Russia-Ukraine War (continuing)

In corrupt countries, it's usually the case that major infrastructure works get started fairly quickly as there is money to be extracted made and palms get greased to get things going. In less corrupt countries, major infrastructure generally takes longer to get started because they have procedures in place, tender rules to follow, etc. That Ukraine hasn't done those particular works isn't itself a sign of corruption. And 12 months is not much time to build a new type of infrastructure, in a very dangerous environment (electrical infrastructure) which you have no experience of. Did you expect them just to ring up the local quarries to send mixers and start horsing concrete around high voltage electrical equipment?

Electrical grid infrastructure is huge. Generating stations themselves are huge and then you have cables and substations across the entire country. Encasing even a small portion of it in concrete is not an option, there is just too much and inter-reliant on other parts. And any concrete structure would be of limited use against the type of missiles that Russia is using. Defense systems to shoot down missiles are far better than encasing things in concrete; they protect a vast area of the country not just whatever it is you want to encase in concrete, they are relatively quick and easy to install (assuming you are taking units which already exists and use existing support systems) and when being gifted existing equipment from other countries there is less scope for corruption.

But if you are so concerned for the Ukrainian power grid, how about asking your mates in Russia to stop bombing it? Or at the very least, condemn Russia for their actions instead of desperately searching for ways to shift the blame to Ukraine...

It's very dangerous in those foreign countries, especially the democracies without any war.

Stay in Russia where uncle Vlad will keep you nice and safe.

Any chance you could maybe give us some analysis of the russian side of this ? Maybe discuss the corruption in the russian system ? It's kinda boring reading your useless and obvious diatribes. The posts are terrible, but also kinda entertaining because they show the level russia and the friends of russia have fallen to. I really hope you know you are a stooge, and you post this rubbish knowing it's pure garbage. The alternative is that you believe what you post - and thats just sad.

Meh. I just assumed more people at home = bigger pool of conscripts and/or more workers to make up for the shortfall due to being conscripted.

A dollar = 109 Rubles now.

crack crack

Can you hear it?

Well, if they increase the birth rate there are a number of negatives - These new children will not be able to contribute to the failing economy for 18 years or so. Children are high maintenance and low return. Also, they won't be suitable for meat waves until they are old enough to die for nothing. It won't help Russia in the short or medium term.

Great, now I can pay the Islamists for gas, instead of the oligarchs. Thank you NATO.

It might be for another thread, but Putin's invasion of Ukraine has massively accelerated Russia's loss of stature in the world.

For decades, pre and post cold war actors in the middle east could play east off west, but now one pillar of that old competition risks implosion and the other is looking increasingly isolationist, which may in turn end up leading to a general civil revolution in the middle east that's been nascent since a fruit seller in Tunisia set himself on fire.

Russia and the West played the same game. After WWII Britain got 40% of it's oil for its Navy fleet from Iran and were active in toppling any dissent that would make it more expensive. It was a western backed regime that extinguished democracy there and strengthen autocracy rule under the Shah who went on to spaff the nations wealth hosting the most outlandish party of the 20th century at Persepolis which was billed as "The Greatest Party in History!".

Who knows, in a century some new post petro emergent nation in the middle east may look upon the west and decide that it's lacking "guidance".

Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups have already begun to penetrate the southern streets of Pokrovsk. Newly built defenses in the area were taken without a fight and were totally unmanned.

I am quite concerned about what Trump might do in order to force the "ceasefire" in Ukraine. He has no instruments to force Russia to end the war immediately. A smart, patient man would have provided Ukraine with American-produced weapons in huge quantities, as much as Ukraine can use, and Ukraine might win the war in a year.

Is Trump a smart and patient man? An impatient president of the USA may go for an "easy solution", that is to force Ukraine to sign an agreement that gives Putin all he actually wants. That is a thorough humiliation of Ukraine by forcing it to agree that all lost territories are forever Russian and that Ukraine will not get any security guarantees (= no NATO). This will be the repeat of Minsk agreements, crushing the political system of Ukraine and ensuring that no reconstruction is possible and that refugees not return to Ukraine. It will just give Russia a respite for a few years to build up its forces to go at Ukraine again in the near future.

Right on time… so much concern. Thoughts and prayers.