War threat in Ukraine

[JohnDe]

Total war: How Ukraine mobilised a country as Russia overreached​

Despite perceptions of Russia’s military strength, Ukraine has been able to slow the Russian advance.

The war in Ukraine has highlighted two things to Russia and the outside world: that Russia’s much-vaunted military revolution has been exaggerated

Russian military vehicles quickly ran out of fuel and soldiers ran out of food despite food and fuel stockpiles being nearby on the other side of the border.

Meanwhile, the hundreds of missile attacks and air strikes on Ukrainian bases and command and control centres, carried out on the first day, failed to achieve their aim of destroying Ukrainian military resistance.

Despite having an air force many times the size of Ukraine’s, Russia was unable to dominate the skies in the way necessary to protect the smooth and speedy advance of its mechanised columns of armour on the ground. These units now faced Ukrainian air strikes as they pushed deeper into the country.

This lack of coordination between Russian air and ground units left gaps in the defensive shield around advancing Russian armour, also allowing Ukrainian ground forces to successfully attack Russian armed helicopters, destroying many and depriving Russian army units of their protection and support.

Ukrainian jets were able to fly combat missions, often flying low over towns and cities as a morale boost to the population.

Ukraine’s drones​

Ukraine has made effective use of its meagre complement of armed UAVs or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Its Turkish-made TB2 armed UAVs have been flying combat missions, not only carrying out air strikes on Russian vehicles and command posts but conducting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.

Russia, on the other hand, has been slow to develop its own armed UAVs and has only just started to deploy them in combat. This lack of ability to determine an opponent’s movements combined with a drone’s offensive capabilities has Russia at a real disadvantage

Morale​

The tepid advance of Russian forces has been linked to poor leadership, lack of supplies and the low morale of Russian soldiers.

There has also been a lack of understanding among the rank and file of the Russian military about why they are fighting this war, particularly as Russia and Ukraine have always been culturally linked.

Despite this initial reticence among some of the Russian soldiers to fight their neighbour, Russia has an estimated 150,000 troops in Ukraine, and many of them are highly motivated, well trained and well equipped. And while they may not have known where they were going at the beginning of the conflict, they certainly know now.

Total war: How Ukraine mobilised a country as Russia overreached

Despite perceptions of Russia’s military strength, Ukraine has been able to slow the Russian advance. We examine how.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[bluekelah]

I think this war will be more costly then Russia originally anticipated. I don't think Ukraine is winning. But I do think they are grinding out enough damage to be costly. The Ukrainian propaganda war is also beating the Russians at this stage. It's hard to keep a hostile country. But I think negotiations will eventually take place.

Missiles are a lot cheaper than tanks and aircraft. Seems like weakening Russia by proxy. Ultimate irony is its basically Russian vs their cousins in a battle to the death. All the while NATO and US provide the weapons.

I think it's taking a while as Russia was trying to keep civilian casualties to a minimum. Not sure how that's going at the moment though.

I think Putin is coming to the end of his term if it drags for much longer.

Russia says it could target Western arms supplies to Ukraine​

Russia says it could target Western arms supplies to Ukraine

‘Pumping of weapons from a number of countries … turns these convoys into legitimate targets’, Russian deputy FM says.

www.aljazeera.com

I believe with this statement the arms supply going in from the western side will be targeted before they can be used. Russians have both satellite imagery and planes/attack choppers that can make short work of transports. They will also control the roads leading into Kyiv and other major cities they have surrounded so no idea how additional weapons are gonna make it in.

Syria recruiting troops from its military to fight with Russian forces in Ukraine​

and seems like they are matching the 16k volunteers for Ukraine

Syria recruiting troops from its military to fight with Russian forces in Ukraine

Up to 16,000 volunteers to be paid $3,000 a month – a sum up to 50 times a Syrian soldier’s monthly salary

www.theguardian.com

Actually Russia can just turn off the water or power and Kyiv will fall in 7 days or so if they wanted

As my post in another thread, Putin term is not in any political threat. he already did a referendum approved by popular vote for him to continue beyond the 2 term limit previous presidents had, much like Xi had done in China. The Russian politicians already knew full well they were gonna invade and well prepped. All those sanctioned oligarchs mostly on their yachts sipping champagne whilst they wait for thing to blow through.

