Ukraine

[WX]

But when we give it back to you, you turn into a bunch of delicate little snowflakes.

Right Mr. WX ??

Do we? I believe I have stayed predominately polite.

[gypsie]

As written - I do not know why this is discussed in the media with a lot of painting Germany as bad and evil and not aligned behind closed doors between allies as it should be amoung allies. And I do not know what Germany would do if other countries would just export their Leopards into Ukraine. Perhaps it would be as little as stating that they had not approved - who knows.

A strangle hold that would prevent the first step might be parts. If Germany refuses to sell parts to a country that re-exported without consent, the re-export is dead in the water. It's probably a condition of the contract and probably legislated - so Germany would be legally obliged to cut off the supply (unless they rescinded that clause, which might be a parliamentary issue, and thus back to square one).
Germany has to state that it will approve re-export.

Like its kinda just done with Poland!!

[WX]

Oh, it’s definitely more Byzantine!

And even more so now that the Ukrainian Church has placed itself under the Greek Patriarch i Byzantium once
again!

Well the Cyrillic alphabet does owes it's existence to Byzantium.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cyrillic-alphabet

[gypsie]

I continue to be amazed that any (paid? volunteer?) moskal troll takes effort to push bollocks on such a small forum..

I'm impressed with your use of the work bollocks.
I wish i had as much command of Polish. As it is, from hanging out with a bunch of Polish guys in Holland in the 90's, i can say Czesc and Curva fluently. That pretty much covered every scenario.
(Hanging out meaning being almost permanently in a semi comatose state of inebriation).

[WX]

You are correct - that was a poor choice of acronym.

I also do not think that calling posters Rooskie Bots, trolls, sock puppets and the like is appropriate either.

Do you ??

I do understand that others' bad behavior here does not excuse my slam.

I prefer to debate the post, and not get into character assassination. Bigfella was big on attacking the person, particularly female forumites.

[C. Ross]

i am aware of my interactions with vadim, centered around a relatively minor exchange, a couple months ago. the fact that you are aware of it, and my identity, means either, as you claim, vadim told you (and you remembered my name), or you have read vadim very closely, or...as occam's razor suggests, you are the same dude. do you see the problem?

you "don't need validation of credibility" the way a "news" source doesn't need it, as long as they have found a gulible target audience. like "responsible statecraft" and "common dreams", opinion magazines full of bald and unsupported assertions, playing to the prejudices of their self-selected readership.

an actual news source, like an actual person, does need credibility with an audience to report something like "according to an unnamed source" or, "i have seen it with my own eyes."

Here’s what we’ve been told: Two comrades in a war zone, one who says “Now, there’s this woodenboat forum. Most guys there are real pieces of work, but L.W. Baxter is a pretty good guy.” And that exchange was so meaningful that login credentials were shared and the surviving comrade arrives here to announce his friend’s death. The friend reads months worth of posts and stays here not only to defend his friend but to continue many of his arguments in a similar fashion.

That is a testament to this forum, friendship, and to L.W. Baxter for being a ray of light. I can hardly believe it!

[C. Ross]

Meanwhile, a quiet and incomplete success

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian exports of grain have been severely disrupted. For over four months, Russian military vessels have been blocking Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea.
On 22 July 2022, an agreement was brokered by the United Nations and Türkiye to open a safe maritime humanitarian corridor in the Black Sea (the Black Sea Grain Initiative). Since then, over 600 ships full of grain and other foodstuffs have left three Ukrainian ports: Chornomorsk, Odesa and Yuzhny/Pivdennyi.
While unblocking the sea export route has helped to address the global food security crisis and lower grain prices, the export backlogs remain significant.

(Emphases in the original piece.) https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/i...rts-explained/

I think this is important as proof that agreements can be reached between Ukraine and Russia. Russia understood that it would be seen in a bad light by countries it cared about if the blockade continued. I don’t know what similar leverage points exist which could affect the battlefield, but if there is a way towards an armistice perhaps this small step is illuminating.

[Nicholas Carey]

They took a church controlled from Moscow that preached in Russian, and was pro Russian. Personally I don't see a problem, but then I'm Atheist.
That aside, I see the reason behind doing it, and it makes sense.

Might point out that every R.C. church in France, built in 1905 or earlier is property of the state -- an country officially atheist. Side effect of the unpleasantness at the end of the 18th century. The Church is allowed their use.

