Current Affairs Ukraine

[Librarian]

Can’t wait for Usyk to get back and win his rematch so that we can listen to Fury saying he’s only beaten bums like AJ and Putin.

Big John, ‘look, he’s a good fighter don’t get me ronge but, wats ee done? ee’s taken on a 3rd rate superpower with the economy the size a Texas, let me tell yer, if Tyson were der ee’d a got them out of there in 3 days’

 

[Taifi gorm]

The reason the primary targets on day one were all airbases and air defence infrastructure was precisely to allow Russian air superiority. The idea is to either destroy the Ukrainian air force on the ground or to deny the Ukrainian pilots anywhere to land, refuel and rearm IF they made it off the ground in the first place. It's pretty standard stuff you can read in any book on modern conventional military strategy.

Russia failed to catch the Ukrainian planes on the ground, and failed to seize or destroy any substantial air bases or air defence sites. They definitely made an impact, but the Ukrainian air force is still in operation and that is part of the why the Russians are losing armour and helicopters - their air force isn't dominating the sky.

There's a decent article on this exact subject - "The mystery of the missing Russian air force" I think it's called. Will dig it out and post a link now.

Edit: link here:

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Russian Air Force

On the fifth day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, one of many unanswered questions is why Russia has launched a military campaign at huge cost with maximalist objectives, and then declined to use the vast majority of its fixed wing combat aircraft.

rusi.org

 

[LinekersLegs]

 

[LinekersLegs]

 

[Kev The Rat]

What I was thinking all along - the Kremlin could at some point consider the sanctions an act of war, if they haven’t already.

 

[Mrk]

What I was thinking all along - the Kremlin could at some point consider the sanctions an act of war, if they haven’t already.

How would that benefit them? They'd lose any war decisively.

 

[PhilM]

If they had gone mental, the bloke holding the camera would be blinded.

I’m not talking nuclear: I’m thinking FOAB or thermobaric.

 

[Kev The Rat]

How would that benefit them? They'd lose any war decisively.

Not necessarily in actually dragging NATO forces into the equation.

But maybe going in harder against Ukraine than they might.

 

[wm02]

I wouldn't be so sure, if North Korea can survive isolated, so can largest country in world. Not to mention universal stand is not really that universal, its Europe, America, Canada, Australia. China and India still gonna back and trade with Russia, South America, Africa, Iran and Middle East also not gonna turn away from them.

If there is one thing from history you can learn is that Russia doesn't back down, and right now majority of people in Russia are convinced that NATO and Europe are their enemies.

Not sure that North Korea is a great example for the point you are trying to make. Throughout the ‘60s North Korea consistently had a higher standard of living than South Korea. Look at divergence of the two countries in the meantime as North Korea has become more isolated.

 

[JammyP]

 

[tsubaki]

What I was thinking all along - the Kremlin could at some point consider the sanctions an act of war, if they haven’t already.

Kev they’ve claimed that Ukraine being run by Nazis is an act of war, as well as the one about Ukraine trying to get nukes.

If they want an act of war, they’ll find it - so pussyfooting around what will and won’t offend them is up to a point meaningless. The only one that really exists is intervening militarily.

 

[Glasshalffull]

It is all getting very LOTR.

Do we leave Middle-earth to its fate?
Do we let them stand alone?

Yes, Putin = Sauron, Belarus bloke = Saruman, Boris = Gandalf (or for aficionados, Radagas the Brown).

Not making light of this appalling disaster, but it's weird how right and wrong kinda always line up the same way.

 

[Kev The Rat]

Kev they’ve claimed that Ukraine being run by Nazis is an act of war, as well as the one about Ukraine trying to get nukes.

If they want an act of war, they’ll find it - so pussyfooting around what will and won’t offend them is up to a point meaningless. The only one that really exists is intervening militarily.

Just a thought that’s all - again it might not make any difference like you say.

I’m not suggesting the west shouldn’t have adopted as strong sanctions as they could either

 

[Mrk]

Not necessarily in actually dragging NATO forces into the equation.

But maybe going in harder against Ukraine than they might.

The last thing Russia want is NATO getting involved in any way, so if they were to declare that they consider the economic sanctions to be a declaration of war between Russia and NATO, they would be dicing with death (quite literally, in Putin's case).

 

[Kev The Rat]

The last thing Russia want is NATO getting involved in any way, so if they were to declare that they consider the economic sanctions to be a declaration of war between Russia and NATO, they would be dicing with death (quite literally, in Putin's case).

Obviously they wouldn’t declare it openly

It’s more about mindset vs Ukraine.

As I’ve said the hardest sanctions possible from the wests standpoint were absolutely essential, still.