Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

The fundamental promise of conservatism all over the world is a return to an idealized past that never existed.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

Innocent people don’t delay justice.

Let there be snark.

I’m more Christian than these people and I’m an atheist.

It’s a doggy dog world.

Donald Trump, welcome to your everything, everywhere, all at once.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Hi god, it’s us. Thanks a heap, you’re having a great week and it’s only Thursday!

Somebody needs to explain to DeSantis that nobody needs to do anything to make him look bad.

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Every one of the “Roberts Six” lied to get on the court.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” is supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

Found liable for massive fraud, is required to post a massive bond, gets a break, then files a *fraudulent* bond!

It’s not hopeless, and we’re not helpless.

Accused of treason; bitches about the ratings. I am in awe.

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

“I never thought they’d lock HIM up,” sobbed a distraught member of the Lock Her Up Party.

You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / War for Ukraine Day 560: Russia Newest War Crime – an Attack on Civilian Targets in Kostyantynivka

War for Ukraine Day 560: Russia Newest War Crime – an Attack on Civilian Targets in Kostyantynivka

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(Image by NEIVANMADE)

A quick housekeeping note: Whether it is intentional or not, Twitter/X has begun making quote tweets of tweets by the Ukrainian MOD appear as unavailable in the quote tweet unless you hit the accompanying link. That clicks you through to the tweet. Then when you click back to the quote tweet, the quoted tweet from the MOD appears. Again, I don’t know if this is intentional. Unfortunately, until or unless more of the news and other information about Ukraine moves to another platform and we are able to embed from that platform, we’re kind of stuck using tweets here at the mothership. If I continue to have more time I’m intending to move to screen grabbing the tweets rather than embedding them into the posts.

The Russian targeted an outdoor market in Kostyantynivka today. Here’s the butcher’s bill:

The rescue efforts in Kostyantynivka, Donetsk region, have been concluded after a russian S-300 ballistic missile hit an outdoor market. The russian terrorists planned the attack to take place while the market was at its busiest. 17 civilians were killed (including a child) and 34 were injured. Chechnya, Syria, and now Ukraine… Terrorist attacks against civilians are the kremlin’s preferred approach. We must put a stop to this evil in Ukraine so that it does not spread.

📷Evgeniy Maloletka

In the early morning the Russians also attacked a number of other Ukrainian targets:

Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.

Every manifestation of the world’s consolidation really helps save lives – address of President of Ukraine

6 September 2023 – 23:31

Dear Ukrainians!

Today was a difficult day. As of now, over 30 people have been wounded in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, after the attack by Russian terrorists. 16 people have been killed. My condolences to all who lost their loved ones! All services were working at the scene, clearing the rubble and rescuing people.

I am grateful to everyone in the world who condemned this latest manifestation of Russian evil and supports Ukraine, our people. And it is very important that the response to Russian terror was even greater consolidation of the world. Every manifestation of such consolidation really helps save lives.

Today, in Ukraine, in Kyiv, there are several important international events. Visits of partners. Denmark – Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. The United States – Secretary of State Blinken. The First Ladies and Gentlemen of the partner states who participated in this year’s Summit – and this is the third Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen – dedicated to the extremely important and sensitive topic of how we are going through this war, how our hearts and souls are experiencing the war. Therefore, how to overcome the pain of war. Mental health, the mental resilience of people, it is something that requires work just as much as any other manifestation of our resilience.

Today, I also addressed the leaders of the Summit of the Three Seas Initiative, a large region that is one of the sources of European strength. The Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, and the Adriatic Sea – all the countries in our part of Europe. The Summit took place in Romania. I called on all our partners, our neighbors to continue to preserve unity in Europe.

On this day, we have new defense agreements. New political and humanitarian agreements. We are also preparing new international communications to make this week more active from the perspective of our foreign policy work. So that our soldiers, all our people feel more strengthened.

I thank everyone who helps and will help! Thank you to all whose strength is Ukrainian!

Glory to Ukraine!

The transition at the Ministry of Defense seems to be going well.