And Russia is making more money by the day as oil and gas and commodity prices continue to spike whilst the rest of Europe and the world continue to buy their OIL and GAS and Metals and WHEAT...

 

[Knobby22]

Russia says it could target Western arms supplies to Ukraine​

Russia says it could target Western arms supplies to Ukraine

‘Pumping of weapons from a number of countries … turns these convoys into legitimate targets’, Russian deputy FM says.

www.aljazeera.com

I believe with this statement the arms supply going in from the western side will be targeted before they can be used. Russians have both satellite imagery and planes/attack choppers that can make short work of transports. They will also control the roads leading into Kyiv and other major cities they have surrounded so no idea how additional weapons are gonna make it in.

Syria recruiting troops from its military to fight with Russian forces in Ukraine​

and seems like they are matching the 16k volunteers for Ukraine

Syria recruiting troops from its military to fight with Russian forces in Ukraine

Up to 16,000 volunteers to be paid $3,000 a month – a sum up to 50 times a Syrian soldier’s monthly salary

www.theguardian.com

Actually Russia can just turn off the water or power and Kyiv will fall in 7 days or so if they wanted

As my post in another thread, Putin term is not in any political threat. he already did a referendum approved by popular vote for him to continue beyond the 2 term limit previous presidents had, much like Xi had done in China. The Russian politicians already knew full well they were gonna invade and well prepped. All those sanctioned oligarchs mostly on their yachts sipping champagne whilst they wait for thing to blow through.

And Russia is making more money by the day as oil and gas and commodity prices continue to spike whilst the rest of Europe and the world continue to buy their OIL and GAS and Metals and WHEAT...

No need to show smilies.
The war isn't going well for Russia despite what Putin says.
Russian soldiers do have low morale as they fight Russian speaking populace including women in the streets.
And you say the Russians could supply 10 times the troops but they havent because they are being nice? Coddswallop.
They are bringing the Syrians in to do the nasty before their own troops revolt.

The ogliarchs are being hit and it will take months before they really feel the full brunt of the wests anger. Russia will become highly reliant on the capricious Chinese who are already taking territory off them in the east.

So many willing and keen to believe Russian propaganda. Quite pathetic

 

[Telamelo]

No need to show smilies.
The war isn't going well for Russia despite what Putin says.
Russian soldiers do have low morale as they fight Russian speaking populace including women in the streets.
And you say the Russians could supply 10 times the troops but they havent because they are being nice? Coddswallop.
They are bringing the Syrians in to do the nasty before their own troops revolt.

The ogliarchs are being hit and it will take months before they really feel the full brunt of the wests anger. Russia will become highly reliant on the capricious Chinese who are already taking territory off them in the east.

So many willing and keen to believe Russian propaganda. Quite pathetic

I'm afraid that Putin has "only just started" as we haven't seen anything yet. This is sadly going to spread "far & wide" beyond Ukraine. War only brings devastation, misery & famine - there'll be no winner's.

Inflation will skyrocket as we've already seen with soaring fuel prices and impact on our grocery shopping/cost of living etc. All the everyday bills becoming more expensive.. interest rates going up as well putting more pressure on household budgets.

Sanctions are on Putin /Russia so am told/assured but we here in Australia will suffer both economically & financially as a result.

 

[wayneL]

So many willing and keen to believe Russian propaganda. Quite pathetic

Yeah! Because only Russians issue propaganda.

 

[UMike]

Think it is widely believed both side are propagandaists.

No winner in this **** show. (other than the right business in the right sector).

 

[CityIndex]

I'm afraid that Putin has "only just started" as we haven't seen anything yet. This is sadly going to spread "far & wide" beyond Ukraine. War only brings devastation, misery & famine - there'll be no winner's.

Inflation will skyrocket as we've already seen with soaring fuel prices and impact on our grocery shopping/cost of living etc. All the everyday bills becoming more expensive.. interest rates going up as well putting more pressure on household budgets.

Sanctions are on Putin /Russia so am told/assured but we here in Australia will suffer both economically & financially as a result.

You could be right. Especially if the reports of Russia turning to China for military aid is to believed, the threat of this escalating to a conflict beyond just Russia and Ukraine is seriously mounting.

