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Mars_B4_Moon

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Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

India, Russia are consistent opponents of illegitimate unilateral sanctions: Lavrov

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/ … 566597.ece

Swiss bankers face trial accused of helping Putin's friend transfer cash

https://www.reuters.com/business/financ … 023-03-01/

Ukraine won largest tank battle of the war in Vuhledar, NYT reports

https://news.yahoo.com/ukraine-won-larg … 00247.html

NYT: Russia loses 'epic' tank battle in Vuhledar, 130 vehicles destroyed
https://news.yahoo.com/nyt-russia-loses … 08526.html
According to the New York Times article the Ukrainian forces have destroyed at least 130 tanks

Mars_B4_Moon

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Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

Russian BMP-2 Gets Smacked By RGW 90 Matador
https://funker530.com/video/russian-bmp … 0-matador/

Lucky Soldier's Plate Stops 30mm Round
https://funker530.com/video/lucky-soldi … 0mm-round/

Mars_B4_Moon

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Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

Ukraine-Russian resistance group claims it has captured part of Russian territory or says it crossed into Russia? Bryansk on the River Desna, 379 kilometers (235 mi) southwest of Moscow?  Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) is the main successor agency to the Soviet Union's KGB

Russia says Ukrainian saboteurs make border incursion
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/2 … -incursion

FSB says situation in Bryansk 'under control' - RIA
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/russias- … 05468.html

Russia's FSB security service said on Thursday that the situation in the Bryansk region near the border with Ukraine was "under control", the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

President Vladimir Putin earlier said Ukrainian saboteurs had shot at civilians in what he called a "terrorist act" close to Russia's border with Ukraine. Ukraine accused Russia of staging a false "provocation".

Russia: “Terrorist attack in Bryansk.” Ukraine: “No, your supporters”
https://www.wireservice.ca/russia-terro … upporters/

Ukraine dismisses Russian reports of deadly attack in Bryansk as 'provocation'
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/2023 … t-rages-on

‘False flag’ fears after Russia shockingly claims Ukrainians have flooded over border…as Putin to hold crisis meeting
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/21565020/ … er-border/

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2023-03-02 10:21:27)

Mars_B4_Moon

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Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

A case in Switzerland may unravel how Russian president Vladimir Putin hides his ‘enormous assets’

https://fortune.com/2023/03/02/russia-p … -roldugin/

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

Belgium freezes Russian assets worth EUR 58 billion

https://news.yahoo.com/belgium-freezes- … 00114.html

G20 meeting: No joint communiqué as “divergences” over Ukraine Conflict derail the statement

https://www.theindianwire.com/internati … nt-337012/

S Jaishankar said that no joint communiqué had been issued due to the diverging reservations over the Russia-Ukraine conflict

Thousands of Russians Flee to Thailand to Escape War

https://www.voanews.com/a/thousands-of- … 79011.html

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

G20

Blinken on Ukraine, Lavrov meeting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHHpMXHB9GY

Mars_B4_Moon

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Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

Footage shows how Russian tanks and armored vehicles keep driving to their death at an infamous mine-filled crossroads

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/footage-shows … 16114.html

Mars_B4_Moon

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Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

Ukrainian Attack On Russian Port In Black Sea
https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 … ack-shows/

Russia’s Inability to Dominate the Sea has Changed the Course of the War in Ukraine
https://www.marinelink.com/news/russias … ged-503268

UN chief in Ukraine on Wednesday to talk Black Sea grain deal renewal
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/un … 023-03-07/

'Ukrainian Aircrew Targets Russian Positions with Unguided Rockets'
https://funker530.com/video/ukrainian-a … d-rockets/

Cockpit footage released by Ukrainian pilots shows the utilization of unguided rockets to hit what is allegedly a Russian convoy on the move into the Donetsk region.

The technique you're seeing in this video has been heavily documented by both the Ukrainian and Russian rotary wing aircrews in the on-going conflict in Ukraine. The way that this works is the target is first identified by a forward observation team. That team can be a reconnaissance unit operating forward of the lines, or more likely a drone flying over the target area, either way the end state is the same, and an eight to ten digit grid is provided to the aircrew.

The aircrew then sets up a heading that aligns with the target on a map, and they utilize simple mathematics and geometry with the known maximum effective range of their rockets to volley them towards the target when they reach a specific point of their flight path.

