In the case of mercenaries, I've got no problem with them getting the death penalty for nothing more than getting caught in-country if that's what a civilian court wants to do. Local militias capturing them and applying whatever justice they are inclined to would be even more satisfying. SF personnel from third-party nations and spies, same. Those who cannot stand the heat should stay out of the kitchen.
As i said above, any russian soldier can be considered as merc, since russia didn't declare a war to Ukraine. Johnny, this sword is double-edged because Ukraine didn't declare war on Russia either. And if Ukraine has 500 Russian soldiers in captivity, then Russia has 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers in captivity. Think about it at your leisure (because your chances of being captured by the Russians are also not illusory). |
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How, in your opinion, will the current situation develop, what changes await us, what can we expect in the near future?
Well, firstly, the leaders of all Western countries will learn to listen carefully to what Putin says. I think they have already learned. Secondly, the old alliances, which have shown their inefficiency, will be replaced by new ones. I mean the role of BRICS and the CSTO will increase significantly. Thirdly, the fate of the European Union looks unenviable. I don't know what format Europe is transforming into, but it will definitely have to change a lot - just to survive. Fourth, US hegemony is over. If the US is unable to accept the new reality and learn to live within its means, stop plundering the rest of the world and inciting conflicts on all continents, there will be a nuclear war and the US will physically cease to exist. Since the Cuban Missile Crisis, the world has never been as close to nuclear war as it is now. It's good for everyone to consider this in their plans for the next couple of years - including when you choose a color to paint your house or where to go on vacation this summer. Fifthly, Russia does not need the extra burden of a new world leader, it does not need your wealth and lands (there are plenty of its own), Russia is ready to conduct a dialogue with everyone on an equal footing and honestly cooperate on mutually beneficial terms. I do not hope that you will believe me in this, but I consider it necessary to formulate it explicitly. ps I almost forgot to say a few words about Ukraine. Ukraine is in big trouble as a result of its anti-Russian policies and will be "denazified", "demilitarized" and possibly even "decommunized" (the latter means returning Ukraine to its pre-1917 borders). That is the way. |
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In Ukraine, Russian terrorists are destroying residential buildings with all available weapons, destroying civilians in a sadistic way, destroying infrastructure, seizing authorities, and intimidating the civilian population.
It is not true. Even foreign military observers have been surprised since the beginning of the operation how carefully Russia treats civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. You yourself are a clear example of this - it seems you mentioned that you live in Kyiv, and at least you have electricity and the Internet, since you spend so much time on this forum. You could sit in the basement, without light and water, under constant bombardment, afraid to even stick your nose out. Think about it at your leisure. It's not true that you have the Internet, 2 legs, and 5 fingers on your hand! One crazy woman told me at the bus stop!  And if you listen to one Russian propaganda, then of course you will imagine that Russia is a savior, and we ourselves bomb our citizens with your missiles, and shoot from your tanks at our homes. Stop ruining your brain like this! In a word, stop talking nonsense, no matter what the reason for such behavior is - ignorance of reality or an attempt to justify the crimes of the rashists in Ukraine. About Kyiv. From February 25, the first week, most of the people of Kiev were in bomb shelters, metro stations, basements. You don't tell me about how you repent. I'll tell you how it really happened. This is a fixation of strikes on Kyiv. After that, tell us about "accuracy" and "surprise" ... 1. A rocket hit a residential building, Lobanovsky Avenue, not far from the place where the father lives https://youtu.be/uYKSBnRhobU2. A rocket hit a residential building. In the rashist media, it was presented as a hit in the Artyom Plant. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tgu7w542o9s3. It is shown how the air defense shoots down one of the missiles. As well as another rocket hitting a residential building. https://youtu.be/IZCh8E849Fs4. Getting into the television center, next to Babi Yar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atL2fhTA31A5. The other day - a rocket hit the Darnytsky Carriage Repair Plant, where only trams, metro cars are serviced .... https://youtu.be/NuW2QZuMv8IWhy Kyiv was not destroyed like Mariupol, Bucha, Irpin, and many other cities and towns? First, air defense and defense. Secondly, a bald parody of the Fuhrer wanted to take the victory parade here in 3 days Well, the cowardice and ineptitude of the Russian army goes without saying! Well, for one thing, explain why from February 24 to February 28 I was offline. Do you know what happened to me better than me? PS By the way - can you point to a non-Russian source where "Even foreign military observers have been surprised since the beginning of the operation how carefully Russia treats civilian infrastructure in Ukraine"? What, as many as five missiles in three and a half months of operation? Not much. If you start to understand, you will get a picture that is unsightly for Ukraine, in which in the first episode a Ukrainian missile defense missile hit a residential building, and in the remaining episodes, the strike was either on a military infrastructure facility, or the residential building was damaged by fragments of a Russian missile shot down by a Ukrainian missile defense system. In general, shooting down Russian missiles over the city is not a good idea - a high-precision strike intended for a military facility is smoothed out and transferred to residential areas. So do not disgrace the Ukrainian missile defense with praises, it would be better if it did not exist at all - there would be fewer civilian casualties. You spent only four days in the basement and consider this a feat? People in Donetsk got used to bomb shelters during the eight years of Ukraine's aggression against the Russian-speaking population of Donbass and do not consider this a feat. Russia came to Ukraine not to liberate you, but to punish you. So be patient, it will get worse. |
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The Ukraine is essentially lost.To save lives of their soldiers, as well as keeping their land and properties from being destroyed, they should surrender.
Wait, we haven't finished talking about Odessa yet, it's too early for Ukraine to give up. I think the United States should somehow tighten up, which means they are running out of shells, but where did they spend 40 billion dollars, and what about lend-lease? |
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And fresh news from Ukrainian propaganda. According to preliminary estimates of animal rights activists, Putin's army in Ukraine has already eaten about 5,000 dogs. It is strange that the dogs were not raped before they were eaten. Tremble Europe, the Russians are coming.  |
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Meanwhile, Lyusya Arestovich seems to be already contemplating her new career as Putin's undercover agent. Where (will be) all these European armies, which in most cases are demonstrative amusing troops, incapable of solving the tasks of defending their country and their supranational formations such as NATO and the EU? Where will they stop the union of Ukraine and Russia? And Belarus in addition. update: I'd save Wagner services for Finland and Sweden if it comes to that. I don't think there would be the same sorts of ethical arguments used in this element of the conflict in that neck of the woods.
I'll answer anyway. Many people in Russia were outraged to the core by videos of torture and murder of Russian prisoners of war. Many have significantly changed their minds about the operation in Ukraine and went to the military registration and enlistment office to sign up as volunteers. However, it was not easy to take part in the operation if you have no real combat experience behind you - you are put on the reserve, but then nothing happens. In essence, these people have only two ways - to take a training course in Gudermes and get into the Chechen regiment of Kadyrov, or to enlist in Wagner. Chechnya regularly delivers replenishment to Ukraine at a rate of about 200 people a week, but judging by the videos and photos, there are mostly people from the Caucasus. For people with a Slavic appearance with no combat experience who want to take part in the operation in Ukraine, Wagner turns out to be the only option. There is another option to go as a volunteer to Mariupol, but it does not involve participation in hostilities, but only restoration work, etc. In general, I share your point of view about Wagner, but this does not negate what I said above - this is almost the only option to get to the front in the absence of mobilization in Russia. In other words, those Wagnerites who are now storming the Donbass are more likely not hardened soldiers of fortune, but the most ardent volunteers. |
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The Russian central bank is now desperately trying to stop the Ruble from going up any further. For the federal government, the expenses need to be spent in Rubles and most of the revenues are in the form of Euro or US Dollar. If the Ruble goes up any further then the cushion that they enjoy as a result of the rising oil and gas prices will be lost. As of now, Ruble is trading at a rate of $1 = ₽57.50. I would say that a more acceptable exchange rate for the government would be somewhere between $1 = ₽65 to $1 = ₽70.
