Pepe In Donbas. Report.

 Wonderful writing, as usual. 

You are given a name by the War:/it’s a call sign, not nickname – much more./Lack of fancy cars here and iPads,/But you have APC and MANPADS./Social media long left behind,/Children’s drawings with “Z” stick to mind./’Likes” and “thumbs up” are valued as dust,/But the prayers from people you trust./Hold On, Soldier, my brother, my friend,/The hostility comes to an end./War’s unable to stop its decease,/Grief and suffering will turn into peace./Life returns to the placid format,/With your callsign, inscribed in your heart./ From the war, as a small souvenir:/Far away, but eternally near.

 

It’s a cold, rainy, damp morning in the deep Donbass countryside, at a secret location close to the Urozhaynoye direction; a nondescript country house, crucially under the fog, which prevents the work of enemy drones. Father Igor, a military priest, is blessing a group of local contract-signed volunteers to the Archangel Gabriel battalion, ready to go to the front lines of the US vs. Russia proxy war. The man in charge of the battalion is one of the top-ranking officers of Orthodox Christian units in the DPR.A small shrine is set up in the corner of a small, cramped room, decorated with icons. Candles are lit, and three soldiers hold the red flag with the icon of Jesus in the center. After prayers and a small homily, Father Igor blesses each soldier.

Read the whole thing following the link.

On A Lighter Note...

 LOL))

Tucker: Comrade Xi, how's your relations with Taiwan?

Xi. OK, so 5,648 years before Christ...

Tucker: Fuck, please, not that... 

OK, Clock Watch...

 ... It will never go away, because what IF... your ship is struck, how are you going to keep the time which is critical for a ship and her weapon systems, and, most importantly, navigation once all those fancy GPS/GLONASS systems are knocked out... My dear buddy who haven been drinking all kind of alcoholic shit onboard of USS Yorktown and USS Bannon and then on Russian naval ships (he still cannot recall in what order, neither can US counterparts) in 1990 (he is a bubble-head), he demonstrated how to navigate ship (that is to fix position) using the most primitive means such as stop-watch, ship's watch, thread and protractor, when one doesn't have a sextant. 

They have been impressed but... ok, nobody knows the amount of alcohol consumed then by both sides. Nor can anyone recall it. But, still, when people ask me why I have so many watches--it is not my fashion sense, it is the instrument I have to have on my wrist. Smart-phones are fine, but what if...

 

Here it is. From one of my favorite channels. They always have been there and, most likely, always will be.

Completely Forgot...

 ... Nima and me yesterday. Yes, it is the same shirt--I love it! LOL))) 

 

Evidently Avdeevka...

 ... is now fully cut in two (in Russian), and we all know what that means--yes, reduction of pockets and finishing off last "strategic" reserves of VSU comprising primarily of devout Nazis--you know, darlings of the Western media and "analysts". Run, Zaluzhny, run since you get your freedom, for now. As for Syrski--he should get a tenure at the US Army Command and General Staff College in Leavenworth, KS. US military loves to "learn" from losers, such as Wehrmacht. 

I Know It May Hurt...

... understandably some of our UK friends--but current UK and "military analysis" is oxymoron.  Recall these "military experts" from RUSI. Current UK military level is at the most brigade level staff work and Sandhurst being a joke, yet, these guys continue to parade themselves as a bunch of clowns:

LONDON — Russia is spending around one-third of its budget on defense, but is burning through arms, ammunition and troops at an unsustainable pace, says a report published today. Russia will be able to sustain its war effort in Ukraine for "two to three more years," says International Institute for Strategic Studies Director General Bastian Giegerich. "But in doing so, it will have to sacrifice quality for quantity." The Military Balance report by the IISS, a London-based think tank, shows that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has unleashed a deluge of defense spending around the world — most of it from Russia's rivals. Global defense spending increased by 9 percent in 2023 to exceed $2.2 trillion; NATO countries spent over half of that amount, with the U.S. leading the pack by a vast margin.

It is impossible to explain to military which thinks that you can prepare a cadre officer with degree in journalism or classic in 44 weeks to be a military professional that you must have a serious basic course in REAL military history and in STEM. Especially in STEM as built around modern weapon systems and physical principles realized in them. This is precisely the reason these guys who can deploy a single semi-ready mechanized brigade to battlefield cannot find their ass with their both hands in a brightly lit room. Boy, Viscount Montgomery is spinning in his grave. So, they produce yet another "report" which is, traditionally, devoid of any understanding of Russia, real economy and this teeny-weeny thing called COFM--Correlation of Forces and Means. I guess for economic and military  Lilliputians it is beyond their grasp.

Some Operational Basics.

And why Rep. Luna nailed it.