That’s one hell of a bavovna. There isn’t anything I have found saying where this was, when it was or what it was that blew up. The consensus among commenters is that it must have been a Russian TOS thermobaric system. That’s certainly a possibility. The blast wave you see in the video is likely so visible because of moisture in the atmosphere.
Merry Christmas, Russia.
I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that.
I also wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of this. You don’t see a lot of close combat with tanks in this war.
A soldier takes video as he walks through what is left of a Russian trench.
WARNING: There are many dead Russian soldiers in this video.
This is an appropriate response to a country that is involved in cheating. Attempted genocide is not the same as a cheating scandal.
And an interesting thread that looks into the politics of this with the IOC:
That battle defined Bach's politics.
Over the years since, he's frequently described how hurt he felt by the boycott. He also claims the boycott achieved nothing. So he especially refers back to it when defending the IOC for its close cooperation with authoritarian regimes.
After that, Bach stepped into the world of business and also got more involved with sport governance as cofounder of the IOC’s Athletes Commission. Business and sport didn't overlap as much in those days, but that was about to change - with Bach playing a key supporting role.
Good news.
The EU says this is totally not giving in to blackmail. Totally.
Putin announced today that he is running for re-election. Surprise!
These folks would be MAGAs if they lived in America.
Ummmm, no thanks. We had enough of him already. But I get the point — Republicans were staunchly anti-Soviet when he was around. Now they are too busy figuratively fellating Putin. Reagan is surely rolling over in his grave.
Kyiv is protected by a Patriot system, which explains why almost nothing gets through there.
US aid to Ukraine has been a bonanza for US defense firms.
The Washington Post article is here.
2/ Most of the money allocated to Ukraine stays in the US. Out of $68 billion in military and related assistance, almost 90% remains in the United States as public procurement for American companies and worker salaries.
3/ US aid to Ukraine has rejuvenated (and in some cases saved) the US military industry. Weapons for Ukraine are produced in at least 31 states and 71 cities in the US. Some weapon units started production for the first time since 2005, such as Stinger missiles.
4/ The successful use of American weapons by Ukrainians has created significant international demand for these weapons which will fuel the US economy for decades to come.
Plane tickets in Russia should come with life insurance policies.
A drone drops a grenade onto one of three Russians. The Russian picks it up and tosses it onto one of his comrades.
Lucky Russians. They will likely get home in one piece.
OK, so he was a little off. We can’t all be Nostradamus.
What could happen in 2023:
1. Increase in the price of oil to $150 per barrel and the price of gas to $5,000 per 1,000 cubic meters.
2. Britain's return to the European Union.
3. The dissolution of the European Union after the return of Great Britain and the abolition of the euro as the currency of the former EU.
4. The seizure by Poland and Hungary of the western regions of the former Ukraine.
5. Creation of the Fourth Reich on the basis of Germany and its satellites (Poland, Baltic States, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Kyiv Republic and other marginalized countries).
6. War between France and the Fourth Reich. Division of Europe, including a new division of Poland.
7. Separation of Northern Ireland from the Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and annexation to the Republic of Ireland.
8. Civil War in the United States, secession of California and Texas into separate states. Creation of the union state of Texas and Mexico. Subsequent victory of Elon Musk during the US presidential election in the part of the states assigned to the Republicans after the Civil War.
9. Transfer of all major stock markets and financial activity from the U.S. and Europe to Asia.
10. The collapse of the Bretton Woods financial system, including the collapse of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank. Abandonment of the euro and the dollar as the world's reserve currencies. Return of the gold standard. The transition to the active use of digital fiat currencies.
I’d bet cash money that the shells from South Korea perform a hell of a lot better than the shells from North Korea.
This guarantees Ukraine won’t have to wait and hope to get this system donated.
The beatings will continue until morale improves.
But Ukraine still has the Secret Jewish Space Laser (SJSL) we gave them, right?
Unbelievable.
Just heartbreaking.
I especially like the sleigh-dropped munitions.
Audio on for this.
I’m staying right here. It’s too cold out there.