So Bush and Putin both invaded to get the oil, just one was petroleum and the other sunflower?Russia has heard your calls and started stealing grain from Ukraine!
So Bush and Putin both invaded to get the oil, just one was petroleum and the other sunflower?Russia has heard your calls and started stealing grain from Ukraine!
Putin must have his own birds to feed.So Bush and Putin both invaded to get the oil, just one was petroleum and the other sunflower?
It is clear that Russia continues to make small advances, but from what I can gather, they're incurring substantial losses for as little as a couple of hundred meters.
It is incredibly fascinating to see how this has all turned out. I expected Russia to get involved in a bloodbath before launching a "Seige of Kyiv' that would run for 2-3 years, but I never thought that Russia would be in such a vulnerable position.
Are you living in cloud cuckoo land? It is quite clear that by now using overwhelming force, the Russian steamroller will clear the Donbass of Ukrainian forces soon - they have almost completed the task in the Lugansk province. The Russians will then probably focus on occupying the rest of "Novorossiya", i.e. the Black Sea littoral (including Odessa), and linking up with Transdniestria. Their initial mistake was to dissipate their military resources too widely. And don't expect Russia to vacate any of the territories that they originally conquered from the Tatars/Turks in the late 18th century and have now re-occupied or are about to do so. The West may bleat, but the rest of the world will use Nelson's telescope and do business with Russia at the West's expense.What should be frightening Russia right now is that Ukraine hasn't even used the capabilities of their reserves due to a lack of equipment. There's a valid point that Russia doesn't have the forces to actually win this war, and they might even end up overwhelmed in the LDPR as Ukraine will have nothing to lose by taking them back into Ukrainian control.
The Ukrainian forces have had some setbacks of late, but that's the nature of war.It is quite clear that by now using overwhelming force, the Russian steamroller will clear the Donbass of enemy forces soon - they have almost completed the task in the Lugansk province.
Are you living in cloud cuckoo land?
It is quite clear that by now using overwhelming force, the Russian steamroller will clear the Donbass of enemy forces soon - they have almost completed the task in the Lugansk province. The Russians will then probably focus on occupying the rest of "Novorossiya", i.e. the Black Sea littoral (including Odessa), and linking up with Transdniestria.
Their initial mistake was to dissipate their military resources too widely.
And don't expect Russia to vacate any of the territories that they originally conquered from the Tatars/Turks in the late 18th century and have now re-occupied or are about to do so.
The West may bleat, but the rest of the world will use Nelson's telescope and do business with Russia at the West's expense.
Are you living in cloud cuckoo land?
I genuinely laughed out loud at thatWhy, have you got space to take a lodger there?
To put that into some perspective, the Russian economy (pre-invasion) was slightly smaller than Italy's.Russia has to bear all it's financial costs of the war alone which, which even without the heavy sanctions currently applied would be huge drain on the Russian economy.
I hadn't realised that I expected it to be bigger to be honestTo put that into some perspective, the Russian economy (pre-invasion) was slightly smaller than Italy's.
Indeed.To put that into some perspective, the Russian economy (pre-invasion) was slightly smaller than Italy's.
And further, it WAS smaller, and is shrinking, and will continue to shrink.To put that into some perspective, the Russian economy (pre-invasion) was slightly smaller than Italy's.
This trend has continued. Russia's demographics don't paint a pretty picture for the future of their economy.I don’t know about now, but in the recent past, Russia was suffering from a deceasing population as the birth rate was below the death rate. A war will definitely make this worse.
The issue there is that a lot of the equipment 'in storage' hasn't been given the regular preventative maintenance that it should have received. It's doubtful that much of it will ever work again.Also the advantage that Russia had of having so much military equipment in storage cannot last if their losses are as great as is being speculated about.
Are you living in cloud cuckoo land? It is quite clear that by now using overwhelming force, the Russian steamroller will clear the Donbass of Ukrainian forces soon - they have almost completed the task in the Lugansk province. The Russians will then probably focus on occupying the rest of "Novorossiya", i.e. the Black Sea littoral (including Odessa), and linking up with Transdniestria. Their initial mistake was to dissipate their military resources too widely. And don't expect Russia to vacate any of the territories that they originally conquered from the Tatars/Turks in the late 18th century and have now re-occupied or are about to do so. The West may bleat, but the rest of the world will use Nelson's telescope and do business with Russia at the West's expense.
