Russia-Ukraine War (continuing)

Or they don't have a lot of armour anymore.

I never said anything about how it would be better, I just commented that despite their 'successes' it's still perfectly possible to mock Russia for their tactics and lack of proper equipment.

So yes, despite your claim people are still 'scoffing' at them.

You forgot to mention which neutral reliable sources confirmed that.

sleeping babies.

Anyone who doesn't think this goes on in every country around the world is extremely naïve. The only difference is a) in truly corrupt nations, it's the guys at the top who benefit the most, and b) in truly corrupt nations its kept hush hush and under the carpet. Of course, in truly corrupt nations you don't have a free press to investigate any rumours.

Any wonder why TACO is determined to undermine all the traditional elements of a liberal democracy? Why he despises the free press? Why he's happy to pardon those convicted of criminal offences?

The defender of liberal democracy is NOT sitting on the other side of the Atlantic. He's sitting right next door to Russia.

Not really news though is it….Ukraine has always been a country that reeked with the stench of corruption on every level. There is a good why they were always refused entry into the EU.

One optimistic account of the situation in the ground (Skruffy) and a negative one (Denis Davydov).

It's very hard to control corruption in war because criticising the authorities can lead to accusations of supporting the other side. But unquestionably, given the dependence on Western aid with the verification and tracing, there is less corruption on the Ukrainian side than the Russian side.

The money De Valera raised in America was the subject of decades of litigation in Ireland after independence. We had the tribunals in 1989-2013. The report into Donegal County Council has been suppressed since 2016.

We have corruption in the West too. The US in my opinion is quite corrupt, with the billionaires buying politicians. It doesnt justify the attrocities commits.

I see a lot of Denys followers on telegram are turning on him now for being an arm chair general. We all are too but the driver difference is we're not draft dodgers from Ukraine. Demy's is.

The Nazis constantly "announced" the capture of Stalingrad, and newsreels were constantly shown saying they had captured it. Putin doing something similar with claims to have captured places when in fact the situation is still contested.

They have repeatedly claimed to have captured Chasiv Yar, but even now, they only control most of it, not all.

Kings and Generals update on the situation on the front.

The actual number of Russian soldiers in Pokrovsk is apparently only 250.

This is the situation with the railway and roads in the city. Kings and Generals say "the tide may yet turn in Pokrovsk, but at present the advantage is with the Russians' (approximate quote).

The situation has improved for the Ukrainians in the Doboropilia front though.

This was the situation previously:

Added bonus crew didn't survive.

Kings and Generals channel on youtube reports that some Russian regions have sharply reduced the "sign in bonus" for new recruits. Samara has reduced them from $38,000 in January to $5000 in October. In my opinion this is because of the sanctions finally biting, especially on the recent oil sanctions.

Marco Rubio has said now the issue is enforcement, such as the shadow fleet.

Troubling article yesterday about the Russian shadow fleet using ports in the Baltic like Riga. There is clandestine ownership.

Putin pushing a new law in October to allow Russia to use the "human mobilisation reserve", which Putin claims is 2 million men, to be used, without having to mobilise.

Also of concern is the Russian advance in Dnipropetrovsk. If this is not contained it could eventually threaten Zaporizhia city next year though that is likely a year at least away if they advance as much as Denis Davydov says they did this year.

The Russians took an island off the coast of Kherson, and Russian milibloggers are emphasising their intention to attack the city, but Kings and Generals thinks this would be a "collosal undertaking" for either side to cross the river.

First a map of where the front is compared to Zaporizhzia city, prewar population of 1 million.

This is where Russia was before the advance. Second photo is current situation.

Second photo. Red areas show Russian advances.

Map of situation in Kupiansk.

Also a new threat is emerging on the Kharkiv Oblast border. In October, Russia took the town of Milerovo, but at the time it didn't seem that important to the Kupiansk situation. However Russia has expanded along the border in a war that could make it easier for them to send more troops to support their bridgehead West of the river Oskil which divides Kupiansk. They are trying to take Otradne and Bolohivka.

They dont seem to have the power in the Russian system that billionaires have in the West. Then again, during Putins rule, there has been the rise of the security-oligarch e.g. Gazprom boss Alexei Miller, Rosneft boss Igor Sechin who are security officials/ex KGB that are also billionaires. The latter tend to be more hardline.

I think the reason its different is that capitalism happened organically in the West because of the decline of feudalism after the Black Death in 1346-53 whereas in Russia, it was people connected with the Soviet regime that tended to benefit from Perestoika, and the privatisations under Yeltsin were rigged with a crooked voucher scheme that looked like other people were buying the shares which then ended up in their hands.

RFU News Reporting from Ukraine says Ukraine has managed a rotation of troops from and into Myronohrad after a diversionary attack further north, which had caused Russia to send forces there Zayushok area)

RTE says that Russia controls 81% of Donetsk and 99% of Luhansk regions. But also that ISW says it would take years to take the rest of Donbass.

Kramatorsk, Kostyantinivka, Slovyansk and Druzhivka are a conurbation.

Kings and Generals assessment of the material losses in the past few years of the war on each side.

ISW says Russia controls 46% of Pokrovsk and 10% of Myronohrad.