Time flies. Only two months have passed since Putin’s beano with Macron in Moscow when he blurted out that Ukraine should bite the pillow and fulfill her duty1.
Нравится, не нравится — терпи, моя красавица! Надо исполнять! По-другому не получится.
Weeks later, on February 24, 2022, Russian troops invaded Ukraine from the north, south and east, leading to tens of thousands of gruesome deaths. The killing has not stopped since then.
As of April 11, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine says 19,500 Russian soldiers have been killed in action, many vaporized in short-range combat by shoulder-held high explosive anti-tank rockets, e.g. Javelin, NLAW.
When this type of projectile hits armor an explosion inside the round causes a metallic cone inside to turn into a liquid (this is called the Munroe Effect) which is propelled forward in a jet and it’s this which cuts a hole through the armor. This hole isn’t very big and wouldn’t normally disable the target on its own.
What vaporizes the crew within is the “spalling” which sees liquid metal projected into the crew compartment along with particles of armor. This spray acts like shrapnel and turns anything it comes into contact with, including the crew, into fine mulch.
(to be continued)
Ukraine’s president didn’t think the Russian leader’s crude comments were addressed to him, at least not directly. At a press conference in Kyiv, he said the use of the female gender for the possessive pronoun “my” (“моя”) was inappropriate, noting that Ukraine is very patient and therefore wise and vice versa. (The Doorman with Nukes and No Friends. February 9, 2022)
Great - the Russian tanks and their crews shouldn't be there. This is a good way to rectify the situation.