This is by no means an entirely accurate way of conducting this type of air support, however it's the best that either side can manage at the moment due to the extreme threat of man portable air defense systems. Due to the MANPAD threat, neither side can effectively or safely fly combat operations over enemy controlled territory without their being an extreme risk to the aircraft and aircrew.

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2023-03-08 08:38:17)

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

Poland ready to deliver fighter jets to Ukraine, says president

https://www.euractiv.com/section/politi … president/

Mars_B4_Moon

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Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

In A Ukrainian Bunker Under Artillery Fire

https://funker530.com/video/in-a-ukrain … lery-fire/

Footage recorded inside a Ukrainian front line bunker demonstrates the sights and sounds of incoming Russian artillery hammering their position. The soldiers narrate their experience as the powerful munitions shake the ground and blow their door open.

SpaceNut

Administrator

From: New Hampshire

Registered: 2004-07-22

Posts: 29,433

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

The fact that Russi is stepping up the attacks means they are running out of resources and are trying to make a stabilizing foot hold.

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

SBU Agents Arrest City Leader for Treason.
https://funker530.com/video/sbu-agents- … r-treason/
A video posted on Twitter from October of 2022 in the City of Mykolaiv, a city on the black sea, shows the arrest of the Head Funeral Director, Oleksandr Sahadiak, suspected of giving names of the Ukrainian military, SBU, and others to the Russians. However, from reports, no one has been able to get ahold of Oleksandr Sahadiak nor verify the integrity of the claims of treason or collaboration with the Russians.

Video of SU-27 VS MQ-9 Incident Over the Black Sea
https://funker530.com/video/video-of-su … black-sea/
Russian footage of the SU-27 V. MQ-9 Reaper incident over the black sea as the MQ-9 conducts recon operations.
Video on Telegram channels allegedly shows Russian footage from one of their aircraft as they passed by extremely close to the MQ-9. The pentagon had released a statement stating that multiple SU-27s made around 20 extremely close maneuvers to the MQ-9. The last pass from a SU-27 made contact with the MQ-9 disabling its propulsion system, which resulted in the drone crash landing in the sea. The pentagon has also stated that it is working on declassifying the drone footage of the incident and releasing it to the public.

Lithuania designates Russian Wagner as terrorist organisation
https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/1 … ganisation

Desperate Putin empties museums of obsolete T-62 tanks to repurpose them for his war in Ukraine
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl … e-war.html

Chris Christie compares Ron DeSantis' stance on Ukraine to appeasing Hitler before WWII
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/chr … 32023.html

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

Hollywood actor Steven Seagal is an American martial artist, movie actor, producer, writer, guitarist and former reserve deputy sheriff, he then became some kind of deity or Lama god, originally known as an Aikido instructor in Japan, the first foreigner to have an Aikido dojo in Japan. He later moved to Los Angeles, California and became an Action Movie Hollywood 'Star' he mostly does B-movie stuff now and Direct to DVD downloads, he was granted Russian citizenship in 2016. In 2018, the Russian foreign ministry announced that Seagal was appointed as a special envoy to improve ties with the United States, he is a fan of Putin.

Steven Seagal to help set up international pro-Russia movement
https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/1 … a-movement

Video: Steven Seagal says he's 'one million percent Russian' and decries the West
https://www.msn.com/
,
https://metro.co.uk/video/steven-seagal … e-2897511/

Mars_B4_Moon

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Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

'GoPro: Ukrainians in Tank Survive Direct Tank Round Impact'

https://funker530.com/video/gopro-ukrai … nd-impact/

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

US Military Video From Su-27 VS MQ-9 Incident Over Black Sea

https://funker530.com/video/us-military … black-sea/

Mars_B4_Moon

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Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

Russia, Ukraine extend grain deal to aid world's poor

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukrai … eea1197327

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

Sweden has exported a version of the Javelin Anti-Tank Weapon

Russian Tank Blown Up By NLAW Near Irpin
https://funker530.com/video/russian-tan … ear-irpin/

Footage reportedly shows a Ukrainian soldier knocking out a Russian tank with an NLAW somewhere in the vicinity of Irpin.
While that last bit of information may be true, we have to caution ourselves about the videos coming out of Ukraine claiming to be current. Now that the war is in its second year, much of the footage from the initial invasion is being reuploaded under the false narrative that it is new.