And in time of war, in any country, any organization, religious or not, that's allied with, and promoting the policies of the invading foreign enemy, is likely to have its property seized, if not outright dissolved and its members imprisoned for the duration.

Got little to do with it being the Russian Orthodox Church. Got something to do with "giving aid and comfort" to the enemy. Or -- TL;DR -- treason.

[gypsie]

I found this claim: "The AGT 1500 turbine engine has five primary fuels: diesel fuels 1, 2, and arctic grade, and jet propellant fuels 4 and 5." (https://militaryleak.com/2019/01/18/...gt1500-engine/), although, given that the US Army, for logistical simplicity, has standardized on JP-8 across the board — aircraft, vehicles, gensets... — that's clearly incorrect, or at least incomplete.

Whats it take to convert a kero (JP-8) engine to ordinary diesel?
New injectors? New injector pump? I had a 3 cylinder diesel die in a boat, high pressure side problem, bloody difficult task to swap out the injector pump - and expensive. In the end I bought a new motor. If it takes something like that, at M1 scale and multiple times..... Now you have a new set of parts not in anyones supply chain.

(For our new sock, a boat is a thing you can use to float on water. Sometimes they are made of wood, other times they are made with epoxy, which is also wood ).

[sandtown]

I think this is important as proof that agreements can be reached between Ukraine and Russia. Russia understood that it would be seen in a bad light by countries it cared about if the blockade continued. I don’t know what similar leverage points exist which could affect the battlefield, but if there is a way towards an armistice perhaps this small step is illuminating.

Good point sir - in fact they are already negotiating, on prisoner exchanges and such, and have been doing so for some time. We need more of that.

And a cease fire

[L.W. Baxter]

Here’s what we’ve been told: Two comrades in a war zone, one who says “Now, there’s this woodenboat forum. Most guys there are real pieces of work, but L.W. Baxter is a pretty good guy.” And that exchange was so meaningful that login credentials were shared and the surviving comrade arrives here to announce his friend’s death. The friend reads months worth of posts and stays here not only to defend his friend but to continue many of his arguments in a similar fashion.

That is a testament to this forum, friendship, and to L.W. Baxter for being a ray of light. I can hardly believe it!

EFC47567-9984-4F3F-89FC-2B4307905577.jpg

[sandtown]

Johan R,

Could you please post a link to the obituary for Vadim? I would like to read it.

I would like to read it as well, but Herr Johan has been so viciously trashed here that I do not think he will do it.

He and Vadim committed the unpardonable sin of seeing the conflict from more than one side.

That is not politically correct for some here on the Bilge, and they attack anyone who espouses such dangerous views.

[sandtown]

The Western Powers have an answer to the Wagner Group . . .

Mozart !!

People always complain about UKR corruption, but the US version is right up there too!! (think Manafort, E. Prince and so on)

https://theintercept.com/2023/01/20/...t%20Newsletter

[dutchpp]

The ISW Russian offensive campaign assessment, January 22.
https://www.understandingwar.org/bac...anuary-22-2023

Key inflections in ongoing military operations on January 22:

• Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin made uncredible threats of nuclear escalation as part of an ongoing information operation aimed at deterring the Western provision of further military aid to Ukraine.[36] ISW continues to assess that Russia is very unlikely to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine and extraordinarily unlikely to use them against the West.
• Russian milbloggers on January 22 continued to discuss the potential of a pending major Russian or Ukrainian offensive and speculated as to which areas present the highest priority targets.[37]
• Russian forces continued limited counterattacks to regain lost positions along the Svatove-Kreminna line on January 22.[38] Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces struck an industrial facility in Kadiivka, Luhansk Oblast with HIMARS rockets.[39]
• Russian forces continued offensive operations in the Bakhmut and the Donetsk City-Avdiivka areas.[40]
• Russian sources claimed on January 22 that Russian forces continued offensive operations in two directions in Zaporizhia Oblast, with their main efforts focusing on Hulyaipole and Orikhiv.[41] Head of the Ukrainian Joint Press Center of the Tavrisk Direction Defense Forces Yevhen Yerin stated on January 22 that Russian forces are not conducting large-scale operations in the Zaporizhia direction.[42]
• Russian occupation authorities continued commandeering civilian infrastructure in occupied territories at the expense of civilian health and safety on January 22.[43]

[gypsie]

Under the forum banner there's a drop down menu under 'Forum Actions' where you can, if you choose, select 'General Settings'.
On the left if you scroll down there is 'Edit ignore List'.
If you do choose to select that there's an empty cell into which you put a forumites handle. If you start the name it generates a list, say of all the Johan's on the forum for example and you could, if you wished, select Johan R for example.
If you do this most of the personal insults and abusive language you read will disappear. Piece Of Peace, as opposed to the unwanted POS...

[JayInOz]

Denys says the big new Russian offensive isn't going to happen- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Mt9p7WiLok JayInOz

[epoxyboy]

Whats it take to convert a kero (JP-8) engine to ordinary diesel?
New injectors? New injector pump? I had a 3 cylinder diesel die in a boat, high pressure side problem, bloody difficult task to swap out the injector pump - and expensive. In the end I bought a new motor. If it takes something like that, at M1 scale and multiple times..... Now you have a new set of parts not in anyones supply chain.

The fuel control unit for a turbine has no timing function like a mechanical injector pump for a diesel engine. Typically it would be accounting for throttle input, rpm, exhaust gas temperature, and maybe inlet temperature. In an aircraft application, altitude definitely gets thrown into the mix too.
Rpm and egt are the two biggies that have the potential to break things if exceeded. I don't know for a fact, but I think you'll find the control unit will run the turbine to those numbers, and for a given fuel you'll get whatever power you get.
I do know that the Westland Wasp helicopters that our navy operated would run on a similar range of fuels without any changes whatsoever when switching between them - IIRC there was a caveat on gasoline regarding running hours, due to higher operating temperature.
Another data point is the F16 - back before NZ became nuclear free, there was a combined AUS/NZ/US exercise, and the change from US JP8 to NZ JP1 fuel was just a setting in the engine management system. I know, because I was there - gobsmacked at how easy it was compared with setting up the mechanical fcu on our Strikemasters with Rolls Royce Viper engines.

Pete

[heimlaga]

Meanwhile, a quiet and incomplete success



(Emphases in the original piece.) https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/i...rts-explained/

I think this is important as proof that agreements can be reached between Ukraine and Russia. Russia understood that it would be seen in a bad light by countries it cared about if the blockade continued. I don’t know what similar leverage points exist which could affect the battlefield, but if there is a way towards an armistice perhaps this small step is illuminating.

I wish you were right. Unfortunately you have incomplete information to base your conclusions upon.
Fist I want to state my information sources. That is the Finnish state broadcasting company YLE and it's British equivalent BBC.
As I came to understand it from theese sources the Russcists broke the agreement at least twice and declared without even trying seriously to pretend a reason that there was no such agreements and that the corridor for neutral shipping was permanently closed from now on. Upon which several mayor European navies declared that there is an agreement which Russia has signed and which will be upheld whether the Russcists wants it or not. That any ship or navy of any nationality attacking the shipping corridor will be routed and sunk. Upon which Russia acted as if nothing had happened and the shipping operation continued.

The fact that some prisoner exchanges have taken place is as far as I understand a result of the traditional czarist fear of Russians going abroad.
Back in the days Stalin demanded all Soviet prisoners of war and all refugees with Soviet citizenship to be sent home whether they wanted or not. Then he had them either shot on the spot or packed off on a 20 year sentence to prison camps from which few ever left alive. The survivors only survived because the mass amnesty after Stalin died. I don't think Putin is willing to go that far. At least no yet. Though I rekon he has a milder version of the same fear.

[C. Ross]

#8752 thank you for the additional information.

I do know about Russia violating the deal but your points are important. Perhaps we can conclude that they can be shamed and pressured to the bargaining table, but we should be wary of their commitment to any deal.

[heimlaga]

#8752 thank you for the additional information.

I do know about Russia violating the deal but your points are important. Perhaps we can conclude that they can be shamed and pressured to the bargaining table, but we should be wary of their commitment to any deal.

That is my conclusion too. An agreement which is to be upheld by the Russcists must be backed up with disastrous consequences for the side who breaks it.

[George.]

i didn't hate vadim, either.

OK, but just play along...

[George.]

I do disagree with you about the threat Russia poses to the Baltics, Sweden, Finland and etc. They cannot even conquer Ukraine. The very effective Ukrainian resistance has taught them a harsh lesson.

But the Ukrainian resistance was only very effective because they got weapons and intel from the West, which I believe you oppose.

[George.]

