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I read an opinion piece concerning the Russian military. The person (I can't recall his name, but works for a think tank concerning Russia) speculated that, given that corruption is so vast in Russia, much of the military budget was siphoned off by Putin's cronies (perhaps without his knowledge) and others, with only a part actually being obtained by the military.
It would seem to explain why the Russians are, in many instances, resorting to outdated weapons, including rifles that date back to the 1950s.
As for Iran and North Korea: one wonders about their quality control. I have more respect for the Iranians in this regard, than for the virtual slave labor in North Korea.
I did read an account recently that said Putin has asked the oligarchs to start forming more PMC’s, that they (the oligarchs) would fund. I guess that’s one way for the corruption to help pay for this war.
Russian equipment losses have gone exponential. After a slight rise in the slope starting just before 07/01, the rate has now gone way up with the new offensive.
Is there someone out there who thought that China was neutral? They are not pro-Russia though, just anti-America. We have to being to move in earnest to diminish our dependency on Chinese labor for our consumer goods. It places us in much the same position as Europe with their dependency on Russia energy.
Yes, China is 100% neutial. They are not supporting Russia in this war. That means they are neutral.
Second, when has China ever been anti-American? They love the US. We are one of their best customers. They are making a fortune off of us. But they are also developing markets all over the world, including in Russia. So if they did lose trade with the US, which is absolutely, positively, not going to happen, they would still be in good shape economically. It would just mean they lost their best customer, but they would still have hundreds more.
Russia is an imploded superpower. The US is heading the in the same direction. China is on track to be the #1 economic power in the world, and absolutely nothing short of World War 3 can prevent that from happening. So they will do everything in their power to prevent war.
Is there someone out there who thought that China was neutral? They are not pro-Russia though, just anti-America. We have to begin to move in earnest to diminish our dependency on Chinese labor for our consumer goods. It places us in much the same position as Europe with their dependency on Russia energy.
China is not neutral. You are just getting your opinions/news from CNN and probably guilty of wishful thinking. China is selling Russia's oil to Europe for them so Russia still has money to perpetrate it's evil. They also just held formal meetings and China pledged it's full support to Putin in his war and a "no limits" friendship. You are probably stuck in a 2012 mindset. It's 2022 now. Whole new ballgame. China wants a diminished USA on the geopolitical playing field, and is more than happy to take sides with whoever is willing to work to that end.
China is not neutral. You are just getting your opinions/news from CNN. China is selling Russia's oil to Europe for them so Russia still has money to perpetrate it's evil.
Do you have a link from a credible news source to support that? Doesn't have to be CNN, but no fake news sites either.
Yes, China is 100% neutial. They are not supporting Russia in this war. That means they are neutral.
Second, when has China ever been anti-American? They love the US. We are one of their best customers. They are making a fortune off of us. But they are also developing markets all over the world, including in Russia. So if they did lose trade with the US, which is absolutely, positively, not going to happen, they would still be in good shape economically. It would just mean they lost their best customer, but they would still have hundreds more.
Russia is an imploded superpower. The US is heading the in the same direction. China is on track to be the #1 economic power in the world, and absolutely nothing short of World War 3 can prevent that from happening. So they will do everything in their power to prevent war.
Zheng Bingwen, director of the Center for International Social Security Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and one of China’s most respected observers of population trends:
the ratio of pensioners to workers will rise to 25 per cent in 2030, is expected to exceed 43 per cent in 2050, and is happening much faster compared with other countries. He warned that the declining workforce will hit savings and investment and that China’s welfare system is unable to cope.
""...Just yesterday two of my sniper groups were destroyed by a tank. Three men died instantly, the fourth one fought for his life for an hour and a half, another one in critical condition was taken to hospital. We have hardly any men left and we are holding a front line dozens of kilometres long."
While Russian officials and state media are trying to play down the Russian forces' retreat from Kharkiv, individual war reporters, veterans and influential military bloggers are acknowledging numerous challenges within closed messaging channels....
There are not only concerns about poor leadership. Basic equipment appears to be in such short supply that it is having to be crowdfunded. Dozens of public social media groups are collecting money for a whole range of kit - everything from drones to socks and underwear....
Advertised monthly salaries range from 100,000-450,000 roubles (£1,000-£4,500, $1,139-$5,125) - a tempting proposition, despite the dangers of deployment, for those with poor job prospects in economically deprived areas of the country.
Russia is believed to be sending several of these scratch units to Ukraine every 10 days, following training of just a week or less.