Mars_B4_Moon

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Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

Japanese leader heading to Ukraine for talks with Zelenskyy

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/2 … y-00088025

Japan PM Kishida visits Bucha as part of Ukraine visit | AFP

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qirrUssKA9w

Mars_B4_Moon

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Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

Drone Records and Spots for Ukrainian Tank Engaging Russian Positions
https://funker530.com/video/drone-recor … positions/

Drone video released by Ukrainian sources captures a Ukrainian tank engaging Russian positions. While the drone is dominantly recording the tank, it's apparent from the footage that they're also acting as a spotter for the tank crew on the ground.

At the conclusion of this conflict, I'd really like to know how many Ukrainian tanks were able to effectively reach out and destroy targets past their maximum effective range as a result of drone spotting techniques. I'd wager that the number is going to end up being a lot higher than previously imagined, as the tank crews are now able to make adjustments to their aim based on real-time data they're receiving from inexpensive drones flying directly overhead with a clear line of site to the intended target.

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

Migs are going to Ukraine. I assume this news is maybe true, 'Yahoo!' is an American web services provider, Republic TV is a free-to-air Hindu Nationalist Indian  English-language news channel there are also reports on British social media and there were already rumors some European countries might supply jets. Europe and the USA already give battle Tanks to Ukraine. Previous Slovakia and Polish aircraft operated include the Slovak Soviet era MiG-21, MiG-29, Sukhoi Su-22, Sukhoi Su-25, Yakovlev Yak-40, Tupolev Tu-154, Aero L-29, Antonov An-12, Antonov An-24/An-26, Mil Mi-2, and the Mil Mi-24 helicopterand Polish Soviet era MiG-21s, MiG-23s, MiG-29s, Su-20s and Su-22s, in Germany the Airforce had its USSR era Migs taken out of service and sold, they say all Migs save one, were sold to Poland for the symbolic price of €1 a piece .

QUOTE

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says that "the free flow of information is either banned by government authorities or not fully developed"

Slovakia sent first four MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine
https://www.rferl.org/a/slovakia-ukrain … 31248.html

Slovakia hands over first four MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine
https://news.yahoo.com/slovakia-hands-o … 00295.html

Slovakia Decides To Hand Over Four Mig-29 Fighter Jets To Ukraine
https://www.republicworld.com/world-new … eshow.html

'MiG-29s LEAVE LUFTWAFFE'
https://web.archive.org/web/20100624022 … R0404c.htm

Some websites compare the Mig-29 to the F-16 Fighting Falcon or Su-27 Flanker

'Slovakia follows Poland to pledge MIG-29 jets to Ukraine'

DW News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVoRRy8wUzQ

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2023-03-23 12:40:30)

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

Both the Russian Air Force and Ukrainian Air Force operate the Su25 Frogfoot a 48 years old aircraft, some people compare it to the Romania Yugoslavia 'Vultur' or Northrop YA-9 or A-10 Warthog

Ukrainian Su-25 Frogfoot Cockpit Combat Footage
https://funker530.com/video/ukrainian-s … t-footage/
Footage recorded inside the cockpit of a Ukrainian Su-25 Frogfoot strike jet shows low-level maneuvers and rockets being fired at Russian targets. The jet is forced to fly low in order to evade radar detection and lock by Russian air defenses.

Russia puts Hungary on ‘unfriendly countries’ list, says envoy
https://news.yahoo.com/russia-puts-hung … 00975.html

Belarus detains Russian over daughter’s Ukraine sketch
https://www.dw.com/en/belarus-detains-r … a-65188831

‘Absurdity to a new level’ as Russia takes charge of UN security council
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/ … ty-council

Last edited by Mars_B4_Moon (2023-03-31 13:24:34)

Mars_B4_Moon

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Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

Ukraine decries 'symbolic blow' as Russia takes helm of UN Security Council

https://www.france24.com/en/europe/2023 … ty-council

The last time Moscow held the post was in February 2022, when its troops launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Kremlin said on Friday it planned to "exercise all its rights" in the role.

The United States on Thursday urged Russia to "conduct itself professionally" when it assumes the role, saying there was no means to block Moscow from the post.

Ukrainian official Yermak also hit out at Iran, who Kyiv and its allies accuse of supplying Russia with arms, including hundreds of assault drones which have menaced Ukrainian infrastructure facilities. Tehran denies supplying Russia with weapons.

Mars_B4_Moon

Member

Registered: 2006-03-23

Posts: 9,776

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

Some people want to class mines in civil population areas as 'War Crimes' use of land mines is controversial there have been International treaties trying to ban their use. The use of land mines is controversial because they are indiscriminate weapons, they harm soldier and harming civilian alike, long after a battle in an area they remain dangerous after the conflict in which they were deployed

Modern Designs of Land Mines have been used since WW2 and the Ottawa Treaty, is the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction.