The other day, the head of the Central Bank of Russia, Elvira Nabiullina, gave a big press conference, and I got the impression that Russia, under the pressure of strong external circumstances, has taken a trend towards a serious structural restructuring of its economy in order to stop unsuccessfully fighting the rapidly strengthening ruble, but rather try to benefit from it . The Russian economy has a chronic lack of money supply and it seems that now this can be corrected without the risk of a surge in inflation. Let's see, at least now we can confidently say that Russia successfully withstood the sanctions shock and was able to withstand the blow, which, according to the West, should have destroyed it. Of course, there are difficulties and the negative consequences of the sanctions will still manifest themselves, but in fact the reality turned out to be much better than the most optimistic expectations. |
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Agreed. No One can full fill the supply of world but only Russia. The whole world was imposing bans on Russia without realising what Russia can do to the world. They deliberately or not deliberately ignored the part. And now everyone is worried how and from where they are going to get the oil and gas supply.
The problem lies within the stupid policymakers of the European Union. Actually it is possible to replace Russian energy in the medium term, with available resources. But the European Union shut down most of the alternatives before the Russo-Ukraine war. As a result of pressure from the Green party, they closed down most of the nuclear power plants in Germany. This made them even more dependent on Russian imports. On top of that, the Green party idiots caused hundreds of billions of Euro in losses by funding unviable renewable energy projects all along the EU. They setup wind farms where there is not enough wind flows and solar plants where there is not enough sunlight. You are right, even in the face of severe energy shortages, Germany does not appear to be changing course and plans to shut down the last three nuclear reactors later this year. And in general, the situation with nuclear energy in the European Union is close to depressing. It seems Europe has simply lost key competencies in this area - and I'm talking now about France, where there are relatively many operating nuclear power plants, but things with them are also not cloudless. There are many old reactors, several of which will have to be decommissioned in the near future, and there are almost no new reactors. And there is another problem even more serious - Europe is rapidly losing its influence in Africa (we are talking specifically about France and specifically about Mali). And without Africa, Europe has nowhere to get uranium from. The European Union has driven itself into a dire situation with its mediocre energy policy. |
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In Ukraine, Russian terrorists are destroying residential buildings with all available weapons, destroying civilians in a sadistic way, destroying infrastructure, seizing authorities, and intimidating the civilian population.
It is not true. Even foreign military observers have been surprised since the beginning of the operation how carefully Russia treats civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. You yourself are a clear example of this - it seems you mentioned that you live in Kyiv, and at least you have electricity and the Internet, since you spend so much time on this forum. You could sit in the basement, without light and water, under constant bombardment, afraid to even stick your nose out. Think about it at your leisure. |
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On the Wagner thing, I have to say that making use of them undercuts the Russian excuse for their Ukraine actions as being based on ethical principles, and 'de-nazification' in particular (which I've never put much stock in anyway.) I've never heard anyone claim that these Wagner personnel are any 'better' than the average mercenary group, and nobody puts up much of a denial that straight-up neo-nazi influences exist in at least some of them.
Unfortunately you are right. I think this is the case when you can not clean the cesspool and not get dirty with shit yourself. All in all, I don't understand why there is so much fuss about a few foreign mercenaries who have managed to get under the show whipping (which they probably deserved by their actions). Let me remind you that a couple of weeks ago in Kyiv, Russian soldier Vadim Shishimarin was sentenced to life imprisonment. Why shouldn't those who like to remember the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War remember this episode, when a prisoner of war was convicted by a civil court? Why tantrum after the usual symmetrical response? Or does someone here naively think that some other verdict awaits the Azov militants captured in Mariupol? |
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Statistics on Caliber used against Ukraine. Of the 100% launched, approximately 10-20% reach the targets. Part of the launched Calibers simply does not reach due to the fact that these are missiles "having no analogue" A noticeable part is shot down by Ukrainian air defense. I also saw it happen in person. At the same time, some of those Caliber who, surprisingly, were able to fly, get anywhere - into residential buildings, wastelands, beach toilets, as it was in Odