Russia is fully aware that they will lose much, much more than Ukraine if they use nuclear weapons. Ukraine does not present an existential threat to Russia, though losing likely poses a threat to the current regime status.
Of course it’s possible that Russia could lose. I could receive a check for a million dollars in the mail tomorrow. But the cards are clearly stacked against Ukraine … How Russia's War in Ukraine Could 'Collapse'
Oh. We’ve all been terribly mislead. We thought — and I know this must sound crazy to someone so intimately informed— that Russia invaded Ukraine, has murdered Ukrainians, destroyed Ukrainian infrastructure, AND ANNEXED UKRAINIAN SOVEREIGN TERRITORY. Obviously, your information that Russia is not fighting Ukraine came at a surprise to most of us. Thanks for clarifying things. Ukrainians are sure to sleep more soundly tonight, knowing that Russia is not warring against them, their land and their natural resources.
Russia getting desperate over the Ukrainian breakthrough at Robotyne, sending in the Elite 76th Guard Air Assault Division to try to stop Ukraine's progress. Russia sends some of its most elite paratroopers to the south of Ukraine as counteroffensive breaks through
Most of Russia's best reserves are guarding Moscow and Putin. Putin cannot afford to let security down in Moscow, because that will get him killed. Especially after Prigo's adventure, Putin will not want anyone thinking that they could make a run at the dictator. These troops will never see the battlefield in Ukraine. The U.S. is ramping up production of artillery shells. It will take a while. On the other side, Russia probably has little or no ability to ramp up production of munitions any more than they already have. Any they are sacrificing quality to get munitions to the battlefield. Missiles that are supposed to be tested for a couple weeks are skipping those testing steps just to get them on the battlefield, with no guarantee that they will work (and some are failing). There is nothing wrong with our outdated weapons. They are as good or better than what Russia has, and that's as good as they need to be. We aren't going to hand over F-35's to Ukraine. Ukraine is doing just fine with what they have.
Putin is having trouble selecting an opponent for his next election. He wants to make sure that his opponent is not too young, because that will make Putin look old. And his opponent has to be more hideous than Putin, which is not an easy ask. And it is preferable that his last name be repulsive. Presenting: Leonid Slutsky! Your next second-place finisher in Russia's glorious elections! The third candidate, Gennadiy Zyuganov, will be a 79-year-old whose teeth fall out when he speaks. Kremlin considers whom to choose as Putin's election opponent so he does not look old Ohh, Slutsky. You and your P.R.! Excellent choices from Putin for his upcoming democratic elections.
This just in: Russians in Moscow are stunned to realize that they are at war, shocked by drone attacks in their back yard. Comments run the gamut from "Who could have done this?" to "How rude it is to launch drones when people are sleeping!" to "The drone attacks are from the Russian government to set up a new round of mobilizations." The Russians can't quite figure out why the international community has not come to their rescue and stopped these drone attacks. Quite the mystery . . . It really is hard to imagine a place where the propaganda flows so deeply and covers everything. It makes Russians seem like children; illiterate and ignorant. Russians Are Strangely Stumped About Why Moscow Is Getting Bombed
Announcing the counteroffensive is like declaring the obvious. What else would Ukraine do to get Russia out of Ukraine? Retreat their way to victory? Wait them out? They did not give away much in the way of operational details or locations or special equipment emphasis (the "how" of what they would do). As far as giving Russia time, the spring weather is what gave Russia time to build defenses as much as anything else. The marketing is somewhat mandatory for a country relying on aid from other countries. Announcing the counter-offensive forced Russia to build defensive fortifications across the entire front. No way are the European countries viewing the war primarily as an opportunity to upgrade their weapons. They would rather not spend money at all on their own defense. They have been very consistent about that policy for about 75 years now.
Russians are having severe logistics problems in Ukraine. A captured Russian soldier admitted that his division was short on drinking water and food as well as ammunition. They are also complaining that they only received less than 2% of their signing bonus. Corruption was still rampant--it is a Russian war, after all. Troops have to spend a lot of time foraging for food. Sounds quite motivating for Russian recruits. POW reveals lack of drinking water, logistics supplies, other issues in Russian army
At this point, you have to have your head willingly and completely planted in the sand to not realize this reality. If you’re going to take out the time to come into a message board thread and post for months and months about a topic and not know the basic details of how said topic originated, what is the point? The only thing I can think of is you’re seeking validation, because deep down inside you know you were conned and if you admit that, you’d have to reevaluate everything you cling to in political terms. I get it. It’s hard to accept. But just know that if you choose to have that epiphany, I won’t judge you or remind you over and over about how mistaken you were. These are sensitive topics and I understand the concept of personal growth, so you’re not going to get any crap from me if you choose to admit the irrefutable.
Oh, the hilarity of this post. A guy who gets his “information” from watching Tucker Carlson, lecturing me on information sourcing. That’s rich, Okee. That’s good.
“You will not find it difficult to prove that battles, campaigns, and even wars have been won or lost primarily because of logistics.” Dwight D. Eisenhower “amateurs talk strategy and professionals talk logistics”. Omar N. Bradley
Remind me, were you spitting nails when we invaded Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Syria and Lebanon, just to cite a few of our invasions in recent memory ?
All you have to do is read Victoria Nuland’s Wikipedia. If you can read that and still say with a straight face the United States didn’t have a hand in the power struggle that is Ukraine, then you need to be evaluated.
