Do you think Britain is in a weaker position than Russia right now?
Nuclear weapons are not off any table, Russian commanders have already discussed it, and a small tactical battlefield nuke can be fired from howitzer. There are many points of escalations before such a move is taken, but that's in the current situation. If however Ukraine started systematically attacking Russian territory and killing Russian citizens, in such a scenario Russian doctrine "permits" the use of nuclear weapons to "defend the motherland". This is why everyone has been very careful in the type of weaponry that is being supplied to the Ukrainians. Likewise Ukrainian officials have mentioned it many times that Russia would use attacks on it's territory to escalate the conflict.
Possibly, there are troublemakers like Yevgeny Prigozhin, he rises and falls depending on what happens in Bakhmut. Ramzan Kadyrov is just theater, probably used to goad the Russian Federtion army leaders. The military has clearly forced Putins hand to sign the mobilisation. Dmitry Medvedev is seen as the oligarchs man, but is playing the onside game at the moment. Putin only has until 2024, so any contenders will be lining up for the top job. The Spring offensive will be about more that trying to hold territory in Ukraine.
Interesting that people in Moscow are aware that the regime was supposed to 'take Kyiv in three days'. Looks like details of the failed special operation are getting through to them without any difficulty.
The US the most efficient Army medical logistical support Army in the world runs at 7-8 to 1. NATO is probably similar. The general ration else where is 3-1.
However the Russian figures on wounded to death are taught to be not much better than 1-1. This is the reason there KIA numbers are so high. Like everything else logistical they do it's a disaster. If they cannot keep military equipment in good order when not in use, they hardly kept there medical logistics in good order either.
This is the military force where there airforce use sat nabs to guide them around.
60-80k dead and the same wounded. In Russia unless you are the walking wounded the only way you will survive is if a UA medical team get to you
Evident they've no trust in their leadership. Obvious they know it's FUBAR.
Today, the Kremlin says that they demanded security guarantees from Ukraine. It is worth stopping for a moment to think about such statements of theirs.
252 days ago, Russia demanded security guarantees from the United States of America. After eight months of Russia's so-called special operation in the Kremlin, they demand security guarantees from Ukraine.
It's a really dramatic change. This shows both the failure of Russian aggression and how strong we are when we maintain unity. Millions of Ukrainians who are fighting and working for our freedom. And millions of people around the world who help us resist Russian terror.6
Together we will ensure the defeat of the terrorist state and its punishment for terror. And we guarantee that the whole of Ukraine is and will be free.
Eternal glory to all our heroes! Eternal memory to all who gave their lives for Ukraine!
Glory to Ukraine!
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Putin needs a change of underwear, and a large transfusion of brain cells. Perhaps he'd like Zelensky to drop by for some special tea as well?
This is coming from Radio Free Europe, an American government backed "news service". If RFE and RT interviewed the same twenty Russians we'd see two different reports. So yes and no. A few are feeling more confident to say it's going badly, though putin generally gets a pass. In public. I'd bet it's more to do with it coming home to them since mobilisation and before that they'd be far less critical. I'd also reckon for many it's not that they're against the war, but against the obvious fact that they're not winning it and they're looking bad because of it.
The IT have given this Toal chap yet another column to call on Ukraine to capitulate.
We all want peace, but it would be more helpful if Toal could elucidate what compromises he believes Ukraine should make to facilitate Russia’s fascist aggression.
One thing that I always notice about these vidoes is how battle scarred the farmland is. They'll be pulling shrapnel and unexploded ordnance out of the ground for decades.
70k dead and 70k wounded is 140k out of action is almost the entire russian force committed to the invasion. Their mobilised conscripts have not yet been moved to the front (last report said only ~10k had been moved to the zone of the 'SMO'), so if those casualty figures were true it would mean a total collapse of russian army in Ukraine.
And yet they are still defending on 4 fronts (Svatovo, Bakhmut-Donetsk, Zaporozhzhia, Kherson). If that number of Russian casualties were accurate, then how are they holding on? Either they have been killing far more Ukrainians than losses they take themselves, which is the only reason Ukraine havent retaken all that poorly defended territory already, or else they havent lost nearly that number of troops.
Here he is, as far back as 12 March, calling on the West to allow Putin have a ‘victory’ in order to stop the war.
Pathetic, but at least his eagerness for appeasement is consistent. But why is the Irish Times persisting in giving him editorial space to, in effect, make Putin’s case?
I've thought the same thing too. There will need to be a humongous cleanup, but the scale of it would be hard to fathom. Doing it thoroughly would be nigh on impossible, which means there'll inevitably be combine harvesters exploding while going about their daily (or yearly) business
Whats left of Russian forces will fight to the last man to defend its objective demanded by a mad man
A retired US General quoted saying if nato went in with its almost immediate air supremacy war would be over in 96 hours
Only thing stopping it is a possible nuclear backlash and the nnp that's putin has been as a hostage to prevent such a scenario.
Ukraine army is being made look good by a bad Russian mob like unprofessional force
Fight to the last man? hardly
Why on earth would they do that?