There have been many political meetings to try ban them
https://web.archive.org/web/20171201032 … ies/16msp/

164 nations have signed the treaty, but these do not include China, the Russian Federation, or the United States.

The M58 Mine Clearing Line Charge (MICLIC) is a rocket-projected explosive line charge which provides a "close-in" demining capability.
https://funker530.com/video/ukrainians- … minefield/
Drone video released by a Ukrainian mine clearance team shows the effective utilization of an American M58 Mine Clearing Line Charge. It appears as if the Ukrainians are using an International MaxxPro to pull the device.
For the uninitiated, the M58 Mine Clearing Line Charge, better known as the MICLIC, is a rocket projected line charge used to clear safe lanes through heavily mined areas for maneuver forces. The system works by detonating a 350 ft line charge that contains approximately 5 pounds of C-4 explosives per linear foot.

kbd512

Administrator

Registered: 2015-01-02

Posts: 7,857

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

Even if the Russians only lost half as many men and machines in Ukraine as the Ukrainians have claimed, the loss rate is staggering.  Independent analysis from Oryx (a group which focuses on tabulating Russian military equipment production and losses using photographs of each piece of equipment) confirms 1,700+ tanks visually confirmed lost, abandoned, or captured by Ukrainian forces.  I believe at least 2,000 tanks seems to be the one most western sources agree to.

Oryx's website contains photographs of each loss:
Oryx - Attack On Europe: Documenting Russian Equipment Losses During The 2022 Russian Invasion Of Ukraine

From the web page above:

This list only includes destroyed vehicles and equipment of which photo or videographic evidence is available. Therefore, the amount of equipment destroyed is significantly higher than recorded here. Loitering munitions, drones used as unmanned bait, civilian vehicles and derelict equipment are not included in this list. All possible effort has gone into avoiding duplicate entries and discerning the status of equipment between captured or abandoned. Many of the entries listed as 'abandoned' will likely end up captured or destroyed. Similarly, some of the captured equipment might be destroyed if it can't be recovered. When a vehicle is captured and then lost in service with its new owners, it is only added as a loss of the original operator to avoid double listings. When the origin of a piece of equipment can't be established, it's not included in the list. The Soviet flag is used when the equipment in question was produced prior to 1991. This list is constantly updated as additional footage becomes available.

Our list showing destroyed and captured Ukrainian vehicles and equipment can be found here. For a list of Russian equipment losses during the First Chechen War click here. For a list of Russian equipment losses during the Second Chechen War click here. A list of Russian equipment losses during the 2008 Russo-Georgian War can be found here.

kbd512

Administrator

Registered: 2015-01-02

Posts: 7,857

Re: Putin's Russian expanding to be the old USSR

I have seen multiple videos of Russians transporting T-54 / T-55 / T-62 / T-72 tanks to Ukraine by railway.  I have to presume this means Russia's stocks of late model tanks are either low or they're trying to limit losses of their newer tanks.  It's important to note that the age of the tank chassis is nowhere near as critical as the quality and caliber of the main gun, main gun targeting computer, and thermal imaging or other optics used to locate targets and lay the gun onto target.

The ultimate effect of those units on the war remains to be seen.  If Ukraine's allies can continue providing effective anti-armor weapons and training to use them effectively, then the most probable end result is destruction or capture of those military assets as well.  However, Ukraine's war with Russia has proven to be a very slow and grinding war of attrition which Ukraine sorely lacks the sheer numbers to win.

If you put a modern 125mm Russian 2A46M / Ukrainian KBA-3 / Chinese ZPT-98 tank cannon, a good stabilization system, modern computer, and a modern thermal imaging sight into an older tank chassis, then apart from potential issues with decreased armor protection and engine or running gear reliability (such issues are generally fixable through the upgrade process), it represents a capability threat equal to a T-90.  Russian T-54/55/64/72/80/90 tanks are all similar enough that they can all accept turrets with these upgrades, and such upgrade packages have already been fully developed for them by Russia.

There are a limited set of engagement scenarios where western weapons are superior to eastern ones.  Under those specific scenarios, which are mostly limited to offensive maneuver engagements, western weaponry excels.  Russian or Chinese military doctrine would call for the use of ATGMs (Anti-Tank Guided Missiles) fired from armored fighting vehicles or helicopters or ground attack aircraft during armored offensives.  American / British / Canadian / Australian military doctrine is largely similar, in that such roles are covered by similarly capable modern day "tank destroyers", which consist primarily of Apache gunships (flying tank destroyers) or attack jets.

