Europe War in Ukraine - Thread 3

[Saint]

You have to wonder why so many convicts would sign up for something like this when the chances of getting out unscathed are less than 30% according to analysts? Or when they are spoken to, are they given a fairytale?

Here's another article where a convict who was captured by the UAF says out of 10 men in his first "wave" assault, 8 died within the first few metres under machine gun fire, one made it back to Russian lines and he was captured.

'Our Losses Were Gigantic': Life in a Sacrificial Russian Assault Wave

I'm pretty sure they don't go into prisons and say:

"Hey, who wants to walk towards machine guns so that when they fire we can direct our artillery?"

No, it's more like:

"Who wants a chance of release, to walk through the forests of Donbas looking to find tiny pieces of valuable metals, camping sites free of charge, a real wilderness, escape room and adrenalin adventure, all in one"

 

[Roos9699]

Well Russia has possibly lost an entire brigade near Vuhledar.



A look at a Ukranian dugout



And Hungary Foreign minster going to minsk to discuss Ukraine.

 

[Upstart Swan]

You have to wonder why so many convicts would sign up for something like this when the chances of getting out unscathed are less than 30% according to analysts? Or when they are spoken to, are they given a fairytale?

Here's an interesting article from Novaya Gazeta that tries to answer the same question. Basically a combination of believing it's a ticket to freedom and not understanding what it's really like on the front:
Новая газета Европа

 

[Chief]

Serf-owning culture hasn't died in Russia.

 

[Saint]

Well Russia has possibly lost an entire brigade near Vuhledar.



A look at a Ukranian dugout



And Hungary Foreign minster going to minsk to discuss Ukraine.

Oh Hungary, of course we take you seriously

The most Right Wing Govt in Europe and they're Russia's only friend in the "de-nazification" .

Sure, Jan(os Ader). Makes complete sense.

If the stories about HIMARS from Pakistan are true and the strikes on Battalion HQ's increase, while the Russia deficit is $25bn per month, Russia won't be able to sustain a stagnant war for another 6 months.

Can you imagine the hit to the economy of any other nation if they took 200,000 people out of their jobs? Plus another 200,000 fled the country.

Good luck finding the funding for new Oil/Gas facilities to service the few remaining customers to pick up the slack of low EU volumes.

Now they're saying they're cutting production to try to bump up the price mostly, but the real reason they're cutting production is because they have nowhere to ship it to and nobody willing to ship it. The supply chains to their only willing customers in China and India are a loooong way away from their terminals in the Baltic and Black Seas. They have Gas and Oil terminals in the east, but they're a lot smaller in scale and not connected to the oil fields in the western half of the country.

At least when the Invasion is withdrawn it will be funny watching them continue to drown economically. At the moment, it's just tragic.

 

[GhostofJimJess]

You have to wonder why so many convicts would sign up for something like this when the chances of getting out unscathed are less than 30% according to analysts? Or when they are spoken to, are they given a fairytale?

It's probably not too much worse than the survival rate in the prisons from wwich they're drawn, to be fair.

 

[wannabejack]

Ukrainian soldiers started training on Leopard 2 in Poland

Training of Ukrainian servicemen on Leopard 2 tanks under the EUMAM Ukraine European Union training mission began in Poland.

mil.in.ua

105 Ukrainian servicemen arrived in Poland – 84 as part of 21 tank crews and 21 technical personnel. The training course for Ukrainian soldiers will last one month with 10-12 hours of classes per day.
The head of the training group of the training ground of the 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade, Krzysztof Sieradzki, noted that the Ukrainians have experience in managing tanks, which greatly simplified the training process.
“Ukrainians learn quickly, there are no problems with mastering this military equipment,” Sieradzki emphasized.

Leopard 2 tank training of the Ukrainian military will last up to 8 weeks

The Bundeswehr will start training Ukrainian crews to use Leopard 2 tanks next week.

mil.in.ua

The training will take place at the Münster training ground in Lower Saxony, where Ukrainian units are already training to use the Marder infantry fighting vehicles.
In 6 to 8 weeks, the crews must learn the basics of managing the weapons system and the interaction of the Leopard 2 battle tanks and the Marder infantry fighting vehicles.
It is emphasized that it is possible to learn only the basics of equipment management in such a short time. The training usually takes several years.

 

[Dirty Bird]

Never heard of Jake Broe.

No idea how that is proof Seems to be some ex-FSB guy making guesses?

When I used to watch him.

He'd watch everything through pro-American glasses. So the odd episode would be 'america is the saviour, our lend-lease to Ukraine is what's winning this war, just like we were in WW2 with the lend-lease to the Soviets'

When he keeps the pro-American shit out of his videos, I didn't mind it. He'd collate some good information on the war. Get some good interviews on the show. But when the pro-American shit came out it just made it unbearable.

 

[CD Xbow]

This author at ASPI has a few issues with Mr P's claim that his invasion of the Ukraine is analogous to the Soviet defense of Stalingrad in WWII.

The absurd irony of Putin’s invocation of Stalingrad | The Strategist

 

[wannabejack]

This author at ASPI has a few issues with Mr P's claim that his invasion of the Ukraine is analogous to the Soviet defense of Stalingrad in WWII.

The absurd irony of Putin’s invocation of Stalingrad | The Strategist

Unfortunately many people still think that the Soviet Union is Russia.

.... there are some parallels between the battle of Stalingrad and the current war in Ukraine. But in this case, Russia is playing the role of Nazi Germany, and the Ukrainian people will hopefully emerge victorious from the horrors of the Russian war.