Although the ASX is trading broadly higher at the moment on renewed hopes of a diplomatic solution in Ukraine, there is still significant downside risk to be mindful of. If the situation does in fact ease, we could see a strong rally across global equity markets in the days that follow. However, the longer this drags on, or worse it gets, the greater the chance for a global recession, which leaves scope for a much larger drop in the market as well.

All trading carries risk, and it'll be important to watch how this situation develops over the rest of the week.

 

[Craton]

Just read this in the Guardian and am shaking my head at the sheer hypocrisy.

Russia to ban Instagram over 'calls for violence against Russians'​

Russia’s state media and communication regulator, Rozcomnadzor, says Instagram will be banned, citing the social networking site “calls for violence against Russians” as the reason behind the embargo.

An email from Rozcomnadzor and shared with the Guardian reads:

Due to the fact that the management of Instagram social network allowed calls for violence only against Russians - despite the international law and for the first time in history - the Prosecutor General’s Office made a decision to ban this social network in Russia.

Calls for violence against people of a certain nationality or citizenship constitute a crime characterised as ‘genocide’ which is prohibited by the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, developed following the review of the entire evidence base against Nazi criminals collected over the course of Nuremberg trials.”

Rozcomnadzor claims the decision is also in part to “ensure the mental health of our citizens” particularly of children and adolescents and to “protect them from bullying and insults online”.


The email adds that a “transition period” will be allocated for users to inform their friends and followers and to “transfer your photo and video materials from your accounts to other resources” including Russian social networks.


“Instagram will stop working on the territory of Russia at 00.00 on March 14,” it adds, while encouraging Russians to transition to Russia’s “own competitive internet platforms” such as VK and Odnoklassniki.


“We hope that your transition onto those internet environments will go quickly, and you will open new opportunities for communication and doing business for yourselves,” the emails adds.
Reports are already coming in that Instagram is no longer available in Russia with many Russian celebrities and influencers opening Telegram and VK accounts.

 

[againsthegrain]

Just read this in the Guardian and am shaking my head at the sheer hypocrisy.

Sounds like exactly the rubbish you would hear from china

 

[Value Collector]

Dont be fooled by the mostly one sided media reporting you see everyday on the news.

As far as I know, Russia has over a million military personnel. They only sent an estimated 100k+ worth into Ukraine. They are just taking it slow to limit civilian casualties as well as to capture as much of Ukraine intact as possible. He needs Ukraine to be functioning to use it as an effective buffer to the NATO border countries. When you own the skies, you basically win the war. Putin is taking his own sweet time. I had thought they would try to end things before the spring weather starts thawing out the ground this month, but i guess they can use railway to bring in hardware/tanks now they have the eastern regions secured.

He doesnt need to justify anything, he had already in 2020 managed to get the people to vote for a removal of his 2 term limit( much like what Xi had done in china) so he gets to continue indefinitely as Prez. He is still hugely popular to the majority of Russian.

Whilst economic sanctions have caused some short term economic problems,
1) Russia has the gold to back their currency, unlike USA fiat dollars.
2)Russia can switch from SWIFT to other payment systems like chinese CIPS for bank payments
3) they have already started using chinese UNIONPay for businesses via phone apps/cards (chinas version of visa which now does higher transaction value than visa system).
4) Europe and the world is still buying their oil and gas (albeit at higher prices than before the war!! ROFL..) so the war is making them more money? Especially if you look at the other major stuff they still export like wheat and a whole heap of rare minerals and commodities, their exports may have gone down 50% but all these commodities have gone up 50%, some even 100%. Just look at the nickel prices. Even our coal export prices have shot up 30%!!!

Germany Says It Won't Stop Buying Russian Energy Despite Moscow’s War in Ukraine

Germany Says It Won't Stop Buying Russian Energy Despite Moscow’s War in Ukraine

Germany will continue to buy natural gas, oil and coal from Russia despite Vladimir Putin’s aggression against Ukraine, the government in Berlin said Monday. Germany and Europe are too dependent on Russian energy imports for power, heating and industrial production to be able to cut trade links wit

www.wsj.com

5) Businesses like macdonalds closing but Russia is going to allow their own companies to take over the american patents

Theres just a few small anti-war rallies last week that have been shutdown quick smart in the usual fashion.

