How cheap Chinese tires might explain Russia's 'stalled' 40-mile-long military convoy in Ukraine

[nsdp + 449]

Russia is using Chinese knock off of Michelin Military truck tires and if you  don't move them 4-5 km  once a month to keep truck tires from flat spotting.   If these are same Yellow Sea truck tires were in Somolia and Sudan , they are bias ply rather than radial ply tires. Side walls fail if not properly cared for.  Shoddy maintenance.  I have posted about lack of flight hours for pilots ; here is antoehr example of shoddy operations.

"Trent Telenko, a retired Pentagon staff specialist and military history blogger, suggests another big reason may be Russia's tires, as he explained in a long, illustrated Twitter thread based on photos of deserted Russian Pantsir-S1 wheeled gun-missile systems and his own experience as a U.S. Army vehicle auditor. "When you leave military truck tires in one place for months on end," the sidewalls get brittle in the sun and fail like the tires on the Pantsir-SR, he wrote. "No one exercised that vehicle for one year."

https://news.yahoo.com/cheap-chinese-tires-might-explain-094313721.html

Putin's and his oligarchs' corruption at  work.   ARE the Russian soldiers in good enough physical shape to walk home while starving. ?   Quartermaster hasn't fed many troops in 4 days.

[ronwagn + 6,290]

https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/For+want+of+a+nail+the+shoe+was+lost%3b+for+want+of+a+shoe+the+horse+...

Correct all you're your grammar errors instantly. Try it now.

For want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse ...

for want of a nail

proverb Due to a minor inconvenience or mishap, (something much worse has happened). The full proverb is “For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.”If only you'd taken your car in for an oil change when you were supposed to, this emergency trip to the mechanic could have been avoided. Ah, for want of a nail.

See also: for, nail, of, want

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

For want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the man was lost.

Prov. Overlooking small details can have disastrous consequences. (You can quote any of the sentences in this proverb by themselves.) Jill: I don't think we need to check our bicycle tires before we go for our ride. Jane: I disagree. For want of a nail the shoe was lost. Before we began the hike into the mountains, we checked our equipment painstakingly, remembering that for want of a horse the man was lost.

[nsdp + 449]

Poor training , poor maintenance, poor supply.   Same mistakes Russian made going into Afghanistan  and the Allies in the  western Desert in WWII until Torch unbalanced  Germany and Italy.

[ronwagn + 6,290]

The English got a new leader for their retreating tanks also. I can't recall his name. Maybe Montgomery? They had the longest retreat in history prior to him. This is from Derek Prince a famous minister who was serving as a medic and praying for a new leader before it happened. 

[surrept33 + 609]

Looks like systematic corruption to me.

Whoever was in charge of maintenance pocketed the funds for actual maintenance. 

Whoever was in charge of auditing took a bribe and pocketed the money.

[Andrei Moutchkine + 828]

On 3/6/2022 at 12:45 AM, nsdp said:

Russia is using Chinese knock off of Michelin Military truck tires and if you  don't move them 4-5 km  once a month to keep truck tires from flat spotting.   If these are same Yellow Sea truck tires were in Somolia and Sudan , they are bias ply rather than radial ply tires. Side walls fail if not properly cared for.  Shoddy maintenance.  I have posted about lack of flight hours for pilots ; here is antoehr example of shoddy operations.

"Trent Telenko, a retired Pentagon staff specialist and military history blogger, suggests another big reason may be Russia's tires, as he explained in a long, illustrated Twitter thread based on photos of deserted Russian Pantsir-S1 wheeled gun-missile systems and his own experience as a U.S. Army vehicle auditor. "When you leave military truck tires in one place for months on end," the sidewalls get brittle in the sun and fail like the tires on the Pantsir-SR, he wrote. "No one exercised that vehicle for one year."

https://news.yahoo.com/cheap-chinese-tires-might-explain-094313721.html

Putin's and his oligarchs' corruption at  work.   ARE the Russian soldiers in good enough physical shape to walk home while starving. ?   Quartermaster hasn't fed many troops in 4 days.

They are leaving so many AA assets behind, because they'll be hit within 1/2 hours by a squad driving civilian vehicles and aided by US satellite intelligence. They are specifically looking for columns which are not moving.

[TailingsPond + 466]

19 hours ago, surrept33 said:

Looks like systematic corruption to me.

Whoever was in charge of maintenance pocketed the funds for actual maintenance. 

Whoever was in charge of auditing took a bribe and pocketed the money.