Today I completed my tenure as the Minister of Defense of Ukraine.
I’m grateful to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy @ZelenskyyUa, who proposed my candidacy for this office, and to our Parliament, @verkhovna_rada which confirmed it 22 months ago. I’m grateful to my colleagues in the Government of Ukraine @Kabmin_UA and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal @Denys_Shmyhal
I appreciate the support from the defense ministers of our partner states, as well from as my colleagues in the EU and NATO.
I want to thank the team at the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine for our joint achievements.
I’m proud to have worked with @CinC_AFU Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
It was an honor to work for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which are defending all of us.

My heartfelt congratulations to my colleague Rustem Umerov @rustem_umerov on his appointment as the Minister of Defense of Ukraine.
I’ve known Rustem for a long time and I believe he is a great fit for this position.
The challenges are many, but such are the times in which we live. Through our strength and determination we will win this war.
Unity is the key to our victory.
Glory to Ukraine!
🇺🇦✌️

Minister @rustem_umerov:
For me, this war did not begin in 2022, and not even in 2014. For my family and the Crimean Tatar people, the war with russia began several centuries ago, when moscow first occupied my native Crimea. I was born after my family had been deported, and as a child lived through the hardships brought about by russian colonialism, which attempted to make indigenous Crimean Tatar people feel as though they were aliens on their own land. They did not succeed back then, and they will never succeed. Our main goal today is to win the war.

The Biden administration has announced more military aid for Ukraine:

RELEASE
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 6, 2023

Today, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced additional security assistance to meet Ukraine’s critical security and defense needs. This announcement is the Biden Administration’s forty-sixth tranche of equipment to be provided from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021. This package includes: additional air defense equipment; artillery munitions; anti-tank weapons, including depleted uranium rounds for previously committed Abrams tanks; and other equipment to help Ukraine counter Russia’s ongoing war of aggression.

The capabilities in this package, valued at up to $175 million, include:

  • Equipment to support Ukraine’s air defense systems;
  • Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
  • 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds;
  • 81mm mortars systems and rounds;
  • 120mm depleted uranium tank ammunition for Abrams tanks;
  • Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles;
  • Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems;
  • Over 3 million rounds of small arms ammunition;
  • Tactical air navigation systems;
  • Tactical secure communications systems and support equipment;
  • Demolitions munitions for obstacle clearing; and
  • Spare parts, maintenance, and other field equipment.
  • This security assistance package will utilize assistance previously authorized under Presidential

Drawdown Authority (PDA) for Ukraine that remained after the PDA revaluation process concluded in June.

The United States will continue to work with its Allies and partners to provide Ukraine with capabilities to meet its immediate battlefield needs and longer-term security assistance requirements.

Kyiv:

Mariupol:

 

For you acquisitions and logistics enthusiasts:

This topic is rarely discussed, but I feel it’s important to briefly talk about it. There’s a significant focus on advanced weapons like ATACMS or F16, which are expected to reshape the battlefield.

While I don’t dispute the significance of these weapons, I believe the constant buzz around “game changers” sometimes overshadows the critical need for simpler, yet vital resources. These include medevac vehicles, basic IFVs, armored vehicles like the M113, infantry mortars, ammunition for them, artillery, medical kits, stabilization equipment, MANPADs, and drones.

The reality is that Ukrainian volunteers are tirelessly raising funds almost every day to purchase old, unarmored Toyotas in Europe just to secure one vehicle per company or even battalion for evacuating the wounded from the battlefield.

In active combat scenarios, it’s entirely possible to lose multiple drones at once, which is why you often see daily fundraisers for them.

Numerous frontline units require basic armored vehicles for transportation and fire support. Acquiring these might not be as glamorous as boasting about Abrams tanks or F16s, but their importance is no less significant.

Unfortunately, Ukraine is in a serious need of a significant amount of “essential vehicles”, and not only in the Southern front. Ukrainians are engaged in constant battles across the entire frontline, with particularly intense combat in areas like Bakhmut, Kreminna, and Kupiansk.

In a theater of war heavily influenced by artillery, landmines, and loitering munitions, the rate of equipment loss is far greater than many people realize. This is precisely why I’ve wrote this text, in an attempt to shed light on this pressing issue.

While I may not have the power to resolve this issue, I urge supporters of Ukraine not to disregard fundraisers for drones or evacuation vehicles, as they are undeniably crucial. We shouldn’t forget about essential supplies while chasing bigger goals like ATACMS.

I agree with Tatarigami. As I wrote a couple of weeks back, the advantage of the F-16s and other advanced weapons systems and armaments is in their deterrent effect. Specifically tactical deterrence. Providing these types of weapons to the Ukrainians gives them a plus up. Having them means that the Russians have to keep their equivalents farther back from the lines, relieving pressure on the Ukrainian forces and allowing them to do more with the less advanced weapons systems and armaments. This does not mean that by providing F-16s and other advanced weapons systems that the US and the coalition it has built to support Ukraine can skimp on the ordnance that must be used every day.

And here’s some bonus logistics and acquisitions reporting from The Economist‘s Shashank Joshi:

Last night in comments, Chetan Murthy brought this long assessment of the training the Ukrainian military is getting that was posted by a Ukrainian combat veteran who now supplies drones to the Ukrainian military.

My thoughts regarding the issues reported by the @KyivIndependent article about the evaluation of NATO training and the 32nd Mechanized Brigade.

Please consider this text as a supplementary piece interjected with opinions – my own and those I spoke to in the field.

I got in touch with not only the 32nd but also the 92nd Mechanized Brigade. The 92nd fought alongside the 32nd and can provide unique insight, as they are experienced and saw firsthand the schism between theory and practice.

Our new infantry brigade did a heroic job in the given circumstances: limited time, resources, and ammunition. My conversations with everyone outside of the 32nd were marked with gratitude, as nobody appreciates people willing to do the job of infantry more than infantry.

Don’t doom over this text. My effort is to give another small input into making Western training more effective.

Let me also point out that when dealing with losses, emotions run high, and there is an opening for toxicity to seep in. The disconnect between expectations set by the training and the reality of the Ukrainian battlefield can be explained better with a lack of communication at the higher level than with “Western arrogance”. It can still get you angry, but you would be a fool to escape into a simple narrative that relies on a lack of intelligence or empathy. You can not expect Western militaries to be perfectly in tune with the requirements of the Ukrainian battlefield at the institutional level when our own institutions run into similar problems with less distance to the front. If you think Ukrainian training is perfect, I have an illegal bridge to sell you.

You can watch the videos of Western instructors saying farewell to Ukrainian recruits anytime. Twitter replies made by armchair generals do not represent them. I think they very much care.

Background:

The 32nd Mechanized Brigade was formed at the beginning of 2023 and partially equipped with Western equipment with the core of its mechanized infantry utilizing the American M113 armored personnel carrier.
Its infantry battalions underwent training in the spring of 2023 in a NATO country. After the return to Ukraine, the brigade received equipment and ammunition and was fully staffed. During the summer, the 32nd brigade was deployed alongside the 92nd brigade, which had been fighting for the past nine months in the Svatove axis in the northeast of Ukraine.

The deployment quickly became problematic and resulted in heavy casualties, eventually forcing the command to reconsider.

The training:

I’ve spoken to one of the sergeants in the brigade with the call sign “Nestor” about the training they received abroad.

Overall, the training included basic infantry, reconnaissance, and assault tactics.

Nestor said the most interesting and useful part was the reconnaissance training. “We learned how to get close to the enemy and build secure observation posts. It was essential.” They also learned how to adjust artillery and navigation. “Navigation was useful; spotting was interesting, but it was not particularly useful on the battlefield so far.”

However, his overall verdict of the training was mixed: “It was like the instructors were in a vacuum. We received training in infantry tactics, while this war is a war of artillery and drones.”.

On one occasion, Nestor’s commander asked if trainers would at least consider the presence of drones on the battlefield. The answer was a damning “No.”.
“You didn’t take your drones with you, and the only drone we have available is DJI Phantom 4, but we can’t even use it for bureaucratic reasons.” he recalls them saying. So they continued the training as is.

Western-provided training fell short of considering current realities on the battlefield. The brigade’s first deployment in Ukraine was to hold the defense in the Svatove direction. However, Nestor commented: “Our battalion received zero defensive combat training. It was all assault oriented.”

On a positive note, the sergeant says that our infantry learned to move and storm buildings and trenches. “If you consider this basic infantry training, it was good.” The infantry companies spend seven days practicing assault combined arms operations, storming different objectives. One day, it was a small town. Another day, it was an enemy trench. “We went through swamps, mud, and cold nights. Once, our instructor said that living through it on the battlefield would be easier if we experienced these conditions now. He was right.”

But the companies received too little training on surviving the battlefield: “There was no camouflage training. The infantry didn’t learn how to conceal positions, build bunkers, and no defensive combat training.”

In the end, Nestor adds that one of the things that they needed was EOD awareness and training. “You must understand the battlefield is littered with booby traps, mines, and explosive ordinance. We knew it before the deployment. Everyone in Ukraine knows it. We asked trainers if we could get any training on the topic.” But for some reason, the trainers refused to even discuss it. It was a taboo. “We regret the lack of EOD training specifically. It could have saved lives.”

The deployment:

After the training in Germany by a NATO country was complete, and after a short period in Ukraine, they were sent to reinforce Svatove direction.

Problems appeared immediately. Nestor’s battalion was deployed shoulder to shoulder with one of the battalions of the 92nd brigade. The 92nd brigade soldier with the call sign “Zero” explains, “It appears that they were trained on another planet. What was obvious to us was a terra incognito for them.” He continues with a story of one of their first encounters with 32nd infantry: “We were driving 15km from the front line, and I noticed a military Ural (truck), with a full platoon clustered around near one of the small local grocery stores. They acted like they didn’t know it was a war zone. We had to stop and tell them that ZALA (russian) drone was reported around. The platoon commander did not know the enemy had such capabilities.”.

A grave mistake in NATO training was that a company commander stayed in the trenches with the company. While it sounds heroic and may work when facing a poorly equipped enemy, russia is well-equipped and has hundreds of drones. This costly mistake was corrected after they lost a couple of positions. “The company commander has to have the eyes in the sky. He has to have his own drone stream and communicate with platoon or group commanders.” – It was a costly lesson for Nazar’s unit; “It cost us lives.”

I asked why a company commander couldn’t stay in the trench. My friend from the 92nd Brigade explained that when the company commander is in the trench, he becomes another link in the chain of command: “Please understand controlling 100 soldiers in combat is a hard task. The higher-level commander watches a drone stream and makes decisions. He gives an order to the company commander over the radio. The company commander has to understand exactly what is going on to make decisions and pass orders to the platoons. For that, you need to observe the battlefield from the top. Try sitting under tank shelling and yelling over the radio while being yelled over the radio yourself. It is much more efficient when the company commander has his own command and control room with drone streams coming in. He can make calm and weighed decisions looking at the battlefield instead of listening to what is happening, and it is no longer a game of telephone.”

“In the current battlefield, even the group or a platoon commander has to have a tablet with our special map application to be effective, and you can not rely on a stupid enemy anymore. They evolved.” summarizes Nestor, “We knew none of that, and no one could share the experience and knowledge with us. Now we are smarter, but the price was terrible.”

Another capability that was undertrained might surprise: driving. It might sound absurd to some, but those familiar with the battlefield know how hazardous and costly even a simple drive toward or away from the front can be. Our drivers must be more experienced in driving at night; driving during the day is too dangerous. Training for night driving operations is critical to avoid casualties and the loss of valuable equipment. It is also emblematic: It may not seem a top priority for NATO training personnel with a shortened schedule. However, its importance must be communicated just like any other discrepancy mentioned here and elsewhere.