Not many countries are on the side of the americans on this one, and unfortunately USA has its own internal problems with high inflation now almost certainly going into hyperinflation coupled with a recession -- STAGFLATION ala 1970s again. In fact I dont think USA can continue with their sanctions much longer, especially if the democrats wanna stay in power in the upcoming US election.

I am not sure how you can think this invasion is going well for Russia.

Compare it to the USA invasion of Iraq and the Battle of Bagdad.

It took 6 Days for the USA to capture Bagdad, 3 weeks into the invasion.

The USA did it with a force of 30,000 soldiers, The battle of Bagdad losses for the USA was 34 soldiers, 2 planes, 1 helicopter, 2 tanks and 17 other vehicles.

Compare that to the current Russian losses at the moment, not to mention that the USA was fighting across an ocean on the other side of the world, Where as Russia is just across their border and struggling logistically.

It’s true that no one seems to have the ability to deploy anywhere on the globe and maintain a strong logistics supply chain like the USA, the closest other nation would be the Brits, Russia has shown a huge weakness in their abilities in my opinion.

 

[JohnDe]

Dont be fooled by the mostly one sided media reporting you see everyday on the news.

As far as I know, Russia has over a million military personnel. They only sent an estimated 100k+ worth into Ukraine. They are just taking it slow to limit civilian casualties as well as to capture as much of Ukraine intact as possible. He needs Ukraine to be functioning to use it as an effective buffer to the NATO border countries. When you own the skies, you basically win the war. Putin is taking his own sweet time. I had thought they would try to end things before the spring weather starts thawing out the ground this month, but i guess they can use railway to bring in hardware/tanks now they have the eastern regions secured.

He doesnt need to justify anything, he had already in 2020 managed to get the people to vote for a removal of his 2 term limit( much like what Xi had done in china) so he gets to continue indefinitely as Prez. He is still hugely popular to the majority of Russian.

Whilst economic sanctions have caused some short term economic problems,
1) Russia has the gold to back their currency, unlike USA fiat dollars.
2)Russia can switch from SWIFT to other payment systems like chinese CIPS for bank payments
3) they have already started using chinese UNIONPay for businesses via phone apps/cards (chinas version of visa which now does higher transaction value than visa system).
4) Europe and the world is still buying their oil and gas (albeit at higher prices than before the war!! ROFL..) so the war is making them more money? Especially if you look at the other major stuff they still export like wheat and a whole heap of rare minerals and commodities, their exports may have gone down 50% but all these commodities have gone up 50%, some even 100%. Just look at the nickel prices. Even our coal export prices have shot up 30%!!!

Germany Says It Won't Stop Buying Russian Energy Despite Moscow’s War in Ukraine

Germany Says It Won't Stop Buying Russian Energy Despite Moscow’s War in Ukraine

Germany will continue to buy natural gas, oil and coal from Russia despite Vladimir Putin’s aggression against Ukraine, the government in Berlin said Monday. Germany and Europe are too dependent on Russian energy imports for power, heating and industrial production to be able to cut trade links wit

www.wsj.com

5) Businesses like macdonalds closing but Russia is going to allow their own companies to take over the american patents

Theres just a few small anti-war rallies last week that have been shutdown quick smart in the usual fashion.

Not many countries are on the side of the americans on this one, and unfortunately USA has its own internal problems with high inflation now almost certainly going into hyperinflation coupled with a recession -- STAGFLATION ala 1970s again. In fact I dont think USA can continue with their sanctions much longer, especially if the democrats wanna stay in power in the upcoming US election.

We live in an information age, assessment is being made by thousands of people receiving info from satellite images, photos, twitter, email, intercepted radio chatter and so on.

Western defence officials have estimated Russian casualties at between 2,000 and 6,000. Based on ratios in similar conflicts, that implies three to four times as many captured and wounded. At its midpoint, such an estimate is more, in three weeks, than the losses of US and UK servicemen combined during 20 years in Afghanistan.​

The Russians are very good at military parades. They spend weeks getting everything shiny. But it’s a facade​

‘A serious failure’: scale of Russia’s military blunders becomes clear

First phase of offensive held back by intelligence weaknesses and poor planning and logistics

Three weeks into its invasion of Ukraine, the scale of Russia’s military blunders is becoming clear.

