Ukraine Invasion - Please do not post videos showing attacks/similar

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Man of Honour
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I think people are a bit overly buying into the Western propaganda though as to how poor state the Russian armed forces are in - this is like 10% of what the Russian armed forces can do - and that 10% doesn't come at a 10% depletion of their active forces let alone reserves. Even though overall their armed forces are in a poor state of maintenance and a lot of stuff rusting away.

There seems to be far too much complacency, naivety and hubris for my liking for instance https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-n...eer-fighters-may-have-triggered-deadly-strike

Russia is not out the fight neither in Ukraine or potentially a larger spill over and they won't be taking this situation lying down whether direct military action, hybrid/proxy warfare or other forms of less visible attack against military, government or civilian targets. I'll be very surprised if Russia doesn't start taking more drastic steps to test the West's resolve and unity potentially as soon as this weekend.

EDIT: See you posted that link above heh.

EDIT2: I think also people need to appreciate more that Putin has seemingly fully gone tyrant with shades of fascism and other undesirable ideologies like that. Anyone against him in his mind is a lower class of person fair game if needed to achieve his goals and that has huge implications for any peace agreements, etc. as he would consider a compromise agreement with a lower class humiliating - it will take a lot of selling from his subordinates and likely only possible if it in some ways enables his goals longer term. He won't be looking for an off-ramp or face saving direction as some like to think - not in that way anyhow the only face saving he cares about is to "his people" and that will largely be about winning.
 
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Soldato
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It's been suggested that they are near the frontline because they've been sent forward to sort out the problems the war is facing, and would otherwise be further back.

Besides, it saves Russia from having to murder them after the war is over.
Probably organising the firing squads for those refusing to fight, too...
 
Associate
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I've recently spent quite a few hours watching Garry Kasparov videos on Youtube, he has been saying for 10 years that we are at war with Russia but just haven't realised it.


Incredibly insightful if you haven't already seem some of it
 
Soldato
Joined
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I think people are a bit overly buying into the Western propaganda though as to how poor state the Russian armed forces are in - this is like 10% of what the Russian armed forces can do - and that 10% doesn't come at a 10% depletion of their active forces let alone reserves. Even though overall their armed forces are in a poor state of maintenance and a lot of stuff rusting away.

There seems to be far too much complacency, naivety and hubris for my liking for instance https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-n...eer-fighters-may-have-triggered-deadly-strike

Russia is not out the fight neither in Ukraine or potentially a larger spill over and they won't be taking this situation lying down whether direct military action, hybrid/proxy warfare or other forms of less visible attack against military, government or civilian targets. I'll be very surprised if Russia doesn't start taking more drastic steps to test the West's resolve and unity potentially as soon as this weekend.

EDIT: See you posted that link above heh.

EDIT2: I think also people need to appreciate more that Putin has seemingly fully gone tyrant with shades of fascism and other undesirable ideologies like that. Anyone against him in his mind is a lower class of person fair game if needed to achieve his goals and that has huge implications for any peace agreements, etc. as he would consider a compromise agreement with a lower class humiliating - it will take a lot of selling from his subordinates and likely only possible if it in some ways enables his goals longer term. He won't be looking for an off-ramp or face saving direction as some like to think - not in that way anyhow the only face saving he cares about is to "his people" and that will largely be about winning.

Agreed - Putin is playing chess. Pawns first. He doesn't know the capabilities thus use the sacrificial troops.

The issue is that the bigger bangs-per-rubel cost exponentially more. Putin's not going to be throwing them around at low end targets. Even tactical nukes cost.

Putin has over stretched - he needs bring in troops but as the US have stated, attempting to logistically support such a large commitment is extremely difficult. Putin had committed the entire "special exercise" and to get seasoned troops takes time to reorganise and transport hence he's overstretched at this point in time, but given time to breathe he will adapt his posture and give himself time to consolidate and bring in the more seasoned troops.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
13 Oct 2006
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90,819
I've recently spent quite a few hours watching Garry Kasparov videos on Youtube, he has been saying for 10 years that we are at war with Russia but just haven't realised it.


Incredibly insightful if you haven't already seem some of it

"But it grows back in the cracks of our complacency"

Don't have time to watch it all at the moment - I skimmed through it a few months back but gonna try and watch it through later.
 
Man of Honour
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Agreed - Putin is playing chess. Pawns first. He doesn't know the capabilities thus use the sacrificial troops.

The issue is that the bigger bangs-per-rubel cost exponentially more. Putin's not going to be throwing them around at low end targets. Even tactical nukes cost.

Putin has over stretched - he needs bring in troops but as the US have stated, attempting to logistically support such a large commitment is extremely difficult. Putin had committed the entire "special exercise" and to get seasoned troops takes time to reorganise and transport hence he's overstretched at this point in time, but given time to breathe he will adapt his posture and give himself time to consolidate and bring in the more seasoned troops.

I think aspects are perfectly true:

-Putin expected the average Ukrainian to simply roll over (probably because he believes his own propaganda that the West has become weak and has seen Ukraine shift Westward) when confronted with force. (Additionally IMO he thought the Ukrainian government had moved further West than the people and that Russians would greeted as liberators in many areas).
-Putin expected to be able to disrupt if not headshot Ukraine's leadership both politically and military as well as infrastructure with a mixture of special forces, Russian leaning Ukrainians sabotaging and assassinating just before any military action and then initial strikes. This whole troop build up IMO was originally optimised around a situation where it would mostly be encircling a limited number of areas or forces which didn't surrender in the opening 24 hours and forcing them into submission.
-Putin never expected a (mostly) unified and rapid response from the West.

I don't think he hasn't planned for those eventualities or things not going to plan but especially the last one IMO it was been well off his anticipated timeline for having to deal with such factors.

Agreed as well Putin is still playing with the pawns at the moment and generally considers them sacrificial to the bigger picture.
 
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Soldato
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Budget US$61.7 billion
(2020-21)[5] (ranked 4th)
Percent of GDP 4.3% (2021)[6]

Active personnel
1,014,000[3] (ranked 5th)
Reserve personnel 2,000,000[4]

So given the UK is 54B and the number of personnel is smaller - the cost per individual is less (monetarily) and the current ~14,000 losses of troops, the Russian military have 1M still in reserve. However it depends if that counts border guards at about 180-200,000 in that 1M figure or of they are additional (although they report into the FSB?).

So I suspect Putin has 100,000-200,000 before he starting having serious issues. However it takes time to restructure.
 
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