Two separate sources on the front line told the BBC that such units, comprising short-term military contractors and fighters from the Wagner mercenary group - the head of which has been filmed recruiting in a central Russian prison - constitute the bulk of Russia's current frontline force.
There are reports that those signing contracts may not all be doing so willingly. Russian human rights activists allege there have been cases of men in Chechnya being pressured into joining up by the authorities...."
China is not neutral. You are just getting your opinions/news from CNN and probably guilty of wishful thinking. China is selling Russia's oil to Europe for them so Russia still has money to perpetrate it's evil. They also just held formal meetings and China pledged it's full support to Putin in his war and a "no limits" friendship. You are probably stuck in a 2012 mindset. It's 2022 now. Whole new ballgame. China wants a diminished USA on the geopolitical playing field, and is more than happy to take sides with whoever is willing to work to that end.
Some people are still clueless. Never trust a communist. They say one thing and do the opposite. China publicly says they are neutral but in reality they are anything but.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend. By helping Ukraine, the USA is Russia's enemy. The USA is China's number one enemy. Chinese nationalists wanted to shoot down Pelosi's plane when she visited Taiwan. The USA is standing in the way of China's dominating Asia and the world.
Fortunately for the USA, China is not becoming the world's number one at anything soon. Their real estate market has collapsed. Over 100 million Chinese are in lock down. Starving Chinese are trying to leave the country.
""...Just yesterday two of my sniper groups were destroyed by a tank. Three men died instantly, the fourth one fought for his life for an hour and a half, another one in critical condition was taken to hospital. We have hardly any men left and we are holding a front line dozens of kilometres long."
While Russian officials and state media are trying to play down the Russian forces' retreat from Kharkiv, individual war reporters, veterans and influential military bloggers are acknowledging numerous challenges within closed messaging channels....
There are not only concerns about poor leadership. Basic equipment appears to be in such short supply that it is having to be crowdfunded. Dozens of public social media groups are collecting money for a whole range of kit - everything from drones to socks and underwear....
Advertised monthly salaries range from 100,000-450,000 roubles (£1,000-£4,500, $1,139-$5,125) - a tempting proposition, despite the dangers of deployment, for those with poor job prospects in economically deprived areas of the country.
Russia is believed to be sending several of these scratch units to Ukraine every 10 days, following training of just a week or less.
Two separate sources on the front line told the BBC that such units, comprising short-term military contractors and fighters from the Wagner mercenary group - the head of which has been filmed recruiting in a central Russian prison - constitute the bulk of Russia's current frontline force.
There are reports that those signing contracts may not all be doing so willingly. Russian human rights activists allege there have been cases of men in Chechnya being pressured into joining up by the authorities...."
It is painfully obvious Russia was not prepared for this scale of a military operation otherwise called "war". I find this part of the article to be Russia's primary problem...their command structure.
Quote:
Blogs and Telegram channels are littered with stories of inadequate equipment and personnel, compounded by a rigid operational hierarchy.
One Telegram channel, sharing experiences of soldiers in the field in Ukraine shortly after the latest retreat, describes how even deploying a small surveillance drone needs to be approved by a senior officer or a general, considerably slowing down understanding of enemy positions.
Another channel on Telegram, reportedly run by a Russian special forces veteran, has posted a photo of a Russian soldier sporting an arm patch embroidered with the words: "There is no opponent worse than your own commander who is a…" using an expletive to describe him.
This is an old outdated ineffective in the modern world Soviet style command. The Ukrainians simply outclassed the Russians in the Kharkiv offensive both by having an NCO Command structure which is basically this
"In units at the battalion level and higher, the NCO support channel is the communication and supervision that begins with the command sergeant major (CSM), extends through first sergeants and platoon sergeants and ends with section chiefs, squad leaders, or team leaders."
So quick decisions can be made on the battlefield in real time by non-commissioned officers.
And the capacity to coordinate using newly received 'advanced" artillery, infantry and air support together which NATO and the U.S. have trained the Ukrainians to implement. Look at how fast they took that Oblast....juxtaposed to Russia only being able to move 1 to 2 km at a time with a heavy emphasis on artillery. The problem Russia has is that they are stuck with the military they have...it takes years to change a military command structure, so all of those challenges Russia is currently experiencing ain't going away anytime soon. ISW does a daily report on Russian "Mobilization and Force Generation Efforts"....it's abysmal. I heard a retired military general say that Ukraine doesn't have a Great military....it has a Good military...the chasm is that Russia has a really really bad military...like really really really bad.
Last edited by JohnBoy64; 09-17-2022 at 11:20 AM..
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