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Ukraine - Superthread

A target rich environment...


A Canadian sniper in Ukraine describes the Russians’ stubborn advance in Bakhmut​


Teflon served three years in Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry before being released in 2011 for medical reasons. He later worked as a private security contractor in North Africa while honing his side career in mixed martial arts and competing in sniper competitions. As a member of the International Legion, he is said to receive the same salary as other members of the Ukrainian armed forces, around $900 a month, plus combat bonuses.

He considers firing his sniper rifle a job like any other. Teflon refers to days on the frontline as “work” and his goals as “human commitment.” But the 34-year-old – whose unit previously took part in Ukraine’s counter-offensive in the autumn that liberated the Kharkiv region – says he feels sorry for the poorly trained Russian conscripts whose lives he ended one by one.

“The Russians only sent five to seven men at a time, day and night,” he said in an interview in Kyiv. “They are just so badly educated and have no idea about it. They come from about two kilometers away, I watch them go all the way in. They’re getting close to 500 meters, you know, right into the kill zone.

In Bakhmut, Teflon scouts for targets and boils water with a makeshift stove.

Teflon’s photos of Bakhmut show houses whose roofs were damaged by shelling

To illustrate what happened on December 24, Teflon showed The Globe photos taken with his iPhone of how the Russians would remain behind cover of a partially destroyed building before finally having to turn down a narrow alleyway, which was run by The apartment building where the Canadian Army veteran and his sniper rifle were waiting.

Teflon kept pulling his trigger. He says he fired 21 shots that day and missed more frequently at night when it was more difficult to judge distances even with a thermal scope on his Canadian-made Prairie Gun Works LRT-3. “I actually got to a point where I was like, ‘Can you stop? I’m tired of just killing people from this spot.” ”

The number of bodies in the “death zone” on Christmas Eve finally alerted the Russians to the fact that they were in grave danger in that alleyway beneath the block of flats, which meant they would start running as soon as they got in Teflon’s field of vision. The Russians identified which building the sniper had to hide in and directed a tank to shell the apartment building.

Teflon says he ducked for cover during the shelling, then moved to another room and rebuilt his sniper rifle.

“There are a couple of shots I took that day that will stay with me,” he said. One was a Russian in a T-shirt carrying a box of ammunition more than 1,800 yards behind the front line — a distance Teflon said was the longest shot he’s ever made. “He saw no threat, he thought he was safe. But it’s my job to make sure they know nowhere is safe,” Teflon said. “The role of a sniper is to ultimately get inside the enemy’s mind and make them question everything.”

The other was a conscript who Teflon killed on the cold, gray day when temperatures hovered around freezing. After firing, Teflon watched through his scope as the dead man’s comrade desperately tried to revive him with CPR. “I have decided not to fire a second shot. I had them pick up the body and transport it.”

He says he killed three more Russian soldiers on the morning of December 25 before taking a break from a 36-hour shift at the front.

Teflon says his work as a sniper over Christmas was among the bloodiest of his career. Anton Skyba/The Globe and Mail

Teflon describes working as a sniper as “the most inhumane job in the world, but a very important one, and it’s a job, something I think I’m okay with.”

But he admits that he feels sorry for the Russian conscripts who were repeatedly sent to Bakhmut. Unlike the professional soldiers Russia used in the earlier battles of the war, many of those deployed to Bakhmut are conscripts drafted under the partial mobilization order issued by Russian President Vladimir Putin last fall.

“There are claims that all these Russians need to be drugged. There is no possibility. I think it’s just the training. Because they still act like humans. I’ve seen boys cry and I’ve seen boys scream and I’ve seen boys try to pull their friends back when they’re killed. They are human, but they don’t have an ounce of training when it comes to fighting a war.”


 
In many (most?) situations leading up to . . . you call the police.

But our police have all got day jobs. There is no Police Reserve to tackle the unexpected jobs. There could be. There could be an armed civilian reserve force to take on additional policing tasks. But His Majesty's Government has never seen fit to fund that type of force in Canada.

