Current Affairs Ukraine

[PhilM]

I suppose that what I'm saying is that Russian national will doesn't much matter until a certain threshold is crossed. One problem authoritarian regimes run into is that most things are half-hearted. The Russians and Soviets always did well historically in areas people natively have a passion for - athletic/intellectual competition, science, literature and music. Rachmaninoff was a monster, and he spent half his career under the Soviets.

They're not going to fight 'well' relative to their hardware capabilities because they don't do a lot of other things 'well'. Their NCO corps has always been rubbish, equipment goes AWOL because the officers are corrupt, and they've never had the budgets to throw at training. They fight because there's someone with a gun behind them spurring them forward, which is not the same as fighting for survival. What was surprising about the whole thing was just how hobbled they were by those structural problems.

/agree re: House discussion. It's germane, but it's not going to be of interest to most in here.

Additionally, they've stuck to their previous rhetoric of quantity over quality, which now has come to bite them on their proverbial behind when facing Ukraine.

We've talked about it previously, but the west has been known to overestimate the quality of Russian hardware. Can you think of an element that has shined?

 

[Big Sams Undies]

“NATO will never back Ukraine with weapons, they are too scared of our mighty Red Arm.. erm Russian Army”

“Vlad they’ve gone and sent a load of their best gear over to the Ukes lad and we’re getting trounced”

“…
…
…
Ffffuuuuuuu”

 

[Martin Alvito]

Additionally, they've stuck to their previous rhetoric of quantity over quality, which now has come to bite them on their proverbial behind when facing Ukraine.

We've talked about it previously, but the west has been known to overestimate the quality of Russian hardware. Can you think of an element that has shined?

Shined? Not really. Their artillery has been extremely effective when used as a terror weapon, but less so on the battlefield proper. It's hard to separate out 'their hardware is junk' from 'the way they're using their capabilities is junk'. A crummy tank is easier to blow up than a good one, but they both blow up just the same if you load up the Ukrainians with the latest in anti-tank weaponry and show them how to use it well.

That's not that dissimilar from the Afghans hunting helicopters with Stingers and CIA support, now that I think about it.

 

[peteblue]

Sorry to hear this @peteblue
Hope she's OK. Thinking of you xx ?

Thanks mate….

 

[bluerobert]

Ukrainians Are Responding to the Threat of Nukes By Organising an Orgy

After his controversial suggestions for ending the war, the organisers said: “As of today, Elon Musk is persona non grata in Shchekavystsa.”

www.vice.com

 

[LinekersLegs]

Can’t say I blame him for not returning, the arrest must have been terrifying on top of the past few months being extremely stressful.

 

[LinekersLegs]

 

[Spadge Vernacular]

@MaupsGoat know you are a fan but he seems to be going even further off the rails

No wonder the band jibbed him.

 

[Spadge Vernacular]

Feels like an echo from the past.

 

[Spadge Vernacular]

I disagree with her on almost every point. There's an infinite set of possible outcomes at the conference table. Ukraine has an advantage in national will at the moment, but it's more fragile than Russia's. What the sides will accept as an outcome at the conference table depends upon conditions on the ground and domestic political conditions at the time. A Republican House doesn't kill Biden's ability to fund Ukraine - it just means he has to cough up some concessions he doesn't want to make in order to do it. Zugzwang is an incredibly reductive way to think about Putin's position, as there is almost always a least-worst alternative in a game with as broad a move space as international relations.

Very much depends upon what you see as Russia.

The outlying areas being targeted to carry the weight of conscription/mobilisation; or the likes of Moscow and St Peterburg? My personal take is that the Russian Federation has been pushed to the brink by Putin and this situation may be the straw that breaks its back..

On the other side this war has galvanised and untited Ukraine in a way that Putin clearly did not believe possible.

 

[Spadge Vernacular]

Maybe it’s just what we’re being fed, but most of the Ukrainian army seem to look healthy and nourished while the Russians look scruffy and hungry. Have they just run out of money to provide the basics for their army? From the outside, it looks like they’ve completely run out of steam which is worrying considering the options left on the table for Putin.

There is a pay back to corrupt governance and Russia are feeling were the money for the regimes palaces and super yachts has come from. It is incredibly sad as Russia is much much better than the mess that Putin has created.

 

[Haydn]

Not a military strageist by any measure, surely it’s time for someone to pick up the phone to Putin and read him his tea leaves. (If it hasn’t already been done)

Stop your half arsed imperial adventure, or we take you out. There’s no chance of dodging novichok, windows, or nuclear tea at your dacha, with your kids. Here’s a tip top villa in Syria.

If the global condemnation of Putin as an individual can be made real, surely he can be driven out ?

 

[LinekersLegs]

 

[Haydn]

Bit mad really, if they truly believe that. Particularly given how many Russians party in European resorts every year.

Met loads. Some good and great fun. Some odious and not so much.

 

[Spadge Vernacular]

If those subs are legit it is carification that poor Russians under this evil regime really are living in cuckoo land. As the tweet says she is describing exactly what Russia is doing to Ukraine, and without even a smirk. Bonkers.