Sanctions against Russia

[Old Koreelah]

5 hours ago, willedoo said:

It's not that fanciful to imagine south east Siberia becoming northern China.

China doesn’t need to invade; Russia will be so poor they’ll welcome Chinese investors. Remember that previous Russian regimes sold Alaska. There was once even talk of them selling Kamchatka to America.

 

What claim does Russia have over Siberia?  They colonised Siberia about the same time the Japanese were expanding north thru Honshu and Hokkaido, using similar levels of genocidal violence as America did to win “The Wild West”. Only two generations ago it was the likes of Zhukov who stopped Fascist Japan from expanding their Manchurian empire into Siberia.
 

 

[kgwilson]

Ukraine has been fought over for centuries but in 1917 at the start of the Russian revolution Ukraine proclaimed itself a sovereign nation and was recognised by most of the worlds major nations at the time. There was a lot of bitter fighting and the top hierarchy changed hands several times until the Bolsheviks finally had enough power to take over in about 1921 & they were relegated to a puppet state of the Soviet Union. Then of course Stalin starved them in the 30s by taking the grain as the communist collectives his mob set up failed.

 

With recent history like that Putin must have been 100% deluded to think they would welcome his thugs & now they are kicking his arse. His reign a latter day Tsar is rapidly nearing its end.

[willedoo]

Ukraine so far has claimed more than 70,000 Russians killed in the fighting. Russia says their number killed is only a small fraction of that, and that it is Ukraine that has suffered huge casualties. Someone made the point that if that was the case, why did Russia have to mobilise 300,000 extra troops.

[Jerry_Atrick]

Because Ukgranian grandmothers are tough to beat? To donate to Ukraine to give the a sporting chance? Because  those not dead Russian soldiers are actually living.. just peacefully in a better place than earth?

[onetrack]

Ukraines claims are quite outlandish and are clearly propaganda. While it's going to be nearly impossible to find out the total number of Russian soldiers killed, in most wars, the average number of soldier deaths (WW2 excepted) is less than 50 a day.

 

At that, a war that has lasted approximately 250 days to date sees a figure of 12,500 Russian soldier deaths. Allowing for Russian military incompetence and Ukraine being better armed in the last 3 months, and a doubling of average war death figures, sees that figure increase to perhaps 25,000 troop deaths for the Russians.

But it's important to remember that the wounded generally account for three times the number of deaths again, leading to a figure of perhaps 75,000 Russian soldiers wounded. That's 25,000 that can never fight again, and 75,000 that can't fight for an extended period. Little wonder Putin's tried to mobilise another 300,000 troops. 

 

The simple facts are that Russia invaded the Ukraine with 150,000 poorly-motivated and poorly trained troops and a corrupt and incompetent military command structure. They've put an air force General in overall charge of land forces - but he has never been able to get the Russian Air Force to gain any traction in the war - let alone be able to develop a successful ground troops strategy.

If you do not control the air, you do not win the war - and even then, there's no guarantee of winning - as the Americans found in Vietnam.

 

These 150,000 Russian troops are up against 250,000 well-organised, properly trained and experienced Ukrainian soldiers - who are highly motivated to repel Russian invaders. In addition, their armaments are improving all the time, a lot of those armaments and ammo have come free of charge (even better than Lend-Lease!), and Ukraine is steadily taking ground back from the Russians.

 

The Russians care little about their troop deaths or casualties, as seen by them picking up the bodies of Russian soldiers killed in Afghanistan with helicopters, and dumping the bodies so they couldn't be recorded as battle deaths. Their families are just told their sons or fathers or brothers are "MIA". They really are some of the most despicable people on the planet.

[Old Koreelah]

55 minutes ago, onetrack said:

The Russians care little about their troop deaths or casualties…

Their families are just told their sons or fathers or brothers are "MIA".

One of the saddest sights from the annual Soviet celebrations of their victory over the Nazis: ranks of widows holding up placards with pictures of their lost husbands or sons, pleading for anyone who may know what happened to them. Their numbers gradually dwindled over the years, but these tough old babushkas lived in hope.