Instead it has had the Militia since at least the 1840s to maintain public order when matters get beyond the abilities of the civil authorities.

Want to establish a quarantine cordon? Call out the Militia. Want to put down a riot? Call out the Militia. Want to strengthen the borders and ports and protect Vital Points? Call out the Militia.

Why not call on the police? Because their regular jobs continue regardless of any emergency perceived by Government.
 
But our police have all got day jobs. There is no Police Reserve to tackle the unexpected jobs. There could be. There could be an armed civilian reserve force to take on additional policing tasks. But His Majesty's Government has never seen fit to fund that type of force in Canada.

Instead it has had the Militia since at least the 1840s to maintain public order when matters get beyond the abilities of the civil authorities.

Want to establish a quarantine cordon? Call out the Militia. Want to put down a riot? Call out the Militia. Want to strengthen the borders and ports and protect Vital Points? Call out the Militia.

Why not call on the police? Because their regular jobs continue regardless of any emergency perceived by Government.
Yeah but they still call us out. It just means less essential tasks get sidelined to staff major events or crises. You see it all the time. Police still have some surge capacity, particularly if a headquarters gets emptied out. There are lots of institutional functions that can be set aside for a time.
 
In many (most?) situations leading up to . . . you call the police.
Apprehended Insurection- local judiciary gives the on site approval so No1 Rifleman can take out the lone belligerant; war- some lawyer milesaway ( insert your own estimate here.) convenes a conferance of his/her peers and some days later a decision is reached, however the fighting has advanced/ retreated and the heat is off!
 
I wish the media and politicians would listen to this and understand how 'escalation' is an empty threat. What will or can Russia do that it is not already doing outside of mass use of chemical weapons against civilian targets? Am pretty sure that would cause the almost instant intervention of a number of countries in a highly kinetic way.

Let Ukraine have an international legion squadron or 3 of F16's (various countries - just not directly delivered from the US) with volunteer pilots and maintainers enrolled into and supplementing the UAF. Backfill the donating countries with US fighters. Give them a bunch of cruise and antiship missiles, release ATACMS immediately, and backfill any NATO country that wants to send any number of functional Leo's with M1's starting now.
great thought but consider this: the countries that wouldn't be willing to provide the assistance also are the same countries whose armed forces are lists on a piece of paper and whose equipment has more rust out than a 30 year old fishing trawler (with apologies to those fishermen who do honestly maintain their boats). Like us for example what have we got to backfill for F16?
 
great thought but consider this: the countries that wouldn't be willing to provide the assistance also are the same countries whose armed forces are lists on a piece of paper and whose equipment has more rust out than a 30 year old fishing trawler (with apologies to those fishermen who do honestly maintain their boats). Like us for example what have we got to backfill for F16?
And what will we use when our F35's are in maintenance? That could take a third out constantly when actually flown in the winter up north. Wait, never mind, we don't have any KC46/135 or A400M refuellers (F35 combat range is only 590 miles) or the bases to allow a CAP over the arctic coast to stop cruise missiles and airborne attacks. Will have to wait for the F15EX from Portland (combat range of 1100 miles) and the F22 from Elmendorf to stop the Mackenzie Valley from being used as an attack corridor now the the FOB's in Inuvik, Resolute and Yellowknife are essentially unuseable on less than a months notice for a 6-pack deployment
 
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But our police have all got day jobs. There is no Police Reserve to tackle the unexpected jobs. There could be. There could be an armed civilian reserve force to take on additional policing tasks. But His Majesty's Government has never seen fit to fund that type of force in Canada.

Instead it has had the Militia since at least the 1840s to maintain public order when matters get beyond the abilities of the civil authorities.

Want to establish a quarantine cordon? Call out the Militia. Want to put down a riot? Call out the Militia. Want to strengthen the borders and ports and protect Vital Points? Call out the Militia.