Nor their long term military capacity. War is a young persons game and the generation currently doing most of the fighting and dying was born in the early 2000s or very late 1990s. Of which there are not very many of them compared to previous cohorts. It bounces back a bit as you go further into the 2000s but still the cohorts are smaller than has historically been the case. But that generation born from around 1995 to 2005ish (i.e. the current and future draftees) is small. The Russian population pyramid makes for interesting viewing:This trend has continued. Russia's demographics don't paint a pretty picture for the future of their economy.
It's also all junk. There was video doing the rounds recently of a train full of T-62s (or T-64s can't recall which it was now) heading westwards. But they're totally un-modernised. Even if they do work, which is a big if, they're the sort of things that these conscripts granddads were probably riding around in in the 70s and haven't been much touched since. Considering the mincemeat that Ukrainian and Western anti-tank weapons have been making of Russians modernised kit it will be even worse in that junk. Heck it's probably so old that some stuff that wasn't useful or effective before suddenly will become effective again!The issue there is that a lot of the equipment 'in storage' hasn't been given the regular preventative maintenance that it should have received. It's doubtful that much of it will ever work again.
They are moving forward - yes. But they are doing it at a huge cost, ...
Oh there's plenty of rubble in it all right !
- Russia keeps the territory but doesn't invest one single rubble in it, essentially keeping scorched land as an expensive prize;
I'm currently in Poland, and just saw a T72 in a museum.Yes, the next two/three weeks are going to be tough for Ukraine. Yet, what happens once the next tranche of military aid turns up? Russia is now deploying ancient tanks that will be torn apart by Javelins or similar, and we all know that Russia is really struggling to come up with warm bodies to go and fight.
Why, you setting up a Air BnB there?Are you living in cloud cuckoo land?
Said 'overwhelming force' is sustaining catastrophic levels of loss for the amount of terrority gained. What was the phrase called? Oh yeah: Pyrrhic Victory. And even if they were able to occupy the rest of Novorossiya (not a thing in the real world FYI) and Odessa, how on earth do you think they'd be able to control them long-term, considering the problems they're having in that respect over in Kherson? Frankly, cloud cuckoo land is believing that Russia concentrating all their resources on an assualt on Severodonetsk is somehow indicative of their ability to control more of Ukraine, especially in light of what we know and have seen reported of their combat performance since 24th February.It is quite clear that by now using overwhelming force, the Russian steamroller will clear the Donbass of Ukrainian forces soon - they have almost completed the task in the Lugansk province. The Russians will then probably focus on occupying the rest of "Novorossiya", i.e. the Black Sea littoral (including Odessa), and linking up with Transdniestria.
'It was all a cunning ruse, I tell you!'Their initial mistake was to dissipate their military resources too widely.
Oh that's right, I totally forgot: territorial claims Russia made over 200 years ago in the region apply as something of a prerequisite for Russia's territorial claims in modern Ukraine in 2022. Silly me.And don't expect Russia to vacate any of the territories that they originally conquered from the Tatars/Turks in the late 18th century and have now re-occupied or are about to do so.
Yeah, OK. That isn't as big a 'gotcha!' moment as you seemingly think. Such has been true of conflicts throughout human history, as morally bankrupt as it is in most cases. Why should this conflict be any different in that respect?The West may bleat, but the rest of the world will use Nelson's telescope and do business with Russia at the West's expense.
Russia has scrapped its age limit for professional soldiers, paving the way for more civilian experts to be recruited for the Ukraine conflict.
President Vladimir Putin has signed a law enabling people over 40 to enlist for the armed forces. They are expected to be people of normal working age.
Previously the army had age limits of 18-40 years for Russians and 18-30 for foreigners.
Russia is presenting it as a move to recruit more technical specialists.
The new law says specialists are required to operate high-precision weapons and "experience shows that they become such by the age of 40-45". More medics, engineers and communications experts may also be recruited.
Ukrainian and Western military experts say Russia has suffered heavy losses in the war: about 30,000 killed, according to Ukraine, while the UK government estimates the toll at about 15,000. In comparison, Soviet losses in nine years of war in Afghanistan were about 15,000.
