What is this, a colorized shot of the Western Front in 1918?
No, gentle readers, it's Popasnaya 2022.
A strategic height in the Donbas salient, Chechen and DPR troops spent several weeks taking the town with the help of round the clock bombardment.
The Ukrainians had 8 years to fortify this position and did, turning it into a maze of bunkers, tunnels and trenches. You can imagine the ferocity of the fighting. Similar, perhaps, to Japanese positions in the Pacific but more industrial.
That we've come to this, in the 21st century, when we should be enjoying a "peace dividend" brought about by the fall of the Iron Curtain and the Warsaw Pact is appalling. Equally so are the calls for a hot war against Russia, a nuclear conflict which would destroy us and the planet. But what can I say, people who eagerly kill babies in the womb will do anything.
By way of a parting shot, humanitarian aid and war supplies are being sold in the markets of Odessa. No surprise there, more on this anon.
LSP
Not just the Ukrainians, the whole area has been fortified for decades. WW2 saw huge battles, and the soviet union put a great deal of effort into making it difficult to attack post end of the war.
ReplyDeleteLike it or not, the area comprising of Ukraine has been something of a soft underbelly for Russia. I don't blame them being paranoid about the place.
Good call, Anon. That in mind, I'm amazed the RF attacked OUTNUMBERED. Wow. Serious intel failure, at the very least. I guess they're putting that right now.
ReplyDeleteIn the meanwhile UKR's on it's 3rd mobilization(?). I see mass surrenders in the next few weeks as the Donbas front folds.
#armchairgeneral
Well, my geography is more than just a little off, but it's long been said don't get involved in a land war in Asia and I reckon this one is near enough to rhyme.
ReplyDeleteRamzan Kadyrov, leader of Chechnya, said from his battle HQ in Grozny, that nationalist forces had been defeated in Popasnya and their European weapons destroyed and any survivors had a choice: surrender or die. Kadyrov says he is sending 200 fighters a week to assist Russian forces in Ukraine. Some sites say the Chechens are used as "stabilization forces" after Russian units take urban areas in Ukraine.
ReplyDeleteThe more things change, the more they remain the same... sigh
ReplyDeleteTotally agree, Wild.
ReplyDeleteSgt., I'm no expert but it looks like the Chechens have set up as a training base for volunteers from across the RF. Kind of like an advanced battle school. Well, they can probably teach it because they've been doing it.
ReplyDeleteI'd imagine DPR/LNR reservists are looking after rear areas along with Chechen "police" units? Just guessing.
Ain't that the truth, NFO. And man, I'm no Gandhi but I deplore this loss of young life. In the meanwhile, the Big Guy gets even richer. To say nothing of Raytheon.
ReplyDeleteWhom do I root for? The large corrupt country or the small corrupt country?
ReplyDeleteI favor U.S. neutrality, which is not the same as being an isolationist. The worst thing that ever happened to America was Woodrow Wilson. He set a precedent and got us involved in European wars we should have stayed out of.
I'm inclined to agree, Infidel. And since when was a Russian E Ukraine an existential threat to the US? Asking for a friend.
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