Reminds me of a passage from Marx about how the "liberal" party of UK, whatever it was called at the time, just represents the aristocrats and their fellow rich friends that benefit from economic liberalisation and getting rid of the rest of aristocratic privileges, and they'll never deliver on their "ideals" of freedom and equality and the rest of it; that it's all talk and you'll never see actions no matter their majority in parliament ... it will always be close but "shucks, can't do it". — boethius
I'll look this up. But do note that this was before the current war. What is totally obvious, coming from so many various observers is that Russia armed forces have performed very poorly. This has been really something similar as to the first Chechen War. And I think the political leadership and the highest military command is responsible for this. This is now undeniable. Yet now the war is moving on to the next phase. And this is important to understand.The following video also gives a lot of context: — boethius
I have to correct you here a bit.it's of course up for debate how well it has worked and extremely difficult to evaluate based almost solely on information Ukraine side chooses to public. — boethius
I'll look this up. But do note that this was before the current war. — ssu
A lot of actors do have genuine reasons to get a realistic picture of the war. — ssu
What is really lacking is that Ukraine would make larger counterattacks and surround larger Russian units and hence use as Finland did in Winter War the famous motti-tactics. — ssu
Notice that the map hasn't changed much for days. — ssu
Fixed it — Isaac
At least some of the fierce resistance by Ukrainian forces has its roots in a now shuttered covert CIA training program run from Ukraine’s eastern frontlines.
As part of the Ukraine-based training program, CIA paramilitaries taught their Ukrainian counterparts sniper techniques; how to operate U.S.-supplied Javelin anti-tank missiles and other equipment; how to evade digital tracking the Russians used to pinpoint the location of Ukrainian troops, which had left them vulnerable to attacks by artillery; how to use covert communications tools; and how to remain undetected in the war zone while also drawing out Russian and insurgent forces from their positions, among other skills, according to former officials.
After Russia’s 2014 incursion, the U.S. military also helped run a long-standing, publicly acknowledged training program for Ukrainian troops in the country’s western region, far from the frontlines. That program also included instruction in how to use Javelin anti-tank missiles and sniper training.
"Ukraine’s total external government debt amounts to $54 billion. The country is set to pay $7.3 billion in debt repayments this year alone. More than half is due to private lenders like banks and hedge funds, while most of the rest is owed to multilateral institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the European Investment Bank. The current fall in the value of Ukrainian hryvnia against the US dollar will only exacerbate the debt burden, as foreign debts are owed in dollars, heaping extra pressure on the government to find the funds to repay its loans at a time of foreign invasion and extreme economic disruption.
Since the invasion, Ukrainian dollar-denominated bonds, which were issued as part of its 2015 debt restructuring, have been trading at around 25 cents on the dollar. This reflects the high risk of default, but also means that if Ukraine continues to make its debt payments, Western banks and hedge funds could make profits of 300 percent.
The response of multilateral institutions has been to give even more loans to Ukraine. Since the war started, the IMF has given a £1.4 billion emergency loan, while the World Bank has provided a $723 million financial package that includes $589 million in loans. These new loans are being piled on top of Ukraine’s already unsustainable debts."
Russia will default on its debt for the first time since 1998 if it tries to make interest payments on its dollar bonds in roubles on Wednesday, rating agency Fitch has said.
Investors are awaiting $117mn in coupon payments on two Russian bonds, the first such payments since western countries responded to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine with unprecedented financial sanctions. The deadline marks a crucial test of Moscow’s willingness and ability to continue servicing its external debt.
On March 5, Putin said creditors in “unfriendly” countries that have imposed sanctions should be paid in roubles rather than foreign currency. But such a “forced redenomination” of coupon payments would indicate “that a default or a default-like process has begun”, Fitch said. The company would further downgrade Russia’s credit rating to “restricted default” if the payment is not made in dollars within the 30-day grace period that follows Wednesday’s deadline.
I fixed it for youТем временем рынки ожидают дефолта России по своим долгам со дня на день: — StreetlightX
All the anti-tank weapons are definitely clearly dangerous, but what we don't know is if Russia has developed effective counter tactics. Russia has had experience with a lot of anti-Tank weapons in Syria and developed counter tactics in that context, but the environment was very different and they weren't NATO's best in stock. We really have almost no insight into what Russian generals are thinking of these weapon systems (except obviously they'd rather them not be there; so, if they simply inflict unsustainable losses without any counter-tactic, then Russia will likely dig in where they are now; but if they, at least feel, they can deal with them somehow, then we may see major offensives demonstrating that confidence--I honestly don't know what the situation is with the ATGM's, except both sides are trying to learn and adapt, and they clearly haven't stopped Russian getting to wherever they are now). — boethius
Well, The Germans did pocket whole armies when they attacked in 1941, so encirclement of enemy forces can be done basically anywhere. In Kiev 1941 there was one of those huge pockets resulting in over half a million Soviet soldiers being captured.Motti-tactics were specific to the Finnish Boreal Forest North of lake Lagoda, where the Russians were constrained to narrow roads to move any heavy equipment or supplies through the forest; Finns could use their advantage of ski and other winter forest tactics to cutup and destroy these columns (including excellent mortar teams trained precisely due to the near vertical terminal descent of mortars perfect for hitting targets between tall trees). — boethius
I guess you trust your media. I don't trust mine anymore, nor my government, which is why I have the position I have. — Book273
Well, The Germans did pocket whole armies when they attacked in 1941, so encirclement of enemy forces can be done basically anywhere. — ssu
would not be surprised if the Russian army already lost 10,000 or more soldiers, and many more to come. — magritte
I expected that modern technology would have proven cumbersome tanks and even expensive airplanes obsoleted by this war. Movements of large machines can be tracked by satellites making them easy targets for attacks from the distance by small groups of scattered defenders armed with portable and shoulder fired rockets. — magritte
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