From the latest Ukraine Volunteer Files- "And that is what gets me. We are regularly told about and shown the shit the Russians are doing to civilians here...kids. There is a purpose to that. I was born at night but not last night. It pisses us off, makes us aggressive and to be honest, makes us want to wipe the earth of anything Russian. Revenge is a powerful motivator."
The word "sovereign" is a magic dust you sprinkle on the word "country" to make it sound like a greater violation when military force is used. Note: it never seemed to work for countries the US invaded.
At least some of them are getting proper burials. Reports that most are simply left in heaps on the battlefield ...
they can't arm and equip what they have now. How are they going to add another 500k and arm and equip all of them. Throwing bodies into a meatgrinder isn't an offensive, it's a massacre. Ukraine tanks and armor equipment continues to improve and will be much stronger, more advanced by spring based on current commitments. When the kids from Moscow start coming back in boxes, Putin will be gone, and I think they ahve about maxed out the numbers they can pull from remote regions and prisons but maybe I'm wrong. I doubt they ever got the original 500k and seriously doubt they can pull another 500k without much mroe resistance
All that makes sense. Just passing on what I read. They have been prepositioning in Belarus. And they have thrown untrained men into the proverbial meatgrinder in the East. But hard to see that approach working. But it is something to pay attention to
Shhhhhh. Don’t ruin the surprise. I think Kyiv Offensive 2: Clone of the Attack! is going to be a hit. Russia should bet the regime on it.
The Pentagon is advising Kyiv to surrender Bakhmut. Kyiv defiant. Will hang on to the last man. Russia says “suits us.” Also, the few tanks that NATO is scraping together, for Ukraine, is akin to something, anything to allow Ukraine to shoot back at this stage. It appears to have run out of steam for anymore PR victories like Karkhov and Kherson.
It seems they may do just that. Will Belarus be willing to add meat to the grinder or say nyet. If Belarus military has uprising against the war Putin doesn't have the hp to keep his man in power. Losing control of Belarus could be a fatal blow for Putin
When you’ve lost the Wagner commanders… Former Wagner commander flees to Norway and seeks asylum | CNN I signed a contract with the group on the 6th of July 2022. I had been appointed commander of the first squad of the 4th platoon of the 7th assault detachment,” he recalled. “When the prisoners started arriving, the situation in Wagner really changed. They stopped treating us like humans. We were just thrown to fight like cannon fodder.” “Every week they sent more prisoners to us. We lost a lot of men. Casualties were high. We would lose 15 to 20 men just in our platoon. As far as I know, a majority of them were buried in LPR [Luhansk People’s Republic] and declared missing. If you are declared missing, there is no insurance pay-out to the relatives.” He claimed that prisoners were “shot dead for refusing to fight, or betrayal.” “I am afraid for my life,” he said in December. “I did not commit any crime. I have refused to participate in maneuvers of Yevgeny Prigozhin.”
We will see. He has already lost more soldiers, equipment, time, and prestige than I would have thought possible (without losing power) since the war began 11 months ago. I’ll give Putin this, his regime is more resilient in the face of consistent defeat than most would have guessed.
Hmm... I say again what about those tanks that Ukraine keeps asking for? Repaired German Leopard Tanks for Ukraine Ready in 2024 at Earliest, Armsmaker Says German armsmaker Rheinmetall could deliver repaired Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine in 2024 at the earliest and would need a confirmed order to begin repairs, its chief executive was quoted as saying by Bild newspaper on Sunday. ....... For Rheinmetall, repairing the tanks it has in stock - at least 22 Leopard 2 tanks and 88 Leopard 1 tanks - would cost several hundred million euros, Papperger told Bild.
The point is tanks are not coming any time soon yet the mantra is they are needed now not later. You can't get blood out of a stone no matter the promises of tanks.
Oh noes! Russia’s “Rambo” and Putin fav goes rogue! 'Russia's Rambo,' once a Putin favorite, says he'd now fight for Ukraine and feels 'nothing but hatred' for his home country | CNN
Poland and others have operable units already. British tanks are ready, czech refurbished 90 upgraded T 72s starting in early spring and completed by dec 23 . Poland is going to request that US contribute and we will, as we should have 6 months ago. the leopards are for the next wave. Planning ahead Netherlands, US to Provide Ukraine With 90 Czech T-72 Tanks
He’s probably trying to deflect that the German Minister of Defense just resigned after calls for her head.