Russia and to a lesser extent, China, have both failed to conduct the type and frequency of training required to maintain proficiency in combined arms maneuver warfare.  That is why they have such a poor track record fighting offensive military campaigns.  It's not their equipment, contrary to popular belief.  There's a persistent mythology about the superiority of western military equipment which paints a very skewed and generally false picture of true weapon system capabilities.  There's a kernel of truth to the claims, which is why they persist, but any country's tank on the business end of any country's ATGM platform is in deep trouble.  Both western and eastern military forces have reliable / robust / combat-proven small arms, tank cannons, ATGMs, armored vehicles, helicopter gunships, and attack jets.  Their problems are either doctrinal (tactics which haven't been thoroughly and continuously tested against anticipated threats, or misapplication of fighting doctrine by poorly trained officers and conscripts) or lying about the type and frequency of training conducted, giving a false impression of combat readiness to higher level commanders.

Myth:
Russian tank cannons are less powerful or can't shoot accurately.  Russian military equipment, in general, is ineffective or inferior to western designed military equipment.

Reality:
Russian tank cannons are every bit as powerful as western cannons.  They fire APFSDS rounds at 1,700m/s to 1,800m/s, precisely the same muzzle velocities achieved by all western 120mm cannons, and the munitions fired are constructed of very similar Tungsten or DU alloys.  Broadly speaking, if you're armed with either one, it then becomes a matter of operational art and how they're employed.  The American tankers who fought the first Gulf War opined that if you put them in Iraqi T-72s and gave the American Abrams to the Iraqi military, the Iraqis still would've lost the battles they fought, on account of how they were employed, lack of initiative taken when opportunities were presented, and the fact that the electronics / targeting systems / positioning or usage of available forces were the only meaningful difference in whether or not victories were achieved.  There were some very long range engagements where American electronics and optics were decisive, but most of the time the fighting was very confused close-range engagements with Iraqi tanks protected by defensive positions.

From American accounts, the Iraqi Republican Guard units were the only ones apt to do battle and to demonstrate competence as an armored maneuver force.  This applies to Ukraine with full force.  No clear air superiority exists, operating airborne tank destroyers / gunships is very dangerous, both forces are far more evenly matched, and the war is primarily a land war fought with infantry / armor / artillery / associated tactics and operational art, with air power still being an important aspect of the order of battle, but not an overwhelming force unto itself.

All the advanced sensor / communication / drone / missile tech now available has led us right back to trench warfare with limited opportunities for combined arms maneuver warfare using armored thrusts to bypass or encircle Russian ground positions.  This isn't a sniper duel fought with hypersonic weapons and stealth fighter jets.  We're using weapons dating back to WWI in conjunction with the latest 21st century technologies.  A WWI water-cooled machine gun or towed artillery piece can be as decisive to a battle's outcome as fighter jets and cruise missiles.  We have far more information now about developing situations, but the battle is every bit as confused as it was during WWII.

Accurate shooting depends upon other components that must work in conjunction with the cannon, namely the thermal imaging sight for finding and identifying targets, an accurate gun laying computer to compute the point of aim to achieve a first-round hit, and stabilization system if the tank is supposed to be capable of firing on the move, as all modern tanks are.  It would be fair to assert that Soviet era gun laying computers were not as precise and accurate as western ones, largely due to the use of inferior electronics such as vacuum tubes.  Russia has had access to the same electronics supplies as the west for decades now.  Highly specialized or expensive chips are not required, because the total computing power and software complexity is very low.  Any graphing calculator has more than enough power to quickly and accurately compute a firing solution for the input cartridge ballistics / temperature / pressure / humidity.  Any engineering major has more than enough knowledge to write software to apply the formulas involved.

