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BloodRayne

Member
Jul 3, 2020
5,526
Not sure why these drunk fascists are targeting neutral merchant ships, but I would hope it convinces the holdouts in the international community to excommunicate Putin's kingdom even faster.

www.maritime-executive.com

Merchant Ships Attacked and on Fire off Ukraine

Merchant ships continue to be targeted in the escalating Russian war on Ukraine while security analy...


Why are they attacking merchant ships!!

They're walking a thin line if they keep doing this.
 

maabus1999

Member
Oct 26, 2017
9,092
I'd sure like to know who exactly the Russians "think" they're shooting at. The Ukrainian Navy is tiny, and they don't have any large ships. The more this happens, the more intentional I think this is, to discourage ships from being near the Ukrainian coast, and potential arms shipments from sneaking past their forces.
Then you board them when you have naval supremacy. I mean from the Russian view this is wasting muntions...
 

sangreal

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
10,890
Not sure why these drunk fascists are targeting neutral merchant ships, but I would hope it convinces the holdouts in the international community to excommunicate Putin's kingdom even faster.

www.maritime-executive.com

Merchant Ships Attacked and on Fire off Ukraine

Merchant ships continue to be targeted in the escalating Russian war on Ukraine while security analy...


Why are they even targeting any ships? They nuetered Ukraine navy in 2014, so what are they so paranoid about?
 

Serpens007

Well, Tosca isn't for everyone
Moderator
Oct 31, 2017
8,135
Chile
It really blows my mind that Russia has only had a form of democracy for what... 9yrs out of their entire history. Maybe a slight bit of "freedom" between 1917 and 1922? Its been warlords Dukes, Tsars, Soviets and now this asshole.

Well, sadly if you look at the world history as a whole, democracy is the exception, not the rule.
 

Annubis

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,673

Cat Party

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,505
Russia attacked just over 36 hours ago. If they already have to slow down to re-supply that doesn't speak highly of their preparation. This also gives Ukraine time to rest and dig in. Russia may be adjusting their strategy but this still looks like a very poorly planned operation.
That's the thing I can't grasp. What was the actual plan? It all seems very half-assed, like they assumed Kyiv would be brought to heel without much fighting.
 

eathdemon

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
9,690
1600 Soldiers doesnt sound like much considering russia is mobilizing like 100.000+ Soldiers

Really bummed about germany right now. Yesterday or so a high ranking military member said that we didnt have anything, so we cant share anything (Die Bundeswehr wäre "Blank"). Then the head of the BND gets caught with his pants down in ukraine, suprised by the russians. Then we stall SWIFT sanctions and now I see that we have around 300 soldiers stationed in lithuania, which somehow is supposed to be a deterrent.
Doesnt seem like we are capable of helping in any capacity at all.

Maybe Im wrong though and 300 soldiers is more than enough, idk. Anyways, I hope it will never get even close to them having to do anything.
they are a deterent in the same way the US troops stationed in south Korea are. they are their to basicly die as sad as it is to say, to give the nation, germany in this case, or the US in the case of south Korea to send in a real force should war break out. yes geopolitics is messed up, but thats how the world works.
 

Koukalaka

Member
Oct 28, 2017
9,379
Scotland
I had to look up what those are but they look effective


youtu.be

NLAW - Anti-tank Weapon

NLAW (Next generation Light Anti-tank Weapon) eliminates even the most advanced tanks. Using NLAW an individual soldier has the ability to take out any heavi...


These aren't quite up there with heavier AT weapons, but they can be used on a whole range of things - fortified positions and lighter armoured vehicles, among them.

Hopefully the people using them get a degree of training - or already know what they're doing.
 

TheGummyBear

Member
Jan 6, 2018
8,858
United Kingdom
Not sure why these drunk fascists are targeting neutral merchant ships, but I would hope it convinces the holdouts in the international community to excommunicate Putin's kingdom even faster.

www.maritime-executive.com

Merchant Ships Attacked and on Fire off Ukraine

Merchant ships continue to be targeted in the escalating Russian war on Ukraine while security analy...



Its time to declare the trade route defunct, amd hammer the russians for reparations.
 

JonnyDBrit

God and Anime
Member
Oct 25, 2017
11,072
What is Russia wanting to accomplish here

Assuming they're not just mistakenly identifying the ships as Ukrainian and thus 'valid' targets, then the most likely reasoning is to try and deter attempts to ship supplies into Ukraine by making it too dangerous, even without an 'official' blockade in place. While they can plant a bunch of ships to block the strait of Azov, they can't really do that in on the western coast
 

Cass_Se

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,130
Can we just stop & admire what an absolute legend the Ukrainian Leader Zelenskyy is:

Zelensky published a video in which he stated that they are the leadership of the government and parliament are in Kiev

Zelenskyy more power to you

My man has been leading from the Front and has inspired his people throughout the crisis while not leaving the capital. I guarantee that if Putin was in the same situation he'd be cowering for his life in a bunker like Hitler or relocate to Siberia.

Seriously, fucking hell. I considered Zelensky a clown and it turns out I was the clown. The guy may not have had any political expertise thrust into a terrifying and complex job, but what he's been doing is truly courageous and inspiring. His experience as an actor may be helping on the PR side, but he is exhibiting leadership qualities of the highest degree.
 

Tbm24

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,557
That's the thing I can't grasp. What was the actual plan? It all seems very half-assed, like they assumed Kyiv would be brought to heel without much fighting.
I think ultimately it comes down to either this Invasion was hastily and poorly planned out or the Russian military is not nearly at the level they pretend to be with all the chest thumping they do. Or most likely, both.

Generally speaking it's foolish to think you can just waltz into any country you like and expect it to be easy.
 

Doc Holliday

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,828
Can we just stop & admire what an absolute legend the Ukrainian Leader Zelenskyy is:

Zelensky published a video in which he stated that they are the leadership of the government and parliament are in Kiev

Zelenskyy more power to you

My man has been leading from the Front and has inspired his people throughout the crisis while not leaving the capital. I guarantee that if Putin was in the same situation he'd be cowering for his life in a bunker like Hitler or relocate to Siberia.

The fact the dude was not an a armed forces guy or something, but a comedian is awesome.

And fuck Trump for trying to force him to do his bidding for the help we already promised.
 

excelsiorlef

Bad Praxis
Member
Oct 25, 2017
73,346
I mean, it is more that the number is less important than their behaviour. The troops are there to die / stall time if someone attacks Eastern Europe NATO countries.

Not their purpose no, they're there to help those countries with humanitarian aid and such as they deal with their proximity to Ukraine and prepare for taking in refugees and such.

There's no expectation of dying
 
Nov 27, 2020
4,302
Then you board them when you have naval supremacy. I mean from the Russian view this is wasting muntions...
At this point it's one of three things: accident hits from shore bombardment (unlikely, since the Moldavian ship was 12 miles off shore), a deliberate message being sent to the countries that own the ships, or unrestricted naval warfare along the Ukrainian coast, and any ship is a target.
 

Mentalist

Member
Mar 14, 2019
18,190
Was the crux of their plan based on securing the airport right at the start of the conflict? If that failure is what defanged them, they sure didn't plan many contingencies.
Crux of their plan was Ukrainian troops surrendering en masse to their "big brothers"

I think they are making up the backup plan on the go.

Considering how long they've been posturing about invasion while trying to get Ukraine to give in during the negotiations, it really feels like this is a frustrated, spur-of-the-moment decision by Putler personally.
 
Oct 27, 2017
6,960
Crazy idea, why not funel those frozen funds to ukraine?

1. It would be a seizure of money instead of freezing. You are supposed to unfreeze funds when sanctions are lifted.
2. UA has no use for money. It needs sanctions to punish Putin, and it needs lethal-aid to repel him. Countries need to lend-lease or simply deliver weaponry with delivering government funding the operation.
 
Oct 27, 2017
7,731
Dude is a fucking hero. You'd never see Boris Johnson in military fatigues in the middle of a warzone.

Also, Vitaly Klitschko is right there on the front lines.

MASSIVE respect to the Ukrainian politicians and the population in general. Their bravery is nothing short of incredible.
Seriously, these people are amazing and definitely deserve any future invitation to EU, Nato, etc. Their resolve in the face of clear-cut evil and imminent destruction is the good part of the human spirit distilled.
 

RolandGunner

Member
Oct 30, 2017
8,539
Was the crux of their plan based on securing the airport right at the start of the conflict? If that failure is what defanged them, they sure didn't plan many contingencies.

I don't know about the airport specifically but there are reports that Russia is bypassing the smaller cities and going right to Kyiv. The assumption seems to be that Ukraine will capitulate once Kyiv falls but I don't see a lot of evidence for that. Or that Russia can take a city of two million people without massive loss of life.
 

ragolliangatan

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Aug 31, 2019
4,529
I don't know about the airport specifically but there are reports that Russia is bypassing the smaller cities and going right to Kyiv. The assumption seems to be that Ukraine will capitulate once Kyiv falls but I don't see a lot of evidence for that. Or that Russia can take a city of two million people without massive loss of life.

loss of life means nothing to Putin in his goals.
 

jelly

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
33,841
That's the thing I can't grasp. What was the actual plan? It all seems very half-assed, like they assumed Kyiv would be brought to heel without much fighting.

Putin did talk it up quite a bit so maybe thought that would spook the Ukrainians and he expected a swift east, north, south surge on Kyiv to take the capital fast which he presumed would get the country to fold very quickly but Ukrainians are fighting amazingly well and very smartly by the looks of it so far however not sure how it would go if Russia get a leg up further into Ukraine to jump from.
 

sangreal

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
10,890
Not their purpose no, they're there to help those countries with humanitarian aid and such as they deal with their proximity to Ukraine and prepare for taking in refugees and such.

There's no expectation of dying

Nah, they really are literally there to die (or be attacked at least) in the event of an invasion. That's their stated purpose: tripwire. That's why the Baltics have insisted on their presence. The humanitarian work they do is because they are there anyway

We've seen how fickle some of these allies can be, so it makes sense to ensure they have skin in the game
 

cyrribrae

Chicken Chaser
Member
Jan 21, 2019
12,723
I hope that the theories of Russian disorganization are true. I'm maybe not THAT surprised that pushing for 36 hours into armed territory that is so large would result in them slowing down, but if it gives time for people to escape, to rest, or to dig in, then I'm not complaining. I very much hope the Russians get disorganized to hell.

Crazy idea, why not funel those frozen funds to ukraine?
Cuz freezing and seizing are different, I imagine.
 

thomas_cale

Member
May 22, 2020
572
Not their purpose no, they're there to help those countries with humanitarian aid and such as they deal with their proximity to Ukraine and prepare for taking in refugees and such.

There's no expectation of dying
They´ve been there for quite some time. eFP forces aren´t there for humanitarian aid or preparing to take in refugees