 

[Mobbs]

This was reported on Denys Davydov's channel yesterday morning ([post 1] [post 2] [post 3]) :

View attachment IMG_5700.MP4
"In Moscow, a strong “accidental” fire near the Scientific Research Institute of Precision Instruments, where they develop and manufacture radio control channels for naval and aviation jet weapons."

View attachment IMG_5702.MP4

 

[CD Xbow]

I found this article interesting; it discusses how things could have turned out very differently if a few different decisions had been made and while Russia's failure in the Ukraine seems the obvious outcome to us now, it was never inevitable - nor can it be taken for granted.

Ukraine and the Contingency of Global Order

What if the war had gone differently—or takes a sudden turn?

www.foreignaffairs.com

What does victory look like according to Russians

We asked Russians how they define ‘victory’ in the war in Ukraine. We got a lot of different answers.

As we approach the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, both sides insist they will fight to the bitter but victorious end. For the Ukrainians, the meaning of “victory” is clear, but ask Russians to define it, and you get vague and contradictory answers. The stated aims of Russian...

www.grid.news

You will need to turn your ad bloker off, but it's worth a read. Bloody clueless lot. If you can't articulate clearly why you are doing something, you probably shouldn't be doing it.

 

[Visions]

The geniuses in Turkey thought it would be a brilliant idea to put Russian and Ukrainian football teams in the same hotel. Not a surprise as to what happened. Apparently it started when an obnoxious drunk Russian player was being rude to a hotel employee. Trouble seems to follow Russians everywhere they go...

And the dumbasses of the corrupt IOC think it would be a good idea to allow Russian athletes into the Olympic village in Paris.

 

[Visions]

As mentioned in the comments we have ourselves a Darwin award contender!



Another example of the elite Russian forces at work.

 

[Chief]

At least when the Invasion is withdrawn it will be funny watching them continue to drown economically. At the moment, it's just tragic.

I agree but on the other hand more innocent people within Russia will suffer and die from the downturn.

 

[Zidane98]

You have to wonder why so many convicts would sign up for something like this when the chances of getting out unscathed are less than 30% according to analysts? Or when they are spoken to, are they given a fairytale?

Here's another article where a convict who was captured by the UAF says out of 10 men in his first "wave" assault, 8 died within the first few metres under machine gun fire, one made it back to Russian lines and he was captured.

'Our Losses Were Gigantic': Life in a Sacrificial Russian Assault Wave

They're just used as cannon fodder. How many rapists / murderers / paedophiles are left in Russian prisons for Wagner to recruit? Probably cheaper to send them to their deaths then keep them in jail for life. I highly doubt any of them that actually complete their service in Ukraine and return unscathed get released anyway.

 

[Zidane98]

I agree but on the other hand more innocent people within Russia will suffer and die from the downturn.

Agree. It is real shit that there are plenty of people in Russia that don't support the war who suffer big time because of Putin's fascist ambitions. And they can't speak out about it.

 

[Chief]

I highly doubt any of them that actually complete their service in Ukraine and return unscathed get released anyway.

If they do then the rest of the population has to deal with PTSD-suffering criminals running around free.

 

[Zidane98]

If they do then the rest of the population has to deal with PTSD-suffering criminals running around free.

They'll just be told they have a new assignment in Ukraine and continually redeployed until they are killed.



Thinking about it the cost savings in the Russian prison system are going to be enormous.

 

[Zidane98]

 

[swingdog]

If they do then the rest of the population has to deal with PTSD-suffering criminals running around free.

Look to what happened after Afghanistan with returning soldiers going off the rails and multiply.

Meanwhile, I like this idea:



“U.S. officials said they are looking at sending Ukraine more than 5,000 assault rifles, 1.6 million rounds of small arms ammunition, a small number of antitank missiles, and more than 7,000 proximity fuses seized in recent months off the Yemen coast…”

 

[Chief]

Meanwhile at home:

Estimates suggest that Americans buy 10 to 12 billion ammunition cartridges annually, including the ammunition purchased by military and law enforcement.

Bullet Control

While national attention is primarily focused on gaps in U.S. gun laws, weak oversight of the ammunition industry also exacerbates gun violence.

www.americanprogress.org

 

[Andre]

They're just used as cannon fodder. How many rapists / murderers / paedophiles are left in Russian prisons for Wagner to recruit? Probably cheaper to send them to their deaths then keep them in jail for life. I highly doubt any of them that actually complete their service in Ukraine and return unscathed get released anyway.

Or just recruits in general. The 'partial' mobilisation last time just scraped in with what they required and that was with plenty of bending/outright ignoring age ranges, health issues, exemptions etc. and supposedly brought in those who'd at least had had some prior training. Any future round of mobilisation is going to need to go even further outside their ideal age / condition. Which only means they'll be even less effective. Either that or they start tapping the male population of Moscow, St. Petersburg and other western Russian cities and towns, where most have been able to ignore the war as 'fought by those dirty inferior ethnics, not pure Russians'. That's a big risk.

 

[Roos9699]

A small update around Kreminna



How Russia goes about its ddisinformation

 

[Power Raid]

This author at ASPI has a few issues with Mr P's claim that his invasion of the Ukraine is analogous to the Soviet defense of Stalingrad in WWII.

The absurd irony of Putin’s invocation of Stalingrad | The Strategist

perhaps what putin means is, just like in WW2 when russia decided to invade poland.............it resulted in unexpected bad outcomes



it is interesting the great patriotic war does not include the dates russia invaded poland and sided with the nazis