Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Numerous videos are appearing online of Russian troops apparently dying from hypothermia as winter conditions affect their underequipped troops.
These reports are bolstered by Ukrainian military intelligence which suggest that freezing frontline soldiers are building bonfires which not only reveal their location but are inadequate to keep out the cold and rain. The question is how long they can continue to endure as better equipped Ukrainians prepare for winter warfare.
To what political end? War is politics. If your political goal is thwarted, you lose the war.
Try this: Argentina invaded the Falklands. After that pointless war, it was the UK that had suffered the bigger economic loss. They lost more - and way more advanced - ships. They had to rebuild the destroyed buildings. They had to spend millions on clearing mines. They're still spending millions maintaining a beefed-up military presence there.
Did Argentina win? Of course not. There were two competing political goals, and the UK forced theirs through.
It would be like the U S. attacking Colorado...and the rest of the world supporting Colorado with assistance equal 1.5 times the U.S. annual Defense Budget.
Then, 9 months later...Colorado is blasted to smithereens, a third of the people have left...yet the Colorado Force (even with all that backing) has done no damage to the U S. outside of fighting those inside their borders, the people are without power and facing zero weather, and every day more of Colorado gets destroyed.
Only the completely clueless would say that "Colorado is humiliating the U S."
I believe the reason is...being that the Ukraine is the most corrupt Country in all of Europe...even though they have been given tens of Billions, the majority has not been supporting the war effort. It's being stolen.
Similar to PPP, CARES, and EIDL money given out to help from Covid...much of it was taken by fraud and not used for Covid relief.
The U.S. officials are good at getting the citizens scammed out of their tax money.
And the Russians have advanced in the opposite direction in Kyiv (before the bulk of aide was provided)..Kharkiv....when they were able to rotate in fresh troops....and Russia was mired down in Force Generation and now Kherson...while Russia is still mired down in Force generation. Ukraine is demonstrating themselves to be worthy of every penny in aide and I predict further advances pushing the Russians out. As I said earlier...all Russia has demonstrated is that they can avance a few meters at a time and look to take Bakhmut sometime in....2024....and they can committ war crimes. Russia has shown themselves to be nothing more than a Paper Tiger.
You appear to not understand the nature of war. War isn't won by racking up a score of destroyed cities or enemy KIAs, war is fought so that one country can impose its political will on another. (Clausewitz, etc. etc.)
Russia entered this war with deliberate political goals - once the war was over, they'd have annexed 4 new territories as actually Russia, and the rest of Ukraine would be formally independent, but in reality governed in alignment with Russia's demands. In effect, post-war Russia would have cemented her status as - if no longer a superpower - at least a regional power.
But that didn't happen, did it? Russia has already lost any hope of retaining regional power status. Their 4 new territories, annexed under much festivity, is slipping. There will be no Russian-friendly government in Kyiv for generations.
In addition, NATO has been revitalized and is even expanding. Europe met the threat of "No natural gas for you!" with a "We'll manage." That bargaining chip is gone forever. And the Russian military's reputation is in ruins.
Politically, Russia has lost power and influence on the international scene. It's not going to their plan. They can't force their will on a small neighboring country.
When even Finland is no longer Finlandized, something has gone very wrong for Russia.
I am a Veteran...and a lifelong student of Military Tactics & Operations and The Art of War, in general.
Russia has not just been fighting the Ukraine...they have been fighting much of NATO as well.
Even with aid equal to 1.5 times Russias annual Defense Budget in 9 months...they have not driven them out, and are taking more damage than they are inflicting.
By any reasonable Military Damage Assessment...Russia has crushed the Ukraine. And that's a fact.
People that don't know squat about it, or are mentally functioning like giddy little Fangirls toward the Ukraine are the only ones that would think otherwise.
It is true that Russia did not not anticipate the level of support that the Ukraine has gotten...and given how little the last Administration Biden was in did for them the last time they invaded (sent some blankets and rations), that was understandable.
But Putin forgot that Zelenskyy knows Bidens corruption secrets...and wouldn't expose or investigate them when asked. That changes the equation as to what the U.S. is willing to do for them.
That was his #1 tactical error.
I've soldiered in that sort of weather. Even on maneuvers in deepest peacetime, it's miserable. Hypothermia happens quickly. And even mild hypothermia reduces your value as a soldier considerably.