Why not call on the police? Because their regular jobs continue regardless of any emergency perceived by Government.
Back off man, those window tint checkstops don't just man themselves, you know! :cool:
 
I'm guessing Canadians are already really good a this stuff as it's a primary role of SOF, either through direct action or via training others to do it.

And yes, it's an important role we should continue to develop.
Part of my gaping ignorance was whether this sort of thing was a CANSOF (who don't seem terribly numerous, all questions of secrecy aside) or a top-tier infantry (of the rifles/scouts/commando/RM/rangers school) endeavour, and whether there were enough people with those skills to send a party of them off into the more-or-less unknown.
 
But our police have all got day jobs. There is no Police Reserve to tackle the unexpected jobs. There could be. There could be an armed civilian reserve force to take on additional policing tasks. But His Majesty's Government has never seen fit to fund that type of force in Canada.

Instead it has had the Militia since at least the 1840s to maintain public order when matters get beyond the abilities of the civil authorities.

Want to establish a quarantine cordon? Call out the Militia. Want to put down a riot? Call out the Militia. Want to strengthen the borders and ports and protect Vital Points? Call out the Militia.

Why not call on the police? Because their regular jobs continue regardless of any emergency perceived by Government.
Most police services in Ontario have auxiliary units consistent with the size of the community. Like military reservists, they have day jobs, but can be empowered to function as police officers. As mentioned, police services have surge capacity - we all saw that during the 'freedom convoy' protests. The longer a national emergency carried on, the greater the impact on existing services, but no country, certainly no free market democracy, can be set up with war footing being the status quo. Some day-to-day things would have to give and new roles created, similar to the civil defence home guard that was established during WWII to guard critical infrastructure.
 
And what will we use when our F35's are in maintenance? That could take a third out constantly when actually flown in the winter up north. Wait, never mind, we don't have any KC46/135 or A400M refuellers (F35 combat range is only 590 miles) or the bases to allow a CAP over the arctic coast to stop cruise missiles and airborne attacks. Will have to wait for the F15EX from Portland (combat range of 1100 miles) and the F22 from Elmendorf to stop the Mackenzie Valley from being used as an attack corridor now the the FOB's in Inuvik, Resolute and Yellowknife are essentially unuseable on less than a months notice for a 6-pack deployment
If you read the announcement on NORAD Modernization, the CAF is pouring money into fighter infra in places like that, and is acquiring additional AAR platforms (Airbus MRTT).
 
Most police services in Ontario have auxiliary units consistent with the size of the community. Like military reservists, they have day jobs, but can be empowered to function as police officers. As mentioned, police services have surge capacity - we all saw that during the 'freedom convoy' protests. The longer a national emergency carried on, the greater the impact on existing services, but no country, certainly no free market democracy, can be set up with war footing being the status quo. Some day-to-day things would have to give and new roles created, similar to the civil defence home guard that was established during WWII to guard critical infrastructure.
I'm not certain if these auxiliary police units have the ability to carry side arms. I've seen them used here in Burlington for various events and none of them are carrying weapons.
 
A target rich environment...


A Canadian sniper in Ukraine describes the Russians’ stubborn advance in Bakhmut​


Teflon served three years in Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry before being released in 2011 for medical reasons. He later worked as a private security contractor in North Africa while honing his side career in mixed martial arts and competing in sniper competitions. As a member of the International Legion, he is said to receive the same salary as other members of the Ukrainian armed forces, around $900 a month, plus combat bonuses.

He considers firing his sniper rifle a job like any other. Teflon refers to days on the frontline as “work” and his goals as “human commitment.” But the 34-year-old – whose unit previously took part in Ukraine’s counter-offensive in the autumn that liberated the Kharkiv region – says he feels sorry for the poorly trained Russian conscripts whose lives he ended one by one.