[kgwilson]

A report yesterday says at least 1000 Russian troops were killed in a single day, the most since the start of the war. Apparently these were unequipped or poorly equipped new reservist recruits and were specifically targeted by Ukraine.

[Yenn]

Number killed does not really matter. The number put out of action is better. I dead soldier is just one less to fight. 1 injured soldier is one plus his carers out of the fight. I you could injure 30% of the enemy you would be way ahead, more so than killing 30%

[willedoo]

The southern city of Kherson is getting closer to a complete abandonment by the Russians. They've taken everything they can including private cars, city buses, all the ambulances and medical equipment from hospitals, even monuments and statues relevant to Russians. Civilians have been ordered to leave by November 6th., and a 15km exclusion zone for civilians on the west bank has been announced. Communication towers have been blown up and boats destroyed. The Russian administration for the Kherson region has been relocated to a town on the Black Sea, not far from the north part of Crimea.

 

They are said to be building a series of defensive lines between the Dnieper River and Crimea. They've been trucking in hundreds of these concrete pillboxes and placing them in positions along the west bank. To me they look like another dumb Russian response and a waste of time and money. A concrete coffin is all they will be.

 

[Old Koreelah]

2 hours ago, Yenn said:

Number killed does not really matter. The number put out of action is better. I dead soldier is just one less to fight. 1 injured soldier is one plus his carers out of the fight. I you could injure 30% of the enemy you would be way ahead, more so than killing 30%

Perhaps it was American business efficiency experts who advised the military to focus more on maiming than killing; during the Vietnam war America dropped zillions of booby trap bombs. Many were shaped to resemble toys, enticing the innocent enemy to pick them up. The resulting explosion might have cost only an eye or some fingers, but diverted more personnel than a single death.

[facthunter]

How Nice. Phosphorus bombs and  agent Orange defoliant too.  Nev

[red750]

Report from Newsweek:

 

Over 100 conscripted Russian soldiers staged a revolt, saying that they have not been paid by the Russian government since being mobilized.

 

The men from Chuvashia staged a strike in the training center in Ulyanovsk, reported independent Russian news organization 7x7 Horizontal Russia. The soldiers told the news outlet that they were promised 195,000 rubles (about $3,170) but never received the money, so they stopped fighting.

 

One of those striking said that all mobilized soldiers have been "deceived" and that "they are sent to war for a penny," according to a translation of a November 2 Telegram post published by 7x7.

Prior to riot police showing up to put an end to the display, another mobilized soldier reportedly said that Russian officials stopped letting soldiers' relatives visit and declined providing leave.

 

Gulagu.net, a self-described human rights project aiming to fight corruption and torture in Russia, posted on Telegram that soldiers questioned why they left their families without allegedly receiving financial support.

 

"The mobilized servicemen of the Chuvash Republic are turning to you!!" the Telegram post said. "We are risking our own lives, going to certain death for your safety and peaceful life!...We refuse to participate in the Special Military Operation and will seek justice until we are paid the money promised by our government headed by the President of the Russian Federation!!"

 

[red750]

Vladimir Putin’s hands are reportedly turning black as a result of the intravenous injections he is receiving to treat his myriad of alleged different health conditions, RadarOnline.com has learned.

 

In a sudden development to come just days after the 70-year-old ailing Russian leader was photographed with what appeared to be intravenous track marks along his hand, new footage shows Putin’s hands turning a dark and sickly-looking color.

 

According to Lord Richard Dannatt, a former British army chief who first claimed Putin had IV track marks on his hands, the Russian strongman is reportedly receiving injections in his hands because other parts of his body cannot take such treatments.

 

“Keen observers now are noticing that his hands are looking pretty black on top, which is a sign of injections going in when other parts of the body can’t take injections,” the former British army chief revealed.

 

“It’s interesting to note that, and just to watch whether he is as fit and well as he would like to portray,” he added. “It’s an interesting area to keep an eye on.”

[willedoo]

1 hour ago, red750 said:

Vladimir Putin’s hands are reportedly turning black

At least they'll match his heart.

[willedoo]

It's only another week and a half until the G-20 in Bali. I haven't seen any conformation that Putin is still going.