Recent events prove otherwise
Your last sentence unnoticingly sidesteps the Ukrainians adeptness with technology and ability to integrate many different systems.
The Russians would have tried to eat Western weapons systems.
Today's words on Sesame Street are "adaptiveness" and "versatile".
The lads ploughing will be at greater risk. I wouldn't be surprised to see armour-plated cabs back in fashion.
The French Service de déminage is still clearing up unexploded WW1 and WW2 ordnance (more rarely 1870 ordnance these days) in the north east of the country, into the tons (metric) every year, to this day.
It’s long been dubbed the “iron harvest”. Primer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_harvest
And it keeps on killing, every year too. Mostly Darwin Award chasers with metal detectors. Much more rarely, but still and very regrettably, sappers themselves. I spent some of my military service with them BITD, a guy I met on that team died on the job some years ago.
Sadly, that will be Ukrainian reality for a lot of years. No matter how thorough the clean up immediately post-war.
If the UK/USA/other forces just supposedly did blow up the pipelines, kindly explain why the Kremlin didn't have a wee meltdown over it. They had an interest in these assets and were demonstrably angered by the various attacks to date on the likes of the Kerch Bridge and attacks in Crimea at airbase and port. But the pipelines? A shrug and just too bad for yous seemed to be the message - just look what we can do to other assets like this.
The Brits may be having their political woes but you can be bloody sure the one thing that would galvanise them in a moment would be an attack by Russia. Big, big mistake.
Seems Russians are leaving Kherson including their administration building and check points..
If anybody has any doubts what the Ukrainans plans are for the future victory and a trip to Crimea for president Zelensky
But it's not spring yet, how could they? /s
That one didn't even last 24hrs.
The Russian army that invaded Ukraine consisted of 200k mainly conscripts who were illegally forced to participate. However since then regular Russian Army stationed elsewhere in Russia have been added to that force. You also have the Wagner group who were recruiting for it as well. Add to that Chechens 15-20k of which were also added to the conflict.
The reason that Putin added a mobilization order was that the regular army was not able to continue to add troops without removing soldiers from other conflicts. We already see the results of that where when Azerbzijan and Armenia started a conflict that Russia was unable to get involved to help Armenia.
We know from internal Russian compensation figures that the figures are stark. A late August circular with in the FSB indicated that compensation for death was paid to nearly 50k families. Some families are unable to claim as there is no body.
Moscow Times indicated 90k irrecoverable losses in late September, that is dead and seriously wounded unable to return to the army.
You published a figure if 12-1 wounded to dead. No army has ever achieved that in a serious conflict. In Afghanistan the US figures were 7-1. Wounded are all wounded from the soldier that get a bullet graze's to lads that get wounded by major and minor bullet wounds to those that lose arms and legs etc. Unless you are superficially wounded in the Russian army you chance of survival is poor. 1-1 dead to wounded the figures may be much worse 1 to 0.7. Russian medical backup is probably similar to US civil war figures (1-0.7 union forces) not to any modern army.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donetsk region liquidated the commander of the helicopter regiment of PMC "Wagner".
Two days later, Russia confirmed the liquidation in Ukraine of Lieutenant Colonel Vyacheslav Zangiev from Vladikavkaz.
Those born to kneel are not destined to fly 😘
Nice ending sentiment.
"70k dead and 70k wounded is 140k out of action is almost the entire russian force committed to the invasion."
Keep going you're nearly there... this is the reason Russian forces have stalled at best/collapsing elsewhere. Come on, you can do it... Ruh... Ruhs... Russia is losing.
If I'm correct they still have patrols collecting unexploded munitions found in fields during plowing season ,
...
If anybody thinks drone are impressive have a look at the unmanned Blackhawk helicopter program
If the entire Russian force is on the brink of collapse from that number of losses, then how is it they are still holding their own on 4 fronts (and recently advancing very slowly in Zaporozhzhia and Donetsk fronts)?
How is it that Ukraine with the million man army cannot defeat a Russian force of less than 50k (as of a month ago before the russian mobilised began to be moved to the front)?
Either the Ukrainians are hemorrhaging troops at a rate much higher than that of the Russians, or the russian losses are not nearly as high as reported. There is no way they could hold almost 600km of a frontline against a force with, at the least, several hundred thousand troops and advanced NATO weaponry, if they had lost over 140k of their 200k* strong invasion force. (Most sources from feb and march 22 say 190k at the uppermost estimate for Russian invasion force, including DPR/LPR militias and Rosgvardia)
I think what's needed is a lot of those ordnance sniffer dogs or they need to develop an ordnance sniffing drone that flies in a predetermined search pattern low to the ground.
Koniku Inc., a startup in San Rafael, Calif., is now using bioengineered nerve cells as the basis for sensors capable of recognizing the subtle odors of explosives. The cells contain proteins designed to detect so-called volatile organic compounds, carbon-containing substances that seep into the air from a range of sources, including food, paints, beverages, bodies and unexploded bombs.
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