The outcome of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s war is still far from certain: little information exists on Ukrainian forces’ rates of attrition, while Russia’s military still outmans and outguns that of its neighbour. The chances of escalation have meanwhile increased as the Russian leadership looks to regain the front foot.

But in the first phase of its offensive, the Kremlin’s military story is one of failure.

Western defence officials have estimated Russian casualties at between 2,000 and 6,000. Based on ratios in similar conflicts, that implies three to four times as many captured and wounded. At its midpoint, such an estimate is more, in three weeks, than the losses of US and UK servicemen combined during 20 years in Afghanistan.

Russia’s losses in material are also significant. The Oryx blog has recorded 1,034 Russian vehicles, artillery pieces and aircraft destroyed, damaged, abandoned or captured. These include 173 tanks, 261 armoured and infantry fighting vehicles, and 28 surface-to-air missile systems.

Justin Bronk, research fellow at the UK’s Royal United Services Institute, who co-wrote a book on Russia’s military modernisation under Putin, said the losses “are massively more than in any other recent conflict” including Georgia, Chechnya or Afghanistan in the 1980s.

Analysts and western military officials agree on the primary cause of the flaws in Russia’s military offensive: a failure of intelligence that skewed military planning.

Flowing from this were failures linked to rash decision-making, logistical unpreparedness, poor maintenance of equipment and the use of young, inexperienced troops that together have culminated in a collapse of front-line Russian morale.

General Sir Richard Barrons, former head of the UK’s Joint Forces Command, said: “There is something here that is systemically wrong . . . somewhere in the Russian intelligence architecture, facts on the ground are being converted into an analysis, but that analysis is actually a narrative to support the preconceptions of the senior [Kremlin] leadership.”

As a result, Russia’s intended campaign — an assault strike predicated on speed and Ukrainian political weakness — has tipped into a joint combat operation requiring logistical and communications planning that does not seem to have been in place, say analysts.

Russia’s first failures occurred within the opening 24 hours of the war, when pre-positioned covert spetsnaz troops, whose job it was to cripple the Ukrainian political leadership, were stopped. Airborne forces of the elite VDV, known for their sky-blue berets, that were supposed to secure key sites such as Hostomel airport just north of the capital, were, after initial success, repelled by strong Ukrainian resistance. Two transport aircraft were downed above Hostomel by Ukrainian forces.

“The Ukrainian military as a whole have been expecting this kind of invasion to come since 2014,” said Barrons. “And then they were handed the gift of these light forces coming in piecemeal, underestimating them, which they were able to pick off.”

The second component of the initial assault — the rapid advance of Russian forces, avoiding cities and intended to quickly encircle regional Ukrainian military units they believed would be paralysed because of a leaderless central government — further extended Russian vulnerability.

“It is as if they were treating this as a military policing mission, not an actual invasion against a modern military,” said one western military official. Videos on social media even show troops from Rosguardia, Russia’s domestic militia, advancing into towns, unsupported, as the frontline force.

When, several days in, Russian commanders realised they needed to pivot to using more serious firepower, they did so chaotically: huge columns of tanks and artillery moved forward, but the Ukrainians blew up bridges, causing advances to stall. Russian planners appear to have failed to anticipate this basic response, another western military official said, pointing out that engineering units and bridge builders were not even near the front of the advance in some columns.

“What we have seen on the ground is an extremely bad plan coupled with absolutely no warning to operational commanders they were about to throw their troops into operational combat which has created an enormous number of problems for them,” said Rusi’s Bronk. It is, he added, a “serious failure” of “TTPs” — tactics, techniques and procedures.

Even Russia’s feared anti-aircraft systems were left vulnerable to cheap Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones operated by the Ukrainians. Footage on Twitter, for example, shows Ukrainian TB2’s picking off Buk launchers, the same missile system used to shoot down the MH17 commercial aircraft in 2014.

On the ground, meanwhile, the thousands of anti-tank missiles western powers have been supplying to Ukraine for weeks have proved effective, with mobile foot soldiers able to ambush and attack isolated advanced clusters of Russian light vehicles and stationary heavy units stuck in columns with unprotected flanks.

