Putin has created a kleptocracy. It's not the people themselves. — ssu
many Russians understand that they attacked Ukraine, a country which didn't threaten them in any way. The reaction from the Russian people and the fighting spirit of the Russian soldier would be different, if... — ssu
Russia's military spending is very high compared to the size of its economy (about the same as Spain). It's very low compared to the opponents it says it wants to be the peers of. — Count Timothy von Icarus
that this money was clearly largely stolen or misused. — Count Timothy von Icarus
This also depends on the leadership recognizing that "taking the gloves of" and allowing their soldiers to engage in these behaviors isn't a winning strategy, because it has very deleterious effects on discipline. — Count Timothy von Icarus
don't think total humiliation will be accepted by the Russian regime, meaning, they might go crazy. One needs to give the opponent an off ramp, however distasteful it is. — Manuel
The problem with being entirely dishonorable and untrustworthy is that you can't get your opponent to accept a cease fire, especially when they're on a roll — frank
“Why the withdrawal from Lyman was not secured in advance by introducing forces into the ‘corridor’ sufficient to hold it and cover the withdrawal – I have no answer to that,” he added.
He said that if Russian forces are not able to withdraw from Lyman, “a relatively insignificant tactical defeat” would turn into “a huge moral success” for Ukraine.
If their command gave a crap about force protection, they would have had them retreat while they could do it in orde — Paine
My understanding of this war is that Putin, an opportunistic kleptocrat, saw an opportunity, in the machinations of US imperialism, to consolidate his power (and more importantly his wealth) by taking control over key strategic areas of Ukraine. — Isaac
Before setting forth upon the special operation, Putin was a popular figure in European ultranationalist circles. At the same time, he courted the EU to set up massive infrastructure deals. It seems safe to say that bit of dual theater is gone. — Paine
He knows – through a successful cult of personality and a clever policy of information autocracy – that he has the people with him. He has made the fascist connection between leader and the led.
But the consequence of that is the state machinery has become too corrupt and inefficient to execute any war plan. — apokrisis
Maybe he acts in the belief that if he can just stir up enough chaos, then the worst that could happen is Europe also becomes brought down by it too. You don't need to roll your tanks into Latvia and Poland. You just need to wreck energy and food supply chains for one winter. Quite likely you will have economic collapse, hard right power grabs, a meltdown that cripples the EU. — apokrisis
These are the two narratives I can't seem to square. — Isaac
lies are parasitic on truth, and so the habitual liar destroys the world of communication that they depend on; to the extent that community continues, it establishes communication lines that exclude the liar, who is fed back the lies that he projects. — unenlightened
So the US military, DoD, and government are a collection of honest, open individuals working toward collective goals? I don't buy it. — Isaac
These are the two narratives I can't seem to square. — Isaac
All this against the alternative narrative that the Russian army is crap because Putin simply wasn't interested in using it to expanded his empire. — Isaac
I'm not saying it's implausible that Putin has this private imperialist agenda which he's somehow unable to adequately prepare for because he's been too hubristic to listen to advice. That makes some sense. But it doesn't make so much sense that all other interpretations are apologist fantasy... that's the point I'm making here. — Isaac
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