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.
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.
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.
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
That’s ALL the ruzzians know how to do, Sergei. 1.2 MILLION dead ruzzians would agree with me, if they could. Obviously, you have access to the internet. Can’t you use those data center resources to do a quick google, to see some of the youtubes? Maybe while your co-workers are out having breakfast vodka… You might enjoy all the ruzzian assaults on motorbikes against fortified positions, it’s quite eye opening. Oh, and btw, bad news, Sergei. The mighty midget Pootang, is raising the cost of vodka by 30% in January. What will you do for breakfast then?
russia still has hordes of undesirables, ethnic russians to draw from. i wonder if he targets the more remote /nomadic tribes in siberia.
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.