As armored maneuver warfare goes, there are some takeaways I have noted:

1. Despite their cost and complexity, the true purpose of guided munitions is to prevent overrunning your industrial capacity to produce more munitions, and to avoid burn-out of far more costly and difficult to replace items like cannon barrels.  Russia has been firing so many unguided artillery shells that they can burn out cannon barrels inside of a week.  Ukraine launch a handful of Excalibur 155mm guided artillery shells or HiMARS rockets, and almost all of them hit their intended targets.  Obviously it's impractical to do operationally, but a single artillery piece firing such guided munitions against hand-picked targets could destroy most of the armored vehicles in the Russian Army before its barrel was burned out.  That means the logistics problem is drastically simplified.  Moving enough guided artillery shells to destroy 5,000 war machines only requires 5 C-17 flights from America to Poland.  That can be done in a day.  The munitions are more expensive overall, but the only alternative is having thousands of cannons launching millions of shells, many of which will miss the target entirely.  That alternative, as it turns out, is inordinately more expensive than 5,000 guided artillery shells.  The Russians target entire cities with their artillery barrages because that's all they can do with what they have.  They spent all the money and brain power which could've developed guided artillery shells, on very expensive hypersonic missiles, sans effective targeting systems to identify targets worth the cost of the missile, which are not decisive except against opposing airfields or warships or munitions / fuel dumps, of which the Ukrainians have none.

2. Brand new military tech like hypersonic missiles and smart drones have the potential to alter the course of a battle, but the logistics and expense and operational complexities associated with using them at the scale required to be decisive is cost-prohibitive.  Drones provide an important way to put constant pressure on an enemy force, to ensure that they never feel safe, that someone is always watching them, waiting for them to make a mistake to capitalize on.  It's very important that these machines be as cheap as possible, because they are expendable, and consumed in mass quantities to do what they do.  We're now using cardboard and wood or 3D printed propellers to ensure that these smart / loitering munitions are cheap enough to make and lose.  They can inflict great damage to airfields and munitions dumps as suicide drones, but are not capable of successful attacks against armored vehicles unless something stupid has been done like leaving all the hatches open or failing to put camo netting over the tops of the vehicles, which both conceals the vehicles and catches incoming drones.

3. Air power is only as effective as Integrated Air Defense Systems (IADS) allows it to become.  Both sides have incredibly capable and lethal IADS.  SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) was utterly ignored by the Russian Air Force, resulting in the loss of hundreds of very expensive and non-replaceable aircraft.  Stealth aircraft would add a new dimension to this fight, but only if their advanced sensor systems can find and eliminate enemy air defenses.  Even the west views this proposition as being fraught with problems, hence the inordinate amount of resources we devote to it.  We know how difficult it is, and we lost enough aircraft during the first Gulf War to know how just effective even much older air defense systems can be.

4. Naval forces contributed very little to the campaign in Ukraine because they were not effectively led / employed / trained.  On top of that, Russian warship design is woefully inadequate for damage control purposes.  Their ships and likely submarines as well, are as much a danger to their crews as they are to any other forces present on the battlefield.  Western naval strategists and ship designers should intensely scrutinize whether or not our warships are as well-designed to withstand punishment while dealing effective blows as they imagine them to be, or a war with China could easily show the entire world how unprepared both sides were for the high-lethality operating environment of modern naval warfare.  There is some merit to the "put all of your eggs in a highly protected basket" argument, but the old "don't place all your eggs in one basket" adage seems every bit as applicable today.  If an accidental collision can completely disable an Arleigh Burke class destroyer, then a single hypersonic weapon hit may well prove fatal.  The Arleigh Burke is a 10,000t class destroyer, one of America's smallest but most numerous warship designs, intended to protect aircraft carriers or convoys or surface action battlegroups from air / sea / land threats.  All of our allies use much smaller ships.  None are likely to fair any better against a pair of stealthy anti-ship cruise missiles.  The Russians or Chinese don't need to fire any hypersonic weapons at them to achieve mobility kills, and any hypersonic missiles they do have would likely be reserved for attacking aircraft carriers and other high-value capital ships / airfields / munitions dumps.  This seems to confirm the prudence of distributed lethality and firepower amongst multiple smaller warships which can sustain a greater level of attrition before all naval power projection capability is lost to enemy action.

5. As always, success in war remains a matter of production.  Whichever side can out-produce the other, in terms of armaments and fully trained fighting men and women, is still the one most likely to win.  After the Cold War ended, our ability to surge production of armaments has nose-dived off a cliff.  There was a great consolidation of defense contractors which means there's no longer 4 or 5 suppliers to go to, if production can't keep up with demand.  You'd be lucky to find 2 contractors who can make the item of war materiel your forces require and have the excess production capacity to do it.  That part of "just-in-time" manufacturing doesn't work for military purposes.  We need to reinforce the logistical capabilities we have traditionally relied upon to win wars.  To wit, we need the capability to produce many more ships / armored vehicles / aircraft, even if production is frequently switched between military and civilian applications.