Open-source intelligence suggests that Russia’s military communications infrastructure has performed poorly: the cutting-edge encrypted Azart and Akveduk radios that supposedly began to be rolled out to Russian units in 2017 appear to be in short supply or have inadequate range, noted a Rusi report.

On social media, pictures have been posted of Russians using cheap, unencrypted Chinese radios, and their own mobile phones to contact commanders. As a result even amateur radio enthusiasts hundreds of miles away have been able to tune into real-time Russian military communications, as Twitter threads with dozens of recorded Russian messages show.

Inadequate equipment has been the cause of other failings: images have been shared by Ukrainians of Russian vehicles with shredded tires stuck in mud. Experts say the tires are almost certainly cheap, civilian-grade versions of those the Russian military need, suggesting, as in the case of the radios, endemic corruption in Russia’s defence procurement.

“The Russians are very good at military parades. They spend weeks getting everything shiny. But it’s a facade,” said one European defence official.

The biggest question that continues to perplex analysts, though, is why Russia has still not made use of its vastly superior air power to better protect its forces, and reverse the debacle on the ground — although it did launch a devastating air strike on a military base in western Ukraine on Sunday, close to the Polish border.

A senior US defence official said that Ukraine had been “very creative” in how it used its air defences, making highly effective use of cheap drones, and the country’s forces were staging a much fiercer resistance than Russian intelligence expected. “They are putting resources where they’re most needed [and] they’re doing it quickly. They are being adaptive and nimble . . . in almost a sort of a hit-and-run kind of style,” he said.

Russia’s military has no experience fighting such an extensive joint ground-and-air war, the official said. “This is an operation that they have never conducted before, never meaning since world war two.”

The official said Russia was also having trouble integrating its ground and air forces into a “joint” force. He said that while the Russia had upgraded its military and acquired sophisticated systems, “it doesn’t appear . . . that they have developed the proper operational concepts to use these modern capabilities”.

The failures have resulted in a widespread, if perhaps temporary, collapse in morale, according to the Pentagon and British defence intelligence. There is even evidence of Russian soldiers sabotaging their own equipment, officials have said.

The average age of Russian soldiers in Ukraine is 20-25 years old, according to one western military official, compared with 30-35 for the Ukrainians, who are better-supplied and have a cause on their side.

Many of the young Russian soldiers deployed meanwhile did not even know they were being sent into Ukraine, let alone that they would have to fire on fellow Russian-speakers.

“It has become clear that a lot of Russian infantry are simply not willing to go into the attack,” said Chris Donnelly, an adviser on the Soviet military to four Nato secretaries-general. “Once morale really starts to collapse like this, you don’t have an army any more.”

The Russians have used conscripts and poorly trained junior troops, Donnelly said, in an apparently knee-jerk reversion by operational commanders to the textbook Soviet tactic of sending in expendable forces first to “soak up firepower”.

The question is how Russia will adapt. In recent days, Russian forces have stepped up the use of long-range fire, and have launched more than 800 missiles in total. There were also signs that columns of forces to the north and east of Kyiv were preparing to try a new approach.

Some of the tanks and other vehicles in a long convoy that at its closest point is 15km from Kyiv have also gone off the main road. It is unclear whether they are being sent in a different direction or taking cover under trees.

Elsewhere, Russia’s objectives seem to be to surround and besiege a sufficient number of Ukrainian cities, seize Kyiv and oust the Zelensky government. While Russian forces have struggled in the north, in the south they have had far more success, and can still apply considerable force.

Questions remain about Ukrainian forces’ ability to continue to fight and how much in anti-aircraft munitions they have remaining.

Within the Ukrainian military there is also growing dismay over western flip-flopping over additional military support, such as gifting MiG jets or heavier, vehicle-mounted long-range anti-aircraft weaponry.

Russia’s use of crude artillery and dumb bombs is meanwhile wreaking a heavy civilian toll. And most signs point towards a further escalation by the Kremlin.

The danger, said one retired senior British intelligence officer, is that in seeking to extricate itself from its tactical disasters in Ukraine, Moscow “blunders into a strategic dead-end with even worse consequences” — for Ukraine, and possibly the world.