“The Russians only sent five to seven men at a time, day and night,” he said in an interview in Kyiv. “They are just so badly educated and have no idea about it. They come from about two kilometers away, I watch them go all the way in. They’re getting close to 500 meters, you know, right into the kill zone.

In Bakhmut, Teflon scouts for targets and boils water with a makeshift stove.

Teflon’s photos of Bakhmut show houses whose roofs were damaged by shelling

To illustrate what happened on December 24, Teflon showed The Globe photos taken with his iPhone of how the Russians would remain behind cover of a partially destroyed building before finally having to turn down a narrow alleyway, which was run by The apartment building where the Canadian Army veteran and his sniper rifle were waiting.

Teflon kept pulling his trigger. He says he fired 21 shots that day and missed more frequently at night when it was more difficult to judge distances even with a thermal scope on his Canadian-made Prairie Gun Works LRT-3. “I actually got to a point where I was like, ‘Can you stop? I’m tired of just killing people from this spot.” ”

The number of bodies in the “death zone” on Christmas Eve finally alerted the Russians to the fact that they were in grave danger in that alleyway beneath the block of flats, which meant they would start running as soon as they got in Teflon’s field of vision. The Russians identified which building the sniper had to hide in and directed a tank to shell the apartment building.

Teflon says he ducked for cover during the shelling, then moved to another room and rebuilt his sniper rifle.

“There are a couple of shots I took that day that will stay with me,” he said. One was a Russian in a T-shirt carrying a box of ammunition more than 1,800 yards behind the front line — a distance Teflon said was the longest shot he’s ever made. “He saw no threat, he thought he was safe. But it’s my job to make sure they know nowhere is safe,” Teflon said. “The role of a sniper is to ultimately get inside the enemy’s mind and make them question everything.”

The other was a conscript who Teflon killed on the cold, gray day when temperatures hovered around freezing. After firing, Teflon watched through his scope as the dead man’s comrade desperately tried to revive him with CPR. “I have decided not to fire a second shot. I had them pick up the body and transport it.”

He says he killed three more Russian soldiers on the morning of December 25 before taking a break from a 36-hour shift at the front.

Teflon says his work as a sniper over Christmas was among the bloodiest of his career. Anton Skyba/The Globe and Mail

Teflon describes working as a sniper as “the most inhumane job in the world, but a very important one, and it’s a job, something I think I’m okay with.”

But he admits that he feels sorry for the Russian conscripts who were repeatedly sent to Bakhmut. Unlike the professional soldiers Russia used in the earlier battles of the war, many of those deployed to Bakhmut are conscripts drafted under the partial mobilization order issued by Russian President Vladimir Putin last fall.

“There are claims that all these Russians need to be drugged. There is no possibility. I think it’s just the training. Because they still act like humans. I’ve seen boys cry and I’ve seen boys scream and I’ve seen boys try to pull their friends back when they’re killed. They are human, but they don’t have an ounce of training when it comes to fighting a war.”


I posted this elsewhere and someone commented that some people on Reddit are claiming he is a walt, but I don't see any comments here about that?
 
I'm not certain if these auxiliary police units have the ability to carry side arms. I've seen them used here in Burlington for various events and none of them are carrying weapons.
They can if so activated as 'police officers' by the Chief/Commissioner under the Police Services Act (in Ontario anyway). Normally they can only be deployed in accompaniment of a regular member. Police associations watch this fairly closely. Some have even raised concerns about an Aux member doing point duty alone during a special event.

OPP Auxiliary members take the annual use-of-force training that everybody else takes in order to remain qualified.
 
If you read the announcement on NORAD Modernization, the CAF is pouring money into fighter infra in places like that, and is acquiring additional AAR platforms (Airbus MRTT).
When I see a squadron permanantly based in the arctic with 6 each in Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, Resolute and Inuvik with heavy maintenance done in Yellowknife - then I will believe the media releases. Until there are boots on the ground, roofs on structures and barracks it is all pre-election budget hype subject to reallocation
 
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