basic compassion, just ignore them then throw them in the back when they get a chance. Cold blooded.

Another one was a pair of Russian infantry who got hit by a Ukrainian drone. One of them is badly wounded. His comrade just whips out his rifle, shoots his badly wounded comrade then himself. What struck me was the complete lack of even an attempt at rendering medical care or staying alive.

Another pair of Russian infantry are trapped in the ruined foundation of a home. One shoots himself, then the other shortly after. Definitely saved the Ukrainians some time and effort. Again, very strange behavior - surrender was definitely an option, but they just go straight to suicide like it ain't no thing. It's like they didn't even want to live.

I did see a video where the Russians were much more competent and organized. The Russians drove down a road in an armored vehicle. The Ukrainians stepped out from the foliage and fired manpads at the vehicle. It's not often I see armored vehicles like that in war footage, so I briefly wondered if the Russians were getting new vehicles. Turns out it was archived footage from 2022. That explains everything.

[Hydra009]

Russian soldier leaks information to the Ukrainians, successfully defects to the Ukrainian side

He leaked information about Russian movements for about 80 days, resulting in 150 KIA and 50 wounded. The Russians changed their routes to no avail and had suspicions of a leak but couldn't figure out who was doing it.

Some familiar details:
19-years-old, conscripted for mandatory service despite being enrolled at a university (low recruitment, desperation for warm bodies)
He later signed a contract, expecting to be sent for warrant officer training. Instead, he was deployed to a combat zone (deceptive practices)
assigned as a drone operator without proper training (poor training)
low temperatures and limited supplies (poor logistics)
“meat assault” tactics (poor tactics)

Any of these things would be a serious problem for any military, but all of them together practically guarantee defeat. Especially considering that this guy will literally be fighting his comrades alongside the Russian Volunteer Corps. It's impossible to win when the material needs of the soldiers are not met, there are horrendous casualties, and they don't believe in the cause in the first place.

[Cassia]

These guys figure out right away this is not gonna end well for them, so why not just get it over with. The few who do make it back home are going to be a nightmare to deal with.

[Hydra009]

These guys figure out right away this is not gonna end well for them, so why not just get it over with. The few who do make it back home are going to be a nightmare to deal with.

I guess. But even so, I've played video games where I put more effort to keep my character alive than these guys. It's kinda disturbing how eager they are to check out. No medical care, no surrender, not even much of an attempt to flee. Almost zero survival instincts. It's like the fight has gone out of them. The Ukrainians fighting them say it's like they're zombies - they just keep marching until they're stopped, formed up in infantry lines reminiscent of old Soviet tactics.

IIRC, the North Koreans at least hit the deck and run and give medical care and try to hide or flee, like any normal person would. There are several videos of Russians just getting hit by a Ukrainian drone without any sort of resistance - just standing catatonic and getting hit. It's so strange. And there's that one video of an unharmed Russian soldier committing suicide at even the sight of a drone. Basically cutting in line to get to St Peter.

It's also bizarre how they tend to abandon wounded comrades, often looting them as they're dying. Not to say some Russians don't offer aid/rescue, especially the medics, but it's noticeably less than what one would expect. The Ukrainians make very dangerous rescue attempts under the logic that you trust your comrades with your life and this means you're expected to go above and beyond for your comrade so that they'll go above and beyond for you. This is of course very risky and so there's cold logic to what the Russians are doing, but imho, most people would prefer to serve in an army where they'll come to each other's aid over one where they won't.

[Cassia]

Amongst the poor, rural Russians, there does seems to be a strong cultural belief that dying for "Mother Russia" just might be the best thing one can do. There was a documentary on the topic.

[Hydra009]

Ukraine destroys a missile launcher and damages another in occupied Crimea

It was part of a convoy that was moving to a launch site, so attacking them en route prevented them from launching, potentially saving Ukrainian civilian lives.

Ukraine kills Russian assassin

Ukraine has "liquidated" an alleged hitman working for Russia's military intelligence agency (GRU), arrested more than ten co-conspirators, and foiled a plot to assassinate several high-profile Ukrainian figures, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on March 24.

According to the SBU, the "agent-combat group" was planning to assassinate people including Serhii Sternenko, an advisor to Ukraine's Defense Minister and a prominent activist, as well as Ilya Bogdanov, a Russian national who has been fighting for Ukraine since 2014.

"Thanks to the SBU. I'm fine. Unlike the hitman. Russia should burn," Sternenko wrote on Telegram on March 24. Sternenko was previously targeted by an assassin in May of last year.

The alleged hitman was killed whilst resisting arrest, the SBU said.

He was shot in that assassination attempt last year (the arm, I think) and he was very lucky that the bullet passed straight through and the wound wasn't as life-threatening as gun wounds typically are.

This guy survived 3 assassination attempts prior to the 2022 invasion and 2 during the invasion, though I think the cover was blown for this would-be assassin before any attempt on Sternenko's life. Still, there's certainly a pattern and whatever security detail he gets will surely be put to the test in the future.

[Hydra009]

Hot foot: Ukrainians "donate" fire-prone heated insoles to Russian troops

[Cassia]

Hot foot: Ukrainians "donate" fire-prone heated insoles to Russian troops

Wow. That is some "The Mossad" level stuff right there.

[Hydra009]

Wow. That is some "The Mossad" level stuff right there.

Yep. My favorite is the exploding FPV goggles (which took at least 8 Russian drone operators out of the war), though I quite liked the exploding fiber optic spool as well. The old classic is poisoned food/water/alcohol and that's happened, too. An army marches on its belly, after all - in ancient times as well as modern times, so that remains a vulnerability.

There's also the psychological factor in tainted supplies. Everything may be sabotaged or poisoned. You can never be sure of anything. It's very psychologically draining to the enemy. Plus, they might discard perfectly fine equipment out of fear. Every little bit helps.

[Hydra009]

A Russian woman filmed a video in the car and she's in tears because the cell service is down and the internet is down (I guess it was uploaded later somehow) and how unbearable that is because she can't call her son or pay for items at a grocery store because the terminals can't connect to the internet.

I know she didn't start this war, but Russians largely supported the war at its onset and trying to elicit sympathy from the world when her country is the aggressor and the victimized country endures much worse than this and for a much longer time is a bit tone-deaf. Yes, things are bad in St Petersburg. But it's worse in Mariupol and Bucha and very bad there precisely because things are rotten in Moscow. So, connect the dots - things are bad in St Petersburg because bad men rule Moscow. Fix that problem and all your other problems vanish.