Possibly, or you just have so many trucks sitting around it is difficult to "exercise" them all on a regular basis. 

Ever been to Arizona?  The number of mothballed planes the USA has sitting around is astounding. It blew my mind the first time I saw the scale of it.

It might be cheaper to let the tires spoil than keep a full time staff who's only job is to start a truck, drive it 4 miles and re-park it. The crappy tires will probably dry out anyways...

 

P.S. We had a few pieces of scientific equipment where you could put them into a standby / storage mode and they would turn themselves on briefly occasionally or run constantly at very low levels. The engineers knew that long shutdowns break the stuff.

 

[Andrei Moutchkine + 828]

On 3/6/2022 at 4:56 AM, nsdp said:

Poor training , poor maintenance, poor supply.   Same mistakes Russian made going into Afghanistan  and the Allies in the  western Desert in WWII until Torch unbalanced  Germany and Italy.

In hindsight, USSR performed a lot better in Afghanistan than USA/NATO.

[Andrei Moutchkine + 828]

19 hours ago, surrept33 said:

Looks like systematic corruption to me.

Whoever was in charge of maintenance pocketed the funds for actual maintenance. 

Whoever was in charge of auditing took a bribe and pocketed the money.

Auditing the Pentagon failed completely thus far.

[TailingsPond + 466]

11 minutes ago, Andrei Moutchkine said:

They are leaving so many AA assets behind, because they'll be hit within 1/2 hours by a squad driving civilian vehicles and aided by US satellite intelligence. They are specifically looking for columns which are not moving.

I honestly believe some of this is on purpose.  "Waste" an old vehicle that is almost a liability and you use up a expensive rocket and have decoys from the real attack.

[Andrei Moutchkine + 828]

18 minutes ago, TailingsPond said:

I honestly believe some of this is on purpose.  "Waste" an old vehicle that is almost a liability and you use up a expensive rocket and have decoys from the real attack.

Maybe. Pantsir-S1 they found is brand new and costs a fortune. Tens of millions bucks. There is probably an ongoing project to extract it out of Ukraine to study.

[notsonice + 1,067]

March 06, 2022 22:52 GMT

• By Carl Schreck

• 'Sent As Cannon Fodder': Locals Confront Russian Governor Over 'Deceived' Soldiers In Ukraine

• 

A screengrab of bloodied OMON Russian riot police gear in Bucha, near Kyiv, which was the scene of heavy fighting on February 28. Footage taken from the aftermath of the battle shows OMON gear among dead bodies and the wreckage of Russian military vehicles.

 

A Russian governor in Siberia was confronted by angry citizens who accused the government of "deceiving" young men before deploying them as "cannon fodder" in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Amateur footage of the testy exchange at a meeting between Sergei Tsivilyov, governor of the Kemerovo region, and locals in the city of Novokuznetsk was posted online as early as March 5.

The website of Tsivilyov's administration makes no mention of the meeting, and his office did not respond to a request for comment. But an analysis by RFE/RL reveals that the confrontation took place at the training base of riot police units, whose officers were killed or captured in combat in Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion on February 24.

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Locals Confront Russian Governor Over Sons Being Used As 'Cannon Fodder' In Ukraine War

 

The meeting in a gymnasium at the base for OMON riot police in Novokuznetsk comes amid the Kremlin's rapidly escalating efforts to control information about its war in Ukraine, including a fast-tracked law that allows for up to 15 years in prison for those convicted of spreading "false news" about the Russian military.

As Tsivilyov addressed the gathering, a woman yelled that everyone was "deceived" about the deployments to Ukraine.

"No one has lied to anyone," Tsivilyov replied.

Another woman in the audience responded: "They were sent as cannon fodder."

As tensions escalated during the discussion, a woman in the audience asked where Governor Tsivilyov's son was.

"My son is studying at a university," he answered.

The general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said on March 6 that more than 11,000 Russian troops had been killed since Moscow's invasion, which has triggered an unprecedented wave of sanctions targeting the Russian economy and political elite.

The number of dead could not be independently corroborated. The Russian Defense Ministry has released little information about its casualties. In its most recent account, it said on March 2 that 498 of its soldiers have died since the start of the war.

Riot Police Casualties

RFE/RL was unable to independently confirm who was in the audience in the Novokuznetsk meeting with Tsivilyov, or the exact date of the meeting. But comparing the footage with two separate YouTube videos -- including one posted on the official account of the regional branch of Russia's National Guard -- shows clearly that the meeting was held in the gymnasium at the OMON base in the city.

