People in Britain who think they are governed by fools should take a closer look at the Russian and US presidents. Vladimir Putin is systematically ruining his country. His war of choice in Ukraine is an economic, financial, geopolitical and human calamity for Russia that worsens by the day. For his own murky reasons, Donald Trump, another national menace, offered him a lifeline last week. Yet Putin spurned it. These two fools deserve each other.
On the table in Moscow was a “peace” deal that, broadly speaking, rewarded Russia’s aggression by handing over large chunks of Ukrainian land, compromised Kyiv’s independence and weakened its defences against any future attack. The Trump deal, if forced through, would have split the US and Europe; ruptured Nato, perhaps fatally; reprieved Russia’s pariah economy; and probably toppled Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government.
These are key Russian war aims. But Putin, suffering from neo-imperial fantasies and legacy issues, said “no”. He reckons he can get it all, and more, by fighting on. He has persuaded the idiot Trump that Russia’s victory is inevitable – and that scheming Europeans are the real warmongers. Yet his premise is fundamentally flawed. Hard facts confound him. Almost four years on, he’s still trapped in Donbas mud and ice. And at home, things fall apart.
Yeah, they are still able to trade with China (which happens to make everything anyway), and as opposed to most countries, Russia can still draw on a lot of the remaining Soviet infrastructure that was specifically built because Russia needed to be self sufficient during the cold war.
As long as Putin can manage to remain in power Russia can keep this war going.
Yeah, but that means you’ll never find a flushing toilet outside of Moscow or St Pete’s, like ever! The midget dictator Pootang has spent all of ruzzia’s treasure bombing hospitals, and given away any future that you ruzzian peasants might have hoped for. Ruzzians will live in the mud forever. Deservedly.
Not for much longer. While they may have the equipment but they are lacking the most important thing: manpower. They already lost a huge amount of men and they can’t really conscript more since that will just make the collapse come faster. All those men, dead, or fighting are just people that can’t work and pay taxes, can’t start families. It’s a productivity and demographic disaster. It’s unsustainable and you don’t need an economics degree to see it.
Though I suspect the reason Putin is keeping the war going is because he has no choice. He was offered one of the best peace deals by the US and they refused it. Why? Because Putin is scared. Once the war ends a lot of angry men with combat experience are going to return home. And those men will look at how the war was run, how some people were safe while they died in the mud. That’s just a revolution waiting to happen. It has happened before, World War 1 veterans overthrew the Kaiser in Germany and installed the Weimar republic. The 1917 Russian revolution was started by WW1 veterans. Hitler was a WW1 veteran and he tapped into the anger of other veterans to help him gain power early on.
russia is also a war economy, thier lackluster economy prior to war, is pretty much ruined, he has no choice.
Manpower is a bigger issue for Ukraine compared to Russia. Ukraine is at least not doing human wave tactics and doing more to keep their guys alive, but Russia can last longer in that aspect as well.
I do agree that Putin can’t stop the war for anything less than complete victory, otherwise people will start asking questions about why this was necessary as you said.
Neither does the Russians
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According to Ukrainian MoD perhaps. Here are more realistic numbers.
Russia and Ukraine use ATVs and civilian vehicles such as motorbikes for last mile resupply; these vehicles are sometimes used for assaults but that is not their main purpose.
In many cases, assaults are conducted utilizing BMPs and tanks as per standard Russian Motorized Rifle doctrine.
Here is another good example of an assault.
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Never. Russia only ever conducted a partial mobilization of reservists back in 2022.
Ukraine meanwhile is undergoing a general mobilization.
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russia still has hordes of undesirables, ethnic russians to draw from. i wonder if he targets the more remote /nomadic tribes in siberia.
That’s exactly what’s been happening. Pootin lures the poverty stricken people of the tiny repressed republics, with huge (to them) sign on bonuses, so a huge proportion of the casualties comes from these people. The chuds in Moscow and St Pete’s are Pootangs base, so he doesn’t mobilize those, and it’s also where all the mineral wealth from those republics goes. The Moscow state is a colonialist power, oppressing and raping all around them, while giving nothing back in return, and that particular political situation is very explosive. Those republics don’t want to be ruzzian any more, and who can blame them? Ruzzia is only held together by military force and right now, the mighty midget Pootin, has his pants down around his ankles, and he’s trying hard to not bend over.
This is a problem that Ukraine suffers, not Russia.
What are you talking about? Conscripts aren’t even being used in the Special Military Operation in the first place, even according to the Ukrainians.
It seems so, indeed.