17 mile convoy headed to Kyiv
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I've read that the logistics of getting these, or any combat aircraft, into Ukraine is a major problem.
Specifically, if youfly them in, it can be claimed that aircraft from NATO airspace are invading, resulting in a major escalation. Potentially, they could fly in from the south, from non-NATO airspace, buy you'd need the cooperation of those countries, and that's not assured. Finally, they could be trucked in, after being disassembled, but that's a big deal.
Also, getting the airplane is the easy part. You need pilots who are trained, and more importantly, ground support personnel (mechanics, etc).
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/04/russian-soldiers-ukraine-anger-duped-into-war
"Demoralised Russian soldiers tell of anger at being ‘duped’ into war"
Propaganda for sure, but maybe also with some truth.
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Day Eight of the Russian Column Held Hostage (by the usual Russian incompetence)
I have posted on twitter about the Russian Army columns North of Kyiv decaying into immobile blobs due to the Rasputitsa, poorly maintained Chinese truck tires and shear “follow the plan” Russian incompetence.
The head and first dozen or so kilometers of the southernmost column north of Kiev have been stuck there for EIGHT DAYS. The Russians have since rammed more and more vehicles into this monster traffic jam (idiotically “following the plan” Soviet-style) so the whole thing is now 65-70 kilometers long (almost 40 miles).
And, because the trucks can’t go off-road due to the Rasputitsa mud and tire problems, they’re stuck on the roads and the roads’ shoulders three vehicles wide for the whole @40 miles. That means fuel and resupply trucks can’t move on or off road to deliver anything to anybody.
So all the columns’ heads are now out of fuel and battery power. They can’t move north, south or sideways, and everything behind them is stuck because of the mud, and rapidly running out of fuel and vehicle battery charge too (assuming they haven’t already). Nor can any of those columns defend themselves because they’re too densely packed. They’re just targets waiting for the Ukrainians to destroy them.
Only the Ukrainians had something better to do. They opened the floodgates of reservoirs around those columns to flood them and turn the surrounding areas into impassable quagmires for months – probably until July or August. (See photo below) Probably several thousand Russian vehicles in those columns will be irrecoverable losses. Hundreds of Russian soldiers might have drowned.
This was not just a debacle, but an EPIC one. About 1/5th of the Russian force in Ukraine is now flooded or trapped, and are definitely out of the war for good.
Much more interesting stuff at the link.