Conclusion:

The disconnect of the NATO training leads to a brigade being unprepared on the battlefield. Specifically, the lack of UAV, defensive, mine awareness, and EOD training has led to unnecessary casualties on the battlefield.

To avoid a similar situation in the future, Ukraine needs to treat NATO training as basic infantry training instead of a complete cycle of brigade/battalion-level preparation. We need to perform post-training exercises and adapt the units to the newest technologies and tactics on the battlefield.

Ultimately, the brigade has gained enough experience to be effective, but the cost could have been much smaller.

Here’s the full text of Raver’s tweet above:

\100% Constantine, no one knows the real conditions better than the army actually fighting in them. I don’t know if you read my essay, but I said it takes 2 years to take a horde of civilians and turn them into an elite army. No way to rush it, cutting corners costs lives.

For the TL:DR crowd here is the gold,

To avoid a similar situation in the future, Ukraine needs to treat NATO training as basic infantry training instead of a complete cycle of brigade/battalion-level preparation. We need to perform post-training exercises and adapt the units to the newest technologies and tactics on the battlefield.

Here is The Kyiv Independent reporting that Constantine is referring to:

KHARKIV OBLAST – Fighting throughout Ukraine is grueling, even for hardened veterans. For inexperienced troops recently plucked from civilian life, it’s something else altogether.

Ihor, a former lawyer, recalls that day at the start of August when the Russians attacked the cratered ruins of Novoselivka in Kharkiv Oblast, which his 1st company was defending.

The attack was well-prepared. The Russian troops scouted out the position with their seemingly limitless drones. When they struck, their mortars zeroed in on what cover remained. A shell dropped into the living room of the house Ihor and a fellow soldier were occupying. They survived because they happened to be in the hall.

Enemy artillery established fire control over the only roads leading to the village, cutting off medevac and reinforcements.

This left Ihor’s unit, with their three weeks of NATO basic training and two months’ deployment in Kharkiv Oblast, one-on-one with professional Russian troops with superior firepower.

The casualties were only recovered by nightfall. An undisclosed number didn’t make it, including some of Ihor’s friends from the unit.

“I lost brothers in arms there,” he said. “I haven’t been back since, and I don’t want to go back. What I went through there is just chaos.”

Ihor’s company is part of the 32nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, one of the new brigades that Ukraine began staffing at the start of the year. It’s also one of the few brigades that are set to hold the northeastern front, while the majority of troops and equipment is stationed on the southern front where Ukraine’s slowly pushing forward.

While it’s doing its duty defending Russia’s push in Kharkiv Oblast, lack of experience and the limits of training and equipment made for a harrowing first two months in the field.

Before January, the 32nd didn’t exist, and the vast majority of its soldiers were civilians who had never shot anyone. Many did not want to be in the army.

This brigade is deployed to Kharkiv Oblast, over an hour east of Kupiansk — where Russian forces have conducted a big push over the past month and a half. Russian forces were alleged to have up to 100,000 troops that way.

Soldiers from different brigades told the Kyiv Independent that the Russians in this area are experienced and well-equipped soldiers, extensively stocked with artillery shells and MLRS rockets.

Soldiers from the 32nd are open about how in over their heads they often feel. The infantrymen talk about being outmatched by the competent and seemingly fearless Russian troops they saw on this axis of attack.

“Everything is not like what you read in daily briefings and on the news,” said Volodymyr, an infantry sergeant with the brigade, who was in the thick of the fighting.

Like most units, the 32nd is starved for vehicles and artillery ammo. Most of the good equipment is deployed to the counteroffensive on the Zaporizhzhia front.

It also lacks battlefield experience, from low ranks to commanding officers. Nor do they have many options to draw on somebody else’s. The year 2022 ground down Ukraine’s supply of experienced warfighters to the point where there can be said to be a shortage.

“The brigades where the commanders and sergeants are new are getting experience through ongoing field operations,” Sergiy Zgurets, the head of the military analytics center Defense Express, said.

Reached by email, the press services of the Defense Ministry and the Armed Forces said they wouldn’t be able to respond to questions on this topic.