Subscribe to read

www.ft.com

 

[moXJO]

I am not sure how you can think this invasion is going well for Russia.

Compare it to the USA invasion of Iraq and the Battle of Bagdad.

It took 6 Days for the USA to capture Bagdad, 3 weeks into the invasion.

The USA did it with a force of 30,000 soldiers, The battle of Bagdad losses for the USA was 34 soldiers, 2 planes, 1 helicopter, 2 tanks and 17 other vehicles.

Compare that to the current Russian losses at the moment, not to mention that the USA was fighting across an ocean on the other side of the world, Where as Russia is just across their border and struggling logistically.

It’s true that no one seems to have the ability to deploy anywhere on the globe and maintain a strong logistics supply chain like the USA, the closest other nation would be the Brits, Russia has shown a huge weakness in their abilities in my opinion.

American/Western tech made the difference.
You also have western advisors on strategic plays.

People probably don't know that Russia was in nam doing basically the same thing to the US at the time.

This dance has been going on for a long time.

 

[JohnDe]

American/Western tech made the difference.
You also have western advisors on strategic plays.

People probably don't know that Russia was in nam doing basically the same thing to the US at the time.

This dance has been going on for a long time.

Then the Russian General’s were fools & incompetent for not planning for a worst case scenario.

“Prepare for the worst, hope for the best”

 

[Value Collector]

American/Western tech made the difference.
You also have western advisors on strategic plays.

People probably don't know that Russia was in nam doing basically the same thing to the US at the time.

This dance has been going on for a long time.

Yep, but there is no way any one can say that this Ukraine invasion has been an example of a good invasion, The Russians are taking huge losses, and probably will have a Pyrrhic victory at the most.

 

[moXJO]

Then the Russian General’s were fools & incompetent for not planning for a worst case scenario.

“Prepare for the worst, hope for the best”

Yep, but there is no way any one can say that this Ukraine invasion has been an example of a good invasion, The Russians are taking huge losses, and probably will have a Pyrrhic victory at the most.

I remember troops being drunk during the whole Chechen thing. I never said they were good. But they are determined tough buggers. They also thrive under miserable conditions.

Come to think of it Syria was a bit of a mess as well. I think Trump blew up a hundred or so Wagner Russian mercenaries that attacked a US base (or friendly base). Russians view troop losses a lot differently.

 

[noirua]

Lt. Gen Hodges: Russians are about ten days away from ‘culminating point’ of exhausting ammo, manpower

As Russian President Vladimir Putin unleashes terror across Ukraine, Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges told “The Faulkner Focus” Monday that he believes Putin's army is about “ten days away” from running out of resources.

www.foxnews.com

 

[IFocus]

Yeah! Because only Russians issue propaganda.

Everyone is well aware that Ukraine will try everything they can to gain support are you saying they shouldn't?.

However they are not calling all out war a "special operation" or making laws jailing people for 15 years for calling it a war.

 

[Telamelo]

Nice to see yet another Russian oil supertanker dock in the UK seems like business as usual - so why can't we here in Australia also get cheap oil from Russia to ease fuel prices ? Oh that's right sanctions as we aren't allowed to trade with China or Russia as only the UK & the USA can lol

Oil supertanker from Russian port docks in Southampton

ExxonMobil says cargo came from Kazakhstan

www.independent.co.uk

 

[wayneL]

Everyone is well aware that Ukraine will try everything they can to gain support are you saying they shouldn't?.

However they are not calling all out war a "special operation" or making laws jailing people for 15 years for calling it a war.

You shouldn't make a assumptions as to what my thoughts are. I just prefer fact over narratives and I readily admit that I don't have enough facts to get too carried away over judgements

 

[JohnDe]

Nice to see yet another Russian oil supertanker dock in the UK seems like business as usual - so why can't we here in Australia also get cheap oil from Russia to ease fuel prices ? Oh that's right sanctions as we aren't allowed to trade with China or Russia as only the UK & the USA can lol

Oil supertanker from Russian port docks in Southampton

ExxonMobil says cargo came from Kazakhstan

www.independent.co.uk

How cheap is this Russian oil that you talk about?