[nomadpete]

4 hours ago, willedoo said:

city of Kherson is getting closer to a complete abandonment by the Russians. They've taken everything they can including private cars, city buses, all the ambulances and medical equipment from hospitals, even monuments and statues relevant to Russians. Civilians have been ordered to leave by November 6th., and a 15km exclusion zone for civilians on the west bank has been announced. Communication towers have been blown up and boats destroyed. The Russian administration for the Kherson region has been relocated

To me, this indicates that Putin intends to 'turn it into glass'  sometime after Nov 6th. Kerhson city is highly likely to be obliterated. Putin will make a stand.

[kgwilson]

The Ukrainians could walk in and take Kherson at any time but they are not that stupid. It could easily be Putins tactical nuclear target and will be full of booby traps at the very least. The very public and almost comedic withdrawl could be plain Russian stupidity that everyone had become accustomed to or it could be a trap.

 

The parallels with Hitlers last few months in his bunker under the Reichstag are interesting. Hitlers physical health deteriorated along with his mental state. By April 1945 he was completely delusional and believed everyone was betraying him and was giving orders for counter attacks with Armies that no longer existed etc. He had developed an uncontrollable twitch in his left hand.

 

Putin is on a similar steady decline and he may very well order the nuclear option, something that Hitler would have done if he 'd had the means. He has a few fanatical "Yes hench-men" still providing encouragement. Hopefully those a bit further down the line that actually make things happen will see the light and make things change so they can find a way for Putin to fall out a window or something.

 

The next major Russian action may be Putins last stand.

[willedoo]

3 minutes ago, kgwilson said:

The Ukrainians could walk in and take Kherson at any time but they are not that stupid. It could easily be Putins tactical nuclear target and will be full of booby traps at the very least. The very public and almost comedic withdrawl could be plain Russian stupidity that everyone had become accustomed to or it could be a trap.

 

The parallels with Hitlers last few months in his bunker under the Reichstag are interesting. Hitlers physical health deteriorated along with his mental state. By April 1945 he was completely delusional and believed everyone was betraying him and was giving orders for counter attacks with Armies that no longer existed etc. He had developed an uncontrollable twitch in his left hand.

 

Putin is on a similar steady decline and he may very well order the nuclear option, something that Hitler would have done if he 'd had the means. He has a few fanatical "Yes hench-men" still providing encouragement. Hopefully those a bit further down the line that actually make things happen will see the light and make things change so they can find a way for Putin to fall out a window or something.

 

The next major Russian action may be Putins last stand.

I just happened to watch the movie 'Downfall' last night. It's easy to see the similarities with the trajectory Putin is on.

[red750]

There are reports that generals plan to go nuclear without Putin's approval.

[red750]

Another costly miscalculation by Vladimir Putin has put Russian troops in fear of collapse as high pay wages drain the military's limited resources, RadarOnline.com has learned.

 

Insiders said Putin has made several critical missteps since his initial rash decision to invade Ukraine in February 2022. As a result of the Russian president's decisions, the country has become fearful of going bankrupt as troops run on limited resources.

 

Simply put, the Russia/Ukraine conflict has not taken the path that Putin intended when he ordered his troops to invade the neighboring country over nine months ago.

 

As efforts by Russian troops were continuously squashed and met with power by Ukraine's military, Putin announced a draft in an attempt to revive his weakened front lines. The move turned out to have far greater damning effects on the country than Putin realized.

 

According to the Institute for the Study of War, higher salaries were promised to desperate Russians being sent to war. Russian military troops were given more than twice the average salary for a civilian.

[red750]

Russian soldiers are calling their ageing combat vehicles "aluminium cans" as frustration over the army’s poor quality equipment spreads through the ranks, the Ministry of Defence has said.

 

 

A destroyed Russian armoured personnel carrier in Kharkiv - Efrem Lukatsky /AP

 

In its daily intelligence briefing on the Ukraine war on Thursday, the MoD said Moscow’s soldiers “are likely frustrated that they are forced to serve in old infantry combat vehicles”.

