Sanctions against Russia

[onetrack]

What is making me wonder is, what have all these conscripts been doing, before they were conscripted? Did they have jobs, or are they just from peasant families and have been living a subsistence existence on a plot of land?

 

If 300,000 men are being called away from their civvy jobs, who's going to do their work, while they're in the military? And the major additional wages bill for those 300,000 men must be astronomical, and cutting into a lot of Govt spending elsewhere. The till must be running hot on Russian Govt outgoings.

[willedoo]

The time of day the Su-34 hit the building would increase the casualty numbers as a lot of people would be in the building. A lot of the attacks on Kiev have been during the day when people are away at work and kids in school.

 

In the video you can see the pilot's life preserver has inflated. There's no mention of the second pilot.

 

https://twitter.com/TpyxaNews/status/1582071748203147265

Edited October 18, 2022 by willedoo

[facthunter]

They get a ration of camp pie and no assurance the rent will be paid or other bills met. One bloke was apparently an Aeroflot Co pilot... Nev

[willedoo]

3 minutes ago, facthunter said:

They get a ration of camp pie and no assurance the rent will be paid or other bills met. One bloke was apparently an Aeroflot Co pilot... Nev

It's no wonder the bloke running it went too close to a window.

[facthunter]

This would be comical IF it wasn't really happening and real people dying. How much longer can this FARCE last?  Nev

[willedoo]

3 minutes ago, facthunter said:

How much longer can this FARCE last?  Nev

I recon until Putin falls out a window. Otherwise, I could see him losing Crimea and still trying to hold on to whatever piece of the Donbass he can, with whatever forces he has left. He doesn't know how to lose, and that can only end one way.

[onetrack]

It will go on for a surprisingly long time, unfortunately, Nev. There are rumours that Putin is easing off a little for the coming Winter, but is planning a huge push against Ukraine in the Spring of 2023.

[facthunter]

Bit like TRUMP isn't he in  a few respects. .  I mean No one has hair and make up like the Don, but they are both  NUTS that threaten the Planet.. Nev

Edited October 18, 2022 by facthunter

[willedoo]

If people like Musk had their way and there was a negotiated settlement giving Putin some of what he wants, he would remain in power. The longer the war goes on without negotiation, the higher the chance that the Kremlin regime will fall apart. Keeping the war going is the only way to get rid of Putin and end the madness.

 

It's a high price for Ukraine to pay, but it's the only way to get rid of that boil on their backside.

Edited October 18, 2022 by willedoo

[rgmwa]

23 minutes ago, facthunter said:

On a TRAINING Flight?. The crew ejected so the truth will come out. Ha Ha. Nev

I think they will soon find themselves in the front line in Ukraine.

[willedoo]

Video of the Su-34 from another angle. A lot of explosions.

 

https://twitter.com/Faytuks/status/1582036080819249153

[kgwilson]

Part of the reason for the low casualty numbers in attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities is that they have been being attacked since February. They have a very good defence system that they have been honing since February and they are well drilled and disciplined. When the air raid sirens go off most people heed the warnings and head for the shelters. Most apartment buildings have cellars and the subway system is set up to shelter people.

 

They know missiles are coming from their observation and radar so the targets are obvious from the direction of travel. The sirens go off & people get out. With the Drones there is a lot more time but they fly low and many are destroyed by small arms fire. They have a Chinese made air cooled 4 cylinder VW inspired boxer engine & fly at about 180 knots. Their slow pace gives residents plenty of time to get to shelters.

 

In contrast the SU34 was an accident & there was no warning, it was full of fuel so there was a massive fireball

 

 

[willedoo]

This is a clip of that Su-34 hitting the building. You can see the explosion of the ejection seats a couple of seconds before it hits.

 

https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1582053654034493443

[nomadpete]

Does the fuel tank of a SU34 equal a 500kg missile when it hits a block of flats?

[willedoo]

3 minutes ago, nomadpete said:

Does the fuel tank of a SU34 equal a 500kg missile when it hits a block of flats?

It's a bit above my pay grade to figure that one out. It supposedly had an engine out on takeoff, so could have had a full fuel load which is around twelve tonne. In the video, there's a second big flash after the initial one. Other videos show smaller secondary explosions as the munitions cooked off.

 

I read where 20% of the produced Su-34's have been lost so far. That equates to around 1.5 billion USD.

[willedoo]

The damage to the Kerch Bridge is going to be a big headache for Putler for some time. The announced completion date of the repairs is July next year. At this stage, it's not known how much damage was done to the rail spans by the fires, or whether the spans will have to be replaced. Trains are crossing, but are very limited in weight. The biggest problem is that winter is just around the corner.

 

For the road bridge, even if they could manufacture the new spans by the end of the year, they will most likely need sea access to do the construction work. Ice floes will normally start forming next month and would reach the Strait by December. If it's a bad winter, the Strait could be solid ice until next March. Even with the use of icebreakers, the ferries won't be able to keep up. Since the bridge opened, there's nowhere near as many ferries as there used to be, and statistically there's nine or ten days per month when the winds are too high for them to run.