It would be like the U S. attacking Colorado...and the rest of the world supporting Colorado with assistance equal 1.5 times the U.S. annual Defense Budget.
Then, 9 months later...Colorado is blasted to smithereens, a third of the people have left...yet the Colorado Force (even with all that backing) has done no damage to the U S. outside of fighting those inside their borders, the people are without power and facing zero weather, and every day more of Colorado gets destroyed.
Only the completely clueless would say that "Colorado is humiliating the U S."
I believe the reason is...being that the Ukraine is the most corrupt Country in all of Europe...even though they have been given tens of Billions, the majority has not been supporting the war effort. It's being stolen.
Similar to PPP, CARES, and EIDL money given out to help from Covid...much of it was taken by fraud and not used for Covid relief.
The U.S. officials are good at getting the citizens scammed out of their tax money.
Let's get real here.
This war was Putin's to lose. On paper his country had every advantage.
But it is a very corrupt nation, a kleptocracy, the poison went deeply into their military industrial complex ... everyone was cheating, everyone was stealing.
With a few exceptions the troops were not properly trained, and they were perennially shortchanged on equipment and supplies.
Everyone was on the take, the brass hats were skimming procurement funds or taking bribes from suppliers, the rank and file were stealing material and selling it on the black market.
Proper maintenance on stored equipment was neglected, cheap replacement parts, like tires for example, were obtained rather than first quality materials.
The culture of corruption is so pervasive that when Russian troops were 'training' in Belarus they were trying to sell off what they thought was excess motor fuel. This is probably an indication that they have done this kind of thing before and got away with it.
Unbeknownst to them, they would be needing that fuel on the road to Kyiv.
It is noteworthy how undisciplined Russian troops have been, they cannot resist looting the homes of the people they came to "liberate". For many, this expedition has put Russian disdain for Ukrainians on full display.
The operation to overthrow and take over Ukraine has been one big cluster from the first. A disgraceful mess. Russia can't win on the battlefield anymore, but what they can't take they will burn like Smaug.
If Ukrainians had any doubts about who they are and what it means to be Ukrainian, they don't have that anymore. They know who they are, and what they stand for.
All Russia has managed to accomplish thus far is to unite the Ukrainians like never before, and instill many of them with rage that could last for generations. That in addition to the alarming and animating of NATO, renewing it's sense of purpose.
And the Russians have advanced in the opposite direction in Kyiv (before the bulk of aide was provided)..Kharkiv....when they were able to rotate in fresh troops....and Russia was mired down in Force Generation and now Kherson...while Russia is still mired down in Force generation. Ukraine is demonstrating themselves to be worthy of every penny in aide and I predict further advances pushing the Russians out. As I said earlier...all Russia has demonstrated is that they can avance a few meters at time and look to take Bakhmut sometime in....2024....and they can committ war crimes. Russia has shown themselves to be nothing more than a Paper Tiger.
Like I said...Putin could wipe the Ukraine off the map any time he wanted to.
But he wants something worth taking & keeping...and pounding it full out relentlessly like they did to Chechnya wouldn't leave much worth keeping.
But, from what I see lately, he is starting to get sick of this...and will start a concerted campaign to bomb and freeze them out.
And he won't just blast them...he will make them suffer as horribly as possible.
That's what the U S. and NATO have essentially done to those poor Ukrainians.
They should have either backed them fully...or not at all.
The way it is...is absolutely tragic.
Pretending it's not due to emotions and bias doesn't change that reality.
Jeez, what's with all the hysterical people all of a sudden? We go along talking about the war and the strategy and so forth and all of a sudden we're talking about the US invading Colorado and NATO fully engaged with Russia, but failing. Kinda strange.
I like what George Friedman says, which was, paraphrased, "Europe doesn't take action; they take positions. They prefer the US do whatever defending Europe needs from time to time, and then later they criticize the US".
It's nice that European countries have stepped up and provided a little of this and that, but The US can do it alone if we have to. They were foolish to do business with Russia the way they did, and they were told they were being foolish. Population decline, it seems, will change more about enormous Russia than it will over-crowded Europe.
Ukraine will do well in the future. Between its agricultural abilities and its energy reserves, it just doesn't need all that many people.
Russia has shown clearly that it lacks the logistics to win this war.
Like I said...Putin could wipe the Ukraine off the map any time he wanted to.............
Awright.
That's not true and it ain't gonna happen.
(Ignore list)
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