Members of Novokuznetsk OMON units were among the Russian fighters killed or captured by Ukrainian forces in Bucha, a city some 20 kilometers outside Kyiv, on February 28. Footage from the aftermath of the battle shows OMON gear among dead bodies and the wreckage of Russian military vehicles.

 

Battle footage also shows gear marked as belonging to the Russian National Guard's special rapid-reaction unit (SOBR) from Tsivilyov's region, which is also known as the Kuzbass.

At least two Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine have identified themselves as officers of the Novokuznetsk OMON, though RFE/RL could not confirm what kind of duress they may have been subjected to prior to giving testimony to Ukrainian forces.

One of the prisoners said he and his fellow fighters were told in early February that they were being sent away for a training exercise and ultimately ended up in Belarus before learning they would be invading Ukraine.

His account corresponds to that given to RFE/RL's Russian Service by the friend of another Novokuznetsk OMON officer who went missing in Ukraine.

"They told everyone that they were being sent for a training exercise in Belarus," the friend said on condition of anonymity, citing fears of facing treason charges. "The last time I talked to him was on the eve of the invasion. He sent me a video saying they'd forced them to take the plates of their vehicles and turn over their phones. That's the last I heard from him."

The aftermath of heavy fighting in Bucha, a city some 20 kilometers outside Kyiv, where a number of Russian fighters were killed or captured by Ukrainian forces.

The friend cited survivors of the battle as saying that the Novokuznetsk OMON officer who'd sent the video had died on "that bridge" -- likely a reference to a bridge destroyed in the Bucha battle.

"The commanders are silent and don't say anything. And the guys don't like to talk much either if they call their loved ones, because it's a state secret and no one wants to go to jail," the friend said.

"Everyone is scared, and nobody understands anything."

'You Mean When Everyone Dies?'

Tsivilyov told the audience at the Novokuznetsk gymnasium that the Russian government has rightly kept details about its invasion of Ukraine -- which the Kremlin insists on calling a "special military operation" and falsely claims has not targeted civilian infrastructure -- tightly under wraps.

Told by members of the audience that "our boys" were unprepared to carry out an invasion and "didn't know their objective," Tsivilyov said:

"Look, you can shout and blame everyone right now, but I think that, while a military operation is in process, one shouldn't make any conclusions."

"We shouldn't criticize. When it ends, and it will end soon," Tsivilyov added before a woman interjected: "[You mean] when everyone dies?"

In an apparent effort to ease the audience's concerns, Tsivilyov likened the Kremlin's approach to the Ukraine invasion to the Soviet Union's bloody 1979-1989 war in Afghanistan that helped set the stage for the Soviet collapse.

"It was officially stated that we had declared war, and the first who entered Afghanistan didn't know where they were going," Tsivilyov said. "They found out when they already entered.”

"By the way, there are still guys alive from that group," he added about the war that Soviet officials reckoned killed an estimated 15,000 Soviet troops and millions of Afghans.

[surrept33 + 609]

2 hours ago, Andrei Moutchkine said:

In hindsight, USSR performed a lot better in Afghanistan than USA/NATO.

you can quantify it many ways, but its clear the Soviet/Afghanistan war was a MUCH more brutal war

 

In 10 years, starting from when Afghanistan had ~11 million people:

Civilians (Afghan):

562,000–2,000,000 killed

5 million refugees outside Afghanistan

2 million internally displaced persons

Around 3 million Afghans wounded (mostly civilians)

 

 

The USA/NATO occupation was 20 years when Afghanistan starting from when ~20 million people (~40 mill now):

Civilians killed: 46,319

 

Edited March 7, 2022 by surrept33

[footeab@yahoo.com + 2,129]

On 3/6/2022 at 12:41 PM, ronwagn said:

The English got a new leader for their retreating tanks also. I can't recall his name. Maybe Montgomery? They had the longest retreat in history prior to him. This is from Derek Prince a famous minister who was serving as a medic and praying for a new leader before it happened. 

Erg... History... Mostly Propaganda.  Monty is a classic example.  I know this is a few days old, but Monty predecessor received a MASSIVE number of MODERN tanks, aircraft, artillery, shells, mines, and implemented a defensive line while relegating obsolete 1930's trash to the rear right before he was "relieved", while the German lines of supply were massively extended and being bombed.  Monty "stopped" retreating as he inherited a massive modern army instead of the 1930's obsolete rubbish they were working with before this.  On top of this, they were at a great spot to defend(Narrow with impassable desert with ZERO water to the south and zero water directly to the WEST-->german direction) and now had MORE aircraft, tanks, artillery, fuel, etc than the axis, and shorter lines of communications, logistics while the axis had fewer of all of the above and longer lines of logistics.

