Otto von Bismarck once said that only a fool learns from his own mistakes. “I learn from other people’s,” the 19th-century German chancellor said. Astonishingly, the Russian army is repeating the past mistakes of its Soviet predecessor. In April 1945, Marshal Georgy Zhukov, under intense pressure from Stalin, sent his tank armies into Berlin without infantry support. Vladimir Putin’s forces not only made the same error; they even copied the way their forebears had attached odd bits of iron—including bed frames—to their tanks’ turrets in the hopes that the added metal would detonate anti-tank weapons prematurely. This did not save the Russian tanks…
The Russian president’s distorted obsession with history, especially with the “Great Patriotic War” against Germany, has skewed his political rhetoric with bizarre self-contradictions. It has clearly affected his military approach. Tanks were a great symbol of strength during the Second World War. That Putin can still see them that way defies belief. The vehicles have proved to be profoundly vulnerable to drones and anti-tank weapons in recent conflicts…
Yet Putin seems to have learned as little as he has forgotten…Putin’s control of domestic media can hide the truth from most of the Russian population, but his conscripts, forced now to sign new contracts to turn them into volunteers, are all too aware of the reality…
Against all prewar expectations, though, a Russian military collapse also looks possible. A complete disintegration of morale could lead to a humiliating withdrawal, a potentially devastating result of Putin’s inability to part with the Soviet past.
The Sunday TIMES carried an amazing GROUNDHOG DAY Tale of repetitive blunders, repeated not once or twice; but, ten times in a row. Chornobayivka, is now the most famous village in Ukraine because it has become a byword for breathtaking Russian military incompetence.
No gloating as young conscripts die by the hundreds. But, mediocre maneuvers, out-of-date by decades, illustrate how Putin’s reliance on WW2 tactics writes a new chapter of death and despair for his army as thoroughly as it does for some of the Ukrainians standing in his way.
Eideard 
Chornobayivka has become the most famous village in Ukraine and a byword for breathtaking Russian military incompetence.
Ten times in a row Russian officers have moved troops and heavy equipment onto a nearby airfield to secure it. Ten times in a row Ukrainian artillery landed direct strikes on them, killing two Russian generals in the process. https://www.thereference-paris.com/19417
See also The Battle of Chornobayivka https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chornobayivka
(on March 28 a twelfth Ukrainian attack on the Russians occupying the Chornobayivka airfield occurred).
“Full List of Every Russian Commander Killed Fighting Ukraine War” (3/23/22) https://www.newsweek.com/full-list-every-russian-commander-killed-fighting-ukraine-war-1691064
U.S. to seek Russia’s suspension from UN Human Rights Council https://www.axios.com/us-russia-suspension-human-rights-council-war-crimes-67062a77-2ccf-4a26-bf17-2245de1db786.html
Satellite images show bodies lay in Bucha for weeks, despite Russian claims. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/04/world/europe/bucha-ukraine-bodies.html
The Winter War, also known as the First Soviet-Finnish War, was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. The war began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three-and-a-half months later with the Moscow Peace Treaty on 13 March 1940. Despite superior military strength, especially in tanks and aircraft, the Soviet Union suffered severe losses and initially made little headway. The League of Nations deemed the attack illegal and expelled the Soviet Union from the organization. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_War
Finland’s NATO application could be imminent https://www.axios.com/finland-apply-join-nato-this-year-b8576c7e-7444-4440-9ba6-4b287abb6626.html
Russia says it would have to ‘rebalance’ if Finland and Sweden join NATO https://news.yahoo.com/russia-says-rebalance-finland-sweden-171054780.html
Finland Seized $46 Million Worth of Art en Route to Russian Museums, Including a Titian and a Picasso, Enforcing E.U. Sanctions https://news.artnet.com/art-world/finland-seizes-russian-art-under-sanctions-2095012
Finland Hit by Cyber Attack, Airspace Breach as NATO Bid Weighed https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-08/finland-hit-by-cyber-attack-airspace-breach-as-nato-bid-weighed
Finnish government websites suffered hacking attacks on Friday, the government said, at the same time as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was giving a video address to Finland’s parliament. https://news.yahoo.com/finnish-government-websites-hit-cyberattack-103441234.html
The woman who as a young girl was the subject of one the most famous and shocking photographs of WWII has died aged 93. https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/woman-captured-in-one-of-wwiis-most-harrowing-photos-dies-at-age-of-93-15566
WWII: Poland marks 80 years since first bombs fell on Wielun https://www.dw.com/en/wwii-poland-marks-80-years-since-first-bombs-fell-on-wielun/a-50161482
Wolfram von Richthofen commanded the Wielun raids that were carried out by 87 aircraft. In April 1937, as chief of staff of the Condor Legion, he was jointly responsible for carpet bombing the Basque city of Guernica. The war tactics, new at the time, saw hundreds of civilians killed.
Wielun was an opportunity to once again test the military strategy of carpet bombing, in which civilian casualties were accepted as being a necessary part of warfare.
The attack posed little risk for von Richthofen: No resistance was expected from this sleepy little town with its paltry military. The bombing of Wielun became the first war crime of World War II.
In a series of bombings that took place between 4:35 a.m. and 2 p.m., 70% of the town was destroyed and 1,200 of its 16,000 inhabitants were killed. https://www.dw.com/en/wwii-poland-marks-80-years-since-first-bombs-fell-on-wielun/a-50161482
A missile which was allegedly fired by Russia is seen after more than 30 people were killed and over 100 injured in an attack on a railway station in eastern Ukraine on April 8, 2022. The missile has the Russian lettering “[In revenge] for the children” painted on its side.
The Kremlin has denied that it targeted civilians. https://www.newsweek.com/russian-missile-kramatorsk-civilian-train-station-children-painted-1696354
“On May 10, 1940, the Germans launched their offensive in Western Europe. Panic broke out in northern France and Belgium. People’s memories of the brutal August 1914 occupation were still fresh and they didn’t want to live through the same nightmare.
Within days, nearly two million Belgians had gathered at the French border, alongside many Dutch and Luxembourgers. Many French people also fled their homes in the north and east of the country. By the time the Germans had reached the gates of Paris, in June, the exodus had reached an extraordinary scale. As fear gripped the capital too, many Parisians fled the City of Lights.
In all, 8-10 million refugees fled their homes to try to escape the Nazi invasion – almost a quarter of the French population at the time.
For the 80th anniversary of this exodus, FRANCE 24 has collected testimonies from people who lived through it.” https://webdoc.france24.com/exodus-france-german-invasion-war-1940/