All the infantrymen of the 32nd brigade had been to Germany to train to NATO standards for three weeks.

This was an obvious solution. Some of the soldiers here had been excited to go, thinking the training would help them become effective.

In many ways, it had been.

The infantry praised the physical training. Press officer Andriy Smiyan and his aide Oleksandr highlighted the life-saving power of tactical medicine training, widely practiced in the West but virtually unknown in Soviet-style armies.

The training also comes with a full set of gear for each soldier.

However, the same soldiers who spoke to the Kyiv Independent didn’t hide their scorn about how the training prepared them for a war that doesn’t exist in Ukraine. They said the NATO officers don’t understand the reality on the ground.

“A NATO infantryman knows he’s supported and can advance with the confidence that there’s a high likelihood that he won’t be killed or maimed,” Ihor said.

The NATO way of war calls for massive preparatory airstrikes and artillery barrages and demining before the infantry is sent in, he added.

It usually doesn’t work that way in Ukraine.

Between the country’s tiny, old air force, ancient T-64s, and a continuing shortage of artillery shells and infantry vehicles, it often falls to infantry to hold the line against Russian probing attacks and occasional assaults, supported by overwhelming artillery and huge numbers of drones.

Troops said they sometimes struggle to apply NATO small unit tactics because there often isn’t enough cover to do so.

Zgurets said that the instructors in Germany put a lot of emphasis on teaching urban combat. But the skills of how to smoke an enemy out from a trench, how to build an assault group, and coordinate it with artillery and drone support were lacking.

The style of battle in the Ukrainian countryside, blending World War I trench combat and 21st-century tech and tactics, are only seen in Ukraine — they are outside NATO’s wheelhouse.

Furthermore, the translators that are used often lack a military background and fail to convey accurate commands or responses between instructors and trainees, Zgurets added.

He said that it would be helpful for some of these instructors to visit Ukraine.

“European countries can correct their training,” Zgurets said. “There has been a mutual understanding of experiences and concerns, and this is the moment when they can be cleared away.”

Retired U.S. Major General Gordon Davis told the Kyiv Independent that training by NATO allies has been “indispensable. While specific tactics and procedures promoted by allied trainers may not have achieved the results that Ukrainian leadership and forces expected, the reason for this shortfall is certainly multi-dimensional.”

He added that the training abroad is still better than Ukraine can offer and while realism could be improved, it’d take a huge investment for training programs to be able to replicate Russian tactics.

“Therefore, it is all the more important for Ukraine to invest in the quality of Western provided or supported training by contributing the missing pieces of current combat intelligence and lessons learned from personal Ukrainian sacrifice and success.”

Much more at the link!

And for those enthusiasts of Russian equipment and material going boom:

Look a kitty!

That’s enough for tonight.

Your daily Patron!

And a new video from Patron’s official TikTok!

@patron__dsns

Любі, зі мною усе гаразд! Усім лизь і гарного дня!❤️🌞

♬ Black Cat Zoning Out – I Green Screen Things

And here’s the machine translation of the caption:

Dear ones, I’m fine! A lick to everyone and have a nice day! ❤️🌞

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

31Comments

  1. 1.

    Yarrow

    Thanks, Adam. That video is funny. Patron is very food motivated. Blinken asks, “How many visitors does he have?” and a woman responds, “Hundreds!” Of course! Everyone wants to visit Patron!

  2. 2.

    Alison Rose

    This attack today was horrific. When I saw the NYT notification with the estimated casualty toll, I started crying. And then I felt like a jerk for crying, 6,000 miles away from the danger. I think it’s the disgust and frustration, and also the sense of helplessness. Also pretty scary to know they launched missiles at Kyiv while Blinken was there.

    According to posts from last year, today (or close to it) is the Zelenskyys’ 20th anniversary. Obviously that takes the way back seat in a double-length bus with everything else happening, but I hope they were able to have at least a moment or two together.

    And it was nice to see the tradition of “everyone visiting Ukraine wants to meet and hold Patron” continuing. (Heh, jinx Yarrow!)