Monty didn't do $&!#.... well maybe he did as part of his predecessors staff, but was it his planning?   

UK needed a war hero bad in 42'.  They got it in Monty holding at al amein....  A stalemate + PR = war hero on command...

Edited March 8, 2022 by footeab@yahoo.com

[ronwagn + 6,290]

Well, my source thought that the commanding officers were sorely lacking in administrative and leadership abilities. Maybe he was wrong though. 

I never had a high opinion of Montgomery though, prior to hearing from Derek Prince. Maybe you are right.

I am a fan of Patton, more than anyone else. I don't really study military history. I am a fan of MacArthur also. Not sure about the rest. Eisenhower was apparently a great administrator. Grant, of course, for the Civil War. Maybe Sherman was more brutal than necessary. I really don't know. George Washington was the most important. 

[footeab@yahoo.com + 2,129]

46 minutes ago, ronwagn said:

Well, my source thought that the commanding officers were sorely lacking in administrative and leadership abilities. Maybe he was wrong though. 

I never had a high opinion of Montgomery though, prior to hearing from Derek Prince. Maybe you are right.

I am a fan of Patton, more than anyone else. I don't really study military history. I am a fan of MacArthur also. Not sure about the rest. Eisenhower was apparently a great administrator. Grant, of course, for the Civil War. Maybe Sherman was more brutal than necessary. I really don't know. George Washington was the most important. 

I do not study military leader personalities as they are 100% creatures of circumstance, not because of their great personality etc.  There is nothing special about them other than maybe at the smaller unit level.  Rather the command structure, logistics, tech, strategy matters.  The battalion commanders are involved in tactics and should get all the glory, but never do.    George Washington could be considered great due to what he did for the Presidential office.  As for what he did on the battlefield.... It is more of what he didn't do which made him a good battalion commander.  I would not consider him a general.  He could literally know the names of every single soldier under his command most of the time. 

Its the same reason I never study presidents or leaders in charge and find such things dreadfully boring.... They are nothing but figure heads for the organization behind them, the circumstances for their rise etc.  Other than outright dictators, those in charge follow Machiavelli.  Even dictators follow Machiavelli...

[footeab@yahoo.com + 2,129]

1 hour ago, ronwagn said:

Well, my source thought that the commanding officers were sorely lacking in administrative and leadership abilities. Maybe he was wrong though. 

I never had a high opinion of Montgomery though, prior to hearing from Derek Prince. Maybe you are right.

I am a fan of Patton, more than anyone else. I don't really study military history. I am a fan of MacArthur also. Not sure about the rest. Eisenhower was apparently a great administrator. Grant, of course, for the Civil War. Maybe Sherman was more brutal than necessary. I really don't know. George Washington was the most important. 

As for what I think of those you listed... most it could have been anyone.   MacArthur... the little I read, thought he was a dreadful fool.  Patton, average though in his case haven't read much as I don't really like reading about individuals in war.  Eisenhower anyone could have done the job(not Admiral King though), same with Grant and Sherman.  When you have several times more than the defender....  only ***special*** people like McClellan can really screw things up. 

Edited March 8, 2022 by footeab@yahoo.com

[Starschy + 211]

On 3/6/2022 at 4:56 AM, nsdp said:

Poor training , poor maintenance, poor supply.   Same mistakes Russian made going into Afghanistan  and the Allies in the  western Desert in WWII until Torch unbalanced  Germany and Italy.

They where going to Ukraine with the old stuff. Maybe they where to long in Belarus.

[specinho + 440]

On 3/9/2022 at 7:44 AM, footeab@yahoo.com said:

I do not study military leader personalities as they are 100% creatures of circumstance, not because of their great personality etc.  There is nothing special about them other than maybe at the smaller unit level.  Rather the command structure, logistics, tech, strategy matters.  The battalion commanders are involved in tactics and should get all the glory, but never do.    George Washington could be considered great due to what he did for the Presidential office.  As for what he did on the battlefield.... It is more of what he didn't do which made him a good battalion commander.  I would not consider him a general.  He could literally know the names of every single soldier under his command most of the time. 

Its the same reason I never study presidents or leaders in charge and find such things dreadfully boring.... They are nothing but figure heads for the organization behind them, the circumstances for their rise etc.  Other than outright dictators, those in charge follow Machiavelli.  Even dictators follow Machiavelli...