 

As Ukrainian counter-offensives recaptured large swathes of territory in mid-October, Russia was losing more than 40 armoured vehicles per day, “roughly equivalent to a battalion’s worth of equipment”, it said.

 

The high attrition rate forced Russia to resort to take more than 100 vehicles out of Belarusian stocks.

 

"Armoured units and artillery are central to Russia’s way of war; the force in Ukraine is now struggling partially due to difficulties in sourcing both artillery ammunition and sufficient serviceable replacement armoured vehicles."

 

Russia rarely shares data on its losses of personnel and equipment in Ukraine, but Oryx, an open source research group, has visually confirmed that more than 7,500 Russian vehicles, including tanks, self-propelled artillery pieces and other armoured vehicles, have been lost since the conflict began in February.

[Old Koreelah]

1 hour ago, willedoo said:

It's only another week and a half until the G-20 in Bali. I haven't seen any conformation that Putin is still going.

Might be good if he does; more than one strongman has been deposed while out of the country.

[Jerry_Atrick]

Somehow, I don't see him going, even if he had previously confirmed.

 

He is losing the battle. He knows that the global press and world leaders are finding out the disparity between what he is telling his people is happening and what is reality. He will also know it is a purposeful decision for Ukraine not to formally cross the Russian border in this conflict. He will know that he will be embarrassed as he can't control the world press and the world pollies, and he will likely look like a fool at best regardless of how “diplomatic” other delegates will be. And if footage makes it into Russia, it will have a very detrimental effect on him domestically and increase the speed of the weakening process.

 

But, domestically, he can justify not turning up to the G20, because most of the other countries are against Russia, and he has no time for such phoney displays when they are not serious about engaging with Russia to overcome its [perceived] threats.

 

[willedoo]

Zelensky has said he won't go to the G20 if Putin is attending. It would be a good opportunity for Zelensky to shore up a bit of support at Bali, but probably not the best time to go.

[red750]

Vladimir Putin’s generals have deployed “barrier troops” to threaten to shoot deserters as his army is dogged by low morale in Ukraine, British defence chiefs suggested on Friday.

 

His military commanders are also believed to be trying to keep their forces in place “to the death”.

In its latest intelligence update, the Ministry of Defence in London said: “Due to low morale and reluctance to fight, Russian forces have probably started deploying ‘barrier troops’ or ‘blocking units’.

“These units threaten to shoot their own retreating soldiers in order to compel offensives and have been used in previous conflicts by Russian forces.”

 

The briefing added: “Recently, Russian generals likely wanted their commanders to use weapons against deserters, including possibly authorising shooting to kill such defaulters after a warning had been given. “Generals also likely wanted to maintain defensive positions to the death.

 

“The tactic of shooting deserters likely attests to the low quality, low morale and indiscipline of Russian forces.”

 

Britain, the US, Ukraine and their allies are fighting an information war against Russia so their briefings need to be treated with caution, but are far more believable than the propaganda put out by the Kremlin.

 

Western officials told on Thursday how they believe Mr Putin is set to withdraw troops from Kherson, back from the west side of the Dnipro River, to the east, in a major setback for his invasion.

Ukrainian forces have launched counter-offensives in the southern Kherson province and in the north east of the country.

 

A Russian-installed official in southern Ukraine said Moscow will likely pull its troops from the west bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson and urged civilians to leave, possibly signalling a retreat that would be a major setback to Mr Putin’s war.

 

There was silence from senior officials in Moscow.

 

The Kyiv government remained cautious, suggesting Russia could be setting a trap for advancing Ukrainian troops.

 

“Most likely our units, our soldiers, will leave for the left (eastern) bank,” Kirill Stremousov, the Russian-installed deputy civilian administrator of the Kherson region, said in an interview on Thursday with Solovyov Live, a pro-Kremlin online media outlet.

 

The area includes Kherson city, capital of the region of the same name, and the only major city Russia has captured intact since its invasion in February. It also includes one side of a dam across the Dnipro which controls the water supply to irrigate Crimea, the peninsula Russia has occupied since 2014.

 

Previously, Russia had denied its forces were planning to withdraw from the area.