The War in the Ukraine

AndrewJ said:

US is way more powerful & stronger than Russia. US could lose many wars, just to waste some money & time. US is ok after losing Afghanistan meanwhile USSR collapsed after doing the same. Should admit, strong countries/alliances have more flexibility, weaker ones have less. Also, Afghanistan isn't at US border, won't affect it too much.

For a contury barely recovered from the collapse of USSR for several decades, it's a tragedy to get trapped in an endless intense war after some previous small ones. I'm sure Putin wouldn't start this war if he knew Russia's military was so vulnerable, and the strong resistance he got from Ukraine & NATO. Even after 3+ years, he almost gained nothing except for some lands.

No Russian leadership will decide to start this war if he can go back to Feb 2022. It's a unquestionable mistake for Russians.

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Don't pretend to know what other people think. This is a war that Russia must fight.

What do you think Putin expected to gain except for "some lands?"

What would the consequences have been if Russia did not fight this war and let Ukraine fester into NATO?

If now is not the time to root out rot and weakness in Russia, then when? WWIII?

What has Russia inflicted onto its enemies? Russia was sitting out of the action while China was fighting the EU and US in trade and tech. What more could Russia have hoped to achieve other than to stymie the EU's ability to contribute and leave the US to flounder alone against China? Can Russia sit out forever? What happens to Russia if China loses?

Given everything that has happened, the situation is certainly surprising, as at the beginning, we thought Russia could win a swift military victory but would have to negotiate the final solution due to its economy being crippled, however the current situation is not worse at all.

AndrewJ said:

US is way more powerful & stronger than Russia. US could lose many wars, just to waste some money & time. US is ok after losing Afghanistan meanwhile USSR collapsed after doing the same. Should admit, strong countries/alliances have more flexibility, weaker ones have less. Also, Afghanistan isn't at US border, won't affect it too much.

For a country barely recovered from the collapse of USSR for several decades, it's a tragedy to get trapped in an endless intense war after some previous small ones. I'm sure Putin wouldn't start this war if he knew Russia's military was so vulnerable/weak, and the strong resistance he would get from Ukraine & NATO. Even after 3+ years, he almost gained nothing except for some lands.

No Russian leadership will decide to start this war if he can go back to Feb 2022. It's an unquestionable mistake for Russians.

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Russian leadership knew they had to do it no matter what. It is not a war of choice.


Ukraine was heavily funded since 2014 against Russia.



Russia now has a reformed military and economy. On the tactical side, it is inflicting extremely significant casualties. You can read yourself from a western source:




Unlike in all previous wars with this level of casualties, Ukraine has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, on par with South Korea.


In contrast, in Vietnam, the average age was 18 and the average fertility rate was 5.

Footage of the interception of Ukrainian drones, of an unknown type, by Russian Ka-52 helicopters. The location of the shooting is not reported. In the video, the Ka-52 helicopter hits two Ukrainian drones with Igla-V missiles. Judging by the video, the infrared homing head of the missile was unable to lock on to one of the drones. The video also includes the missile's hit on a Ukrainian AN-196 Lyuty drone.

Russian soldiers cut fiber optic cable of Ukrainian drone with scissors.

New footage of the explosion of a Ukrainian, presumably ammunition depot, filmed by residents of the city of Ternopil. The attack on Ternopil was carried out on June 6, presumably by Tu-95 aircraft, with X-101 cruise missiles. According to city residents, drones were also spotted, most likely Geran drones.

SteelBird said:

Russian soldiers cut fiber optic cable of Ukrainian drone with scissors.

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Sometimes the cheapest and simplest solutions are the most effective. Russian shovels and scissors really are something.

I already said this before but Russia started strenghtening its economy against Western sanctions since 2014. It is easy to forget but back then Russia was a net food importer, most of its food imports came from the EU. They since turned that around and became a major food exporter. Back then Russia did not have the Mir card or SPFS either. So a SWIFT ban would have been much more disruptive.

The Russian army modernization started much earlier, in like 2008, after the conflict with Georgia when they figured out their Soviet era systems did not cut it anymore.

The Georgian army for example had thermal vision fitted to its T-72 tanks in the Israeli SIM1 upgrade, and they had encrypted radios. Their Buk SAMs were also modernized by Ukraine. So they had modern digital control stations.

I think it was Bismarck who said that confronting Russia militarily only made them stronger, while in peace they would pretty much collapse. And that seems to be the case.

It took the 2014 and 2022 sanctions for programs that were stuttering for two decades in Russia to start moving again. If anything the war seems to have galvanized the economy.

Russia can now make their own modern medium speed diesel engine, the D500, and their own naval gas turbine, the M90FR.
They also finally make their own helicopter engines. The VK-2500, VK-650, and VK-1600. Their own transport aviation engines the PD-14 and PD-8.

The advances are not just limited to the military and defense sectors either. For example Russia recently became one of the world's top producers of helium gas. They became the world's largest exporter of wheat and sunflower oil. And a huge exporter of fertilizers.

The Russians have a lot of technical expertise. Which was not tapped properly because of foreign competition. I still remember claims being made that the Western sanctions would stop Russian production of diesel and gasoline. Because Russia imported basically all their refinery catalysts. Well it turns out Russia just designed and produced their own at Rosneft.

SteelBird said:

Russian soldiers cut fiber optic cable of Ukrainian drone with scissors.

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Introducing our new dystopian-cyberpunk twist to the timeless classic: Rock, Paper, Scissors, FPV Drone!

The FPV Drone blows up everything but can be beat by Scissors hiding behind rock.

Residents of Cheboksary have published footage of attacks by Ukrainian An-196 Lyutyi kamikaze UAVs. The VNIIR-Progress plant, which produces jam-proof GLONASS antennas used in cruise missiles and drones, was attacked. Reportedly, two drones hit the roof of the plant, which temporarily halted production. Judging by the video, one Lyutyi drone was shot down by the Russian Pantsir-S1 air defense system, and there may be more. It is worth noting that air defense systems cannot function properly in urban areas, and one Pantsir-S1 air defense system is clearly not enough for protection. The Lyutyi kamikaze UAV is made of fiberglass

The Russian army has used the new kamikaze drone "Klin" for the first time. to destroy the Ukrainian naval drone MAGURA in the Black Sea. The new kamikaze drone is equipped with an air-burst warhead, providing a wider area of destruction. There is no technical information on the drone. The drone's control interface is similar to the Lancet drones from ZALA. It is quite possible that this is a new modification of the Lancet drones.