PS: for all your stubborn disinginuity, sandtown, I believe you are who you say you are, and are here defending your sincere beliefs. Unlike Vadim/Johan, who just comes across as a

lying POS

[George.]

Germany's foreign minister Anna Baerbock has said she "would not stand in the way" of Poland if they were to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64370165

[Johan R]

i am aware of my interactions with vadim, centered around a relatively minor exchange, a couple months ago. the fact that you are aware of it, and my identity, means either, as you claim, vadim told you (and you remembered my name), or you have read vadim very closely, or...as occam's razor suggests, you are the same dude. do you see the problem?

you "don't need validation of credibility" the way a "news" source doesn't need it, as long as they have found a gulible target audience. like "responsible statecraft" and "common dreams", opinion magazines full of bald and unsupported assertions, playing to the prejudices of their self-selected readership.

an actual news source, like an actual person, does need credibility with an audience to report something like "according to an unnamed source" or, "i have seen it with my own eyes."

No, i do not see a problem at all. What I do see is a lot of paranoia and distrust.

I saw Vadim every day in the 3 months up to his passing, no big deal, he was on a lot of pain medication and he talked a lot. I did take time, because that is a commodity i possess, to read what he posted here, and the responses, as i could not fathom why he was on the end of so much negative comments.

Nothing he posted was inaccurate, and based on his own experience in East Ukraine. He did not come here to unload what some seem to have taken as "perceived superior knowledge", it is just that when someone sees something that is factually wrong, its is being helpful to put that right; he was only trying to help. Would you correct a child who thinks 1+1=3, or leave them to it?


I do not possess the patience that Vadim has for uncalled for foul mouthed attacks. I get the feeling that with so many self perceived "experts" here, who do nothing but repeat what someone else has told them or read, but have no actual experience in the field, did not like having their theories questioned, fragile egos are like that.

If you consider some of the people here credulous and friends, then i would say you set a very low bar, from what i have seen here, but, who you decide to surround yourself with is not my problem.

[Johan R]

..........

Poor Czar George, the "man" who took it upon himself to be a voice for everyone, no doubt embarrassed by being caught out in his own lie , probably feeling like Brutus himself has stabbed you in the back, though to be embarrassed would require having at least a modicum of humility, and that is something you have not shown here.

Get some therapy George, all that anger you are carrying around is not healthy.

[George.]

Goading russian bots like you is therapy, Vadim.

[skuthorp]

Cheap laughs if you don't mind the stench.

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto...00000425193458

[sandtown]

Do we? I believe I have stayed predominately polite.

So I reviewed your posts over the past several days, and you are correct.

My apologies.

I had you confused with someone else.

[Johan R]

Thank you for that. Could you please post a link to Vadim's obituary? It would be interesting to read.

Sorry, as others and myself pointed out a few pages back, an "obituary" seems to be an American thing.

Despite his harsh upbringing in the Romanian orphanages, the tragic death of his wife and daughter by a drink driver before they reached their first wedding anniversary, Vadims life was one of persistence in adversity and service to others above all. That is all you really need to know. The world would benefit from more like him. He saved a lot of lives.

[Paul Pless]

Despite his harsh upbringing in the Romanian orphanages, the tragic death of his wife and daughter by a drink driver before they reached their first wedding anniversary, Vadims life was one of persistence in adversity and service to others above all.

sort of a modern day cross between a dostoevsky and a tolstoy character then

tragic. . .

[heimlaga]

Poor Czar George, the "man" who took it upon himself to be a voice for everyone, no doubt embarrassed by being caught out in his own lie , probably feeling like Brutus himself has stabbed you in the back, though to be embarrassed would require having at least a modicum of humility, and that is something you have not shown here.

Get some therapy George, all that anger you are carrying around is not healthy.

När skall du göra ett ärligt försök att visa att du är svensken Johan och inte en anställd på Evgenij Prigortzins propagandakontor i Petersburg?

[Johan R]

När skall du göra ett ärligt försök att visa att du är svensken Johan och inte en anställd på Evgenij Prigortzins propagandakontor i Petersburg?

When you stop being an immature paranoid farmer. Which will be never.

[Johan R]

sort of a cross between a dostoevsky and a tolstoy character then

Classy.......says a lot. You must have a very dull life if this is how you get your kicks, you must be a friend of Czar George, he says he gets his therapy from talking to Russian software.

What an odd bunch you are.