    Thank you as always, Adam. Also, Elon sucks.

  4. 4.

    Gin & Tonic

    And very good points about logistics. Without going into detail, this is the sort of thing people in my circles are involved with – we don’t have F-16’s, but we can source and ship vehicles, and have relationships with customizers.

  6. 6.

    Bill Arnold

    Good to see this, as a counter to Russia’s relentless propaganda efforts in the area. Use of existential mass fear as a weapon against civilians is despicable. (Sorry Adam if you were holding this for tomorrow.)
    With Nuclear Threats, Putin Plays the West Like a Fiddle – It’s time for Washington to see through the Kremlin’s mind games. (September 6, 2023, David R. Shedd, Ivana Stradner)
    Snippet:

    It’s high time for Washington to see through Putin’s games and stop amplifying the fears Moscow is deliberately instilling. The first step is changing the content of the conversation. To this end, Biden said that if Russia were to use nuclear weapons, it will “become more of a pariah in the world than they ever have been.” U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan threatened “catastrophic consequences” if Russia escalated to using nuclear weapons. This is a good start: Instead of amplifying the Kremlin’s messaging with Armageddon scenarios, the argument must be about what would happen if Putin used them. One consequence could be nonnuclear retaliation, such as the destruction of the Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet.

    One factual nit: “the region’s prevailing westerly winds.”
    Nope. It varies. Though the prevailing wind direction would be a constraint on Russia some of the time.
    Also (rant mode), the totality of their argument underplays the severity of a global thermonuclear war, or even a regional thermonuclear war. Either deliberately, or they are numerically illiterate. (e.g. an increase in risk per unit time of global thermonuclear war of 1 percent to 2 percent is huge, in average (expected) human deaths over potential futures.)
    It is not entirely mind games; the risks are real. Always have been, since the 1960s at least. Humans have been lucky.

  7. 7.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Alison Rose: I left out the worst of the images too. I looked at all of them, because they can’t be ignored, but decided not to include them here.

  12. 12.

    Alison Rose

    @Adam L Silverman: Yeah. I know there is something to be said for bearing witness, but personally, I have to be very careful about what pictures and videos I take in, because anything graphic and disturbing will burn itself into my brain permanently and become part of my “intrusive thoughts mental flipbook”. I appreciate your care when choosing what to include.

  17. 17.

    Grumpy Old Railroader

    To avoid a similar situation in the future, Ukraine needs to treat NATO training as basic infantry training instead of a complete cycle of brigade/battalion-level preparation. We need to perform post-training exercises and adapt the units to the newest technologies and tactics on the battlefield.

    NATO training them for only 3 weeks is criminal negligence. Then sending them into combat as a brand new unit is just crazy. It’s been a half century ago but the U.S. Army “Basic” training was 8 weeks to turn you into a soldier and infantry had an additional 8 weeks to turn you into a killing machine. 16 weeks training. Then you went to Vietnam to learn that it was all BS. I was fortunate. I was a replacement in a Company that had been in the jungle for several years at that point. So I had combat veteran’s to show me the real deal

  18. 18.

    strange visitor (from another planet)

    whatever happened to those fifty or so f-18’s australia was gonna send to ukraine? did that discussion get dropped?

  20. 20.

    Adam L Silverman

    @strange visitor (from another planet): They were never going to send them. Lot’s of people such as myself were arguing that it would be a good idea to do so rather than either sending them to the boneyard or selling them to a private aviation company that will use them for training.

  21. 21.

    strange visitor (from another planet)

    @Adam L Silverman:  i mean, i would think they’d be better suited for conditions in ukraine: they don’t have a giant intake on the very bottom of the airframe to suck up debris more efficiently and they’ve got MUCH more robust undercarriage designed for the rigors of carrier operations. they could probably operate off of shorter runways than the f-16, too.

    i really don’t understand the fixation on the f-16.

  23. 23.