 

Putler would be totally stuffed if a ATACMS strike completely knocked out the road and rail bridge now. With winter coming on, there's a good chance he would lose Crimea with that scenario. He could do everyone a favour and just quit now. But he won't; too much ego for that.

[nomadpete]

I point out that all the munitians that went up when the TU34 crashed, Would have gone up later on Ukraine soil. So my point was, all that explosive force shoiluld have caused many casualties later anyway. And the same for every successful To34 takeoff.

 

I expect the pilot will be jailes as a trerrorist.Poor buggah.

[willedoo]

This is the runway they took off from. An accident waiting to happen with fully loaded warplanes taking off over the town.

 

I had another close look at the video of one of the pilots who had landed in a nearby street. The ALSE crew will be looking at his gear, no doubt, as the dinghy didn't deploy. As the bloke filming with his camera is walking toward the pilot, you can see the survival pack and inflatable radio kit lying on the street, but halfway between them and the pilot should be an inflated dinghy. You can see a dark object connected to the lanyard where the dinghy should be, which could be the undeployed dinghy pack.

 

It could have been a faulty CO2 cylinder, or a static line and pin not connected correctly. Either way, a problem that could be fatal if ejecting into water. The only other odd thing was the pilots life preserver was deployed. They are an underarm type where banana shaped small pontoons inflate under each arm. One is under his right arm and the other one is under his right leg. He might have had a crook back as he wasn't trying to get up, so it's possible he inflated them to help sit himself up a bit, then unfastened the life preserver harness allowing the left one to end up under his leg.

 

 

[nomadpete]

Confusing, to me. Will, it seems that the safety mechanisms didn't work too well when put to the test.

 

BTW did the other crew member get out?

[willedoo]

4 minutes ago, nomadpete said:

Confusing, to me. Will, it seems that the safety mechanisms didn't work too well when put to the test.

 

BTW did the other crew member get out?

It was reported that both ejected, but I haven't heard how the other pilot went. A lot of obstacles to hit coming down in town like that. They're a steerable chute, but in the heat of the moment and low altitude like that, it would be mainly luck staying away from power lines, light poles etc..

 

33 minutes ago, nomadpete said:

Confusing, to me. Will,

This photo shows how the safety gear normally deploys. At the bottom of the lanyard is the survival pack. Beside that, the orange pointy thing is the Komar-2M floating radio set. The base of it holds a hand held type VHF radio and battery, and a small CO2 bottle which inflates the float. The pointy bit has the antenna inside it. They call it a Kulikov antenna after it's designer. It has a wire cable in the centre of a series of metal segments a bit like chain links. An automatically activated lever tensions the cable and turns it from a floppy thing to an erect thing.

 

When ditching in water, the pilot would release the parachute riser locks about ten feet above water. That releases the chute from his chute harness so he doesn't drown under the chute. Then he inflates the life preserver by pulling on the two inflation toggles, grabs the lanyard and pulls the dingy to himself. After climbing into the dinghy, he pulls on the remaining section of the lanyard to pull in the floating radio beacon and survival pack. That's in a perfect world where everything goes according to plan.

 

The radio has three modes and by default is set to emergency locating beacon transmission. It starts transmitting while in the air, as soon as it is released from the seat pack and deployed. The other two modes allow them to talk to base, or to use it as a two way radio to communicate with rescue helicopters or boats. The radio connects to the helmet and uses it's headset.

 

[willedoo]

Amazing spirit the Ukrainians have after nearly eight months of war. It's incomparable to Putler's rabble. The Russian troops are lucky if they have a pair of socks.

 

https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1582670358577938432

[Jerry_Atrick]

Imagine the morale boost to the troops that receive them.

 

(BTW, I had a stepmother for a couple of years who was Lavtian.. she could cook up a stuffed cabbage!)

[onetrack]

The community spirit and cohesiveness of the Ukrainians is amazing. It's sad to see, that typical of army invasions, the peasants are the ones suffering the greatest losses.

Most already had bugger all, and now they've got even less. I don't know how a lot of these older peasants are going to survive through this coming Winter.

 

 

 

[red750]

MSN News.

 

A prominent Russian attorney is weighing in on President Vladimir Putin's alleged concerns about the seemingly out-of-control state of the invasion of Ukraine.

 

During a recent interview with Newsweek, Mark Feygin —a former deputy in Russia's Federal Assembly— laid out his perspective on the war and how Putin "doesn't control" what is transpiring.

 

According to Feygin, this may be the first time in Putin's position of power that his future is uncertain. "This is the first time when his future is not defined by himself," Feygin said.

 

The uncertainty and instability of Putin's military regime have left him more apprehensive and isolated. "He's entering the eighth decade of his life, and his psychological condition is not good. He is somewhat paranoid right now, and he sees or expects that his own inner circle, his own people, may rejoice to a certain degree that these failures are happening to him."

 

"He sees enemies everywhere, and his condition is not improving. He sees that it's a definite threat to his political future."

[willedoo]

The war has brought Ukraine together and is tearing Russia apart. It's Putin's dumbest plan ever.