Russia gave a total of 1,351 dead on 25 March, which it has not updated.
President Putin has avoided large-scale conscription for what Russia calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine.
But in March Russia's defence ministry admitted that some conscripts were involved in the conflict and some had been taken prisoner by Ukrainian forces. The defence ministry stressed that it was not official policy to send conscripts into battle.
Later, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that those conscripts drafted into the military this spring would not be sent to any hotspots.
Conscription, also known as the draft, is a centuries-old practice for states to require large numbers of men to serve in the military. Russia's conscription, dating back to tsarist times, obliges men aged 18 to 27 to serve one year in the military. But many get exemptions on medical grounds, or because they are students.
Russia now has more than 400,000 professional "contract" soldiers in its 900,000-strong active armed forces. It can also mobilise about two million reservists, military analysts say.
Ukraine's army is a lot smaller - it has an estimated 200,000 active troops and 900,000 reservists, though it has boosted those numbers through mass mobilisation since Russia invaded on 24 February.
Under its current martial law, Ukraine forbids men aged 18 to 60 from leaving the country, demanding that they stay and fight. So women, children and the elderly form the vast majority of refugees fleeing to neighbouring countries.
Ukraine's military says it is not yet conscripting women, but some can be drafted exceptionally if their skills in medicine, IT or other areas are needed.
Many countries have military conscription, though the rules vary widely. They include Israel, Turkey, Iran, Sweden and Georgia.
The UK and US are among many other countries which have fully professional armies, as well as reservists who can be called up in an emergency. The UK had conscription in both world wars, and the US had the draft during the Vietnam War.
'It was all a cunning ruse, I tell you!'
This paragraph:Sounds like Russia is running out of troops (we already knew of course this could happen, this story just backs it up):
Russia scraps age limit for new troops in Ukraine push
Russia's military says it needs older recruits skilled in hi-tech weapons and other specialisms.www.bbc.co.uk
…makes me wonder how much modern hi tech equipment training the usual recruits actually get. Do they just train most of them as very ordinary infantry?
So basically they are saying that people who literally grew up with smartphones, tablets, the Internet, etc. are less able to handle modern technology than people who grew up before any of that stuff existed.“The new law says specialists are required to operate high-precision weapons and "experience shows that they become such by the age of 40-45". More medics, engineers and communications experts may also be recruited.”
I do use Reddit, but that sounds like the kind of sub-reddit (or sub-forum for those not familiar with the site) I'd avoid like the plague to spare my sanity. Generally speaking, some of this kind of smooth-brain thinking is pathetically entertaining just for how detached from any form of reality it is, but most of it is yet more proof - as if it were needed - that we're headed for the cliff-edge as a species.If you use Reddit then r/noncredibledefense is an absolute goldmine for this kind of smoothbrain thinking and the mental gymnastics involved in trying to prove that the attack on Kyiv failing miserably was all part of the 5D chess game Vlad is playing.
I suspect the over 40s are seen as less likely to say "I'm being sent flipping where now? I can't seem to find the handbrake on this tank. Is this the handbrake? Oh dear me no, that's turned the gun around. How about this one? Whoops, that was the fire button. There was already a big hole in you when you arrived wasn't there General? General?"So basically they are saying that people who literally grew up with smartphones, tablets, the Internet, etc. are less able to handle modern technology than people who grew up before any of that stuff existed.
Only in Russia!
I do use Reddit, but that sounds like the kind of sub-reddit (or sub-forum for those not familiar with the site) I'd avoid like the plague to spare my sanity. Generally speaking, some of this kind of smooth-brain thinking is pathetically entertaining just for how detached from any form of reality it is, but most of it is yet more proof - as if it were needed - that we're headed for the cliff-edge as a species
Ah, now I getcha. Had my cynic cap well and truly screwed on there lolNo, no, no, you misunderstand. Its a subreddit which currently is devoted solely to tacking the urine out of all the ridiculous thinking. It is currently one of the funniest places online in my opinion.
No, no, no, you misunderstand. Its a subreddit which currently is devoted solely to tacking the urine out of all the ridiculous thinking. It is currently one of the funniest places online in my opinion.