    Adam L Silverman

    @strange visitor (from another planet): Part of the enthusiasm or fixation on the F-16 is there are a lot of them, they are in the process of being phased out for F-35s. So the planes themselves, as well as the spare parts, are available. I agree that the very lightly used Australian F/A18s would be a better choice given they’re designed for the shorter carrier deck runways and for making potentially harder landings on them, but through no fault of my own, as well as not for a lack of trying, I am not advising the UA MOD.

  24. 24.

    strange visitor (from another planet)

    @Jay:

    @Adam L Silverman:

    thanks guys. so basically, they’re old, but they’re plentiful, they’re surplus, they’ve got spares and spare parts handy.

    eta- it’s a shame, i read somewhere that the hornets were from a very recent block, some as new as 2019. god only knows how old some of those f-16’s are.

  25. 25.

    Sister Inspired Revolver of Freedom

    I always have a debate with myself as to where to donate the few dollars (I’m on Disability) I can afford. Med kits? Drones? Usually I end up donating to World Central Kitchen, because they have a 100% charity rating, because I love them & because I genuinely believe Chef Jose Andres is right when he says feeding people is the most important thing. 😌

  26. 26.

    Carlo Graziani

    @strange visitor (from another planet): Every one of these platforms comes with an eye-wateringly expensive, complex, resource and manpower-hungry and sui generis logistical support tail. Most of the cost, in fact is in setting up and maintaining that infrastructure—the aircraft themselves are practically free by comparison. So given the existing commitment to supply F-16s, starting a parallel track for supplying F-18s makes no sense at all. The resource contention would literally cause fratricide between the two platforms.

  28. 28.

    wjca

    On one occasion, Nestor’s commander asked if trainers would at least consider the presence of drones on the battlefield. The answer was a damning “No.”.
    “You didn’t take your drones with you, and the only drone we have available is DJI Phantom 4, but we can’t even use it for bureaucratic reasons.” he recalls them saying.

    That’s a pretty damning report.  Not just when it comes to the inadequacy of the training we are providing the Ukrainians.  But for what it reveals about the gaping hole in the training we are providing for our own forces.

  29. 29.

    Jay

    @wjca:

    Our Forces training is a lot different, but is slack on drones and laptops as the Ukrainians use them. But then, we havn’t had to adapt Commercial Off The Shelf gear for military use, because we have specific gear built for Military use. We don’t use PRC Walk and Talk recreational radio’s, available at any Princess Auto, because we have better individual and unit radio nets.

    We don’t have Nona’s sewing uniforms and camoflage nets, we arn’t crowd funding Pickups and SUV’s, or radios, Skylinks, or NVG, let alone sights or sniper rifles.

    What strikes me about the reports of the NATO training, is it’s like the refresher courses Reserves are given that 4 weeks out of the year, to try to keep them “functional”.

  30. 30.

    oldster

    Love that exchange between Blinken and Kuleba. Roughly,

    Kuleba:  I love McDonalds! I used to come hear whenever I had a hangover!
    Blinken: I’m sure that didn’t happen very often.

    Talk about a diplomatic reaction!

    On more serious matters:

    NATO infantry training sounds like a mess, and they really need to listen to and learn from Ukraine combat vets. Not just for training Ukrainians, but for training NATO’s own soldiers.

    On the other hand, the training that they give the Ukr. trainees — as well as the kit they give them — may be much better than what they would get otherwise. You always have to ask, “compared to what?”, and in this case the option may be less training altogether.

    Ideal would be for NATO to absorb a lot of Ukr. combat vets into their training framework and have *them* design the course. But that’s a lot to ask of the NATO system, as well as a lot to ask of Ukr.’s own forces. It’s a hard problem.

    Still — I am delighted to see progress in the south, and the apparent breaching and overcoming of defenses. Every day getting closer to closing off the land-bridge.

  31. 31.

    Carlo Graziani

    @oldster: Generally speaking, as a historical observation, successful armed forces in near-peer conflicts are distinguished less by the quality of their pre-war training than by their ability to quickly and flexibly transcend that training so as to adapt to the conditions of the current war.

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