The most popular practice for non combatant, military trained or/and successors for Monty or leaders would be going on media........... immediately........

Instead of gathering general and team leaders and/ or call the invading leader on whatsapp, media stunt is really........... working........ to fuel the war further..........

[SUZNV + 1,197]

On 3/8/2022 at 5:44 PM, footeab@yahoo.com said:

I do not study military leader personalities as they are 100% creatures of circumstance, not because of their great personality etc.  There is nothing special about them other than maybe at the smaller unit level.  Rather the command structure, logistics, tech, strategy matters.  The battalion commanders are involved in tactics and should get all the glory, but never do.    George Washington could be considered great due to what he did for the Presidential office.  As for what he did on the battlefield.... It is more of what he didn't do which made him a good battalion commander.  I would not consider him a general.  He could literally know the names of every single soldier under his command most of the time. 

Its the same reason I never study presidents or leaders in charge and find such things dreadfully boring.... They are nothing but figure heads for the organization behind them, the circumstances for their rise etc.  Other than outright dictators, those in charge follow Machiavelli.  Even dictators follow Machiavelli...

In this globalization world, a leader who is not running while facing a stronger enemy is good enough to be a hero.  Personally I don't think Ukraine can hold this long if Zelenskyy took the refugee deal for him and his family. This kind patriot politician is very rare nowadays. If he can survive this war, he should consider to publish a book telling about this war and he can achieve Financial Independent and Retire Early.

Lithuanian President said EU leaders agree on letting Ukraine candidate status, along side with Turkey. I got this news from Vietnam news website and only found on  Lithuanian President twitter 

https://twitter.com/GitanasNauseda/status/1502103582337871874

and India today

https://www.indiatoday.in/world/russia-ukraine-war/story/eu-leaders-ukraine-membership-lithuanian-president-says-1924027-2022-03-11

Don't know why there is no big mainstream in Western World announce this yet.

[Andrei Moutchkine + 828]

1 hour ago, SUZNV said:

In this globalization world, a leader who is not running while facing a stronger enemy is good enough to be a hero.  Personally I don't think Ukraine can hold this long if Zelenskyy took the refugee deal for him and his family. This kind patriot politician is very rare nowadays. If he can survive this war, he should consider to publish a book telling about this war and he can achieve Financial Independent and Retire Early.

Lithuanian President said EU leaders agree on letting Ukraine candidate status, along side with Turkey. I got this news from Vietnam news website and only found on  Lithuanian President twitter 

https://twitter.com/GitanasNauseda/status/1502103582337871874

and India today

https://www.indiatoday.in/world/russia-ukraine-war/story/eu-leaders-ukraine-membership-lithuanian-president-says-1924027-2022-03-11

Don't know why there is no big mainstream in Western World announce this yet.

Because it is purely symbolic? Turkey has been a candidate for what, 30+ years? They are not accepting Ukraine, because Ukraine is broke.

[SUZNV + 1,197]

11 minutes ago, Andrei Moutchkine said:

Because it is purely symbolic? Turkey has been a candidate for what, 30+ years? They are not accepting Ukraine, because Ukraine is broke.

We have countless symbolic events on mainstream nowadays, as long as they  fit the propaganda though. Or maybe EU is on the declining itself (US may be as well, but this is an seperated issue) . 

Edited March 11, 2022 by SUZNV

[Andrei Moutchkine + 828]

4 minutes ago, SUZNV said:

Or maybe EU is on the declining itself. 

This goes without saying. What a sorry collection of stupid clowns it is.

[Andrei Moutchkine + 828]

1 hour ago, SUZNV said:

We have countless symbolic events on mainstream nowadays, as long as they  fit the propaganda though. Or maybe EU is on the declining itself (US may be as well, but this is an seperated issue) . 

Prophetic moment from "Servant of the People", where Ze played the President of Ukraine before he became one

https://twitter.com/Anwer121212M/status/1499925476919627776

[SUZNV + 1,197]

21 minutes ago, Andrei Moutchkine said:

Prophetic moment from "Servant of the People", where Ze played the President of Ukraine before he became one

https://twitter.com/Anwer121212M/status/1499925476919627776

If Ukraine can get out of this war, then they have a president with real patriot people, less corrupted elites and careered politicians but real democracy, become neutral like the Swiss with lots of sympathy from Western people, foreign aids and FDI,  with lots of natural resources and good engineers. It is the recipe to success. Ukraine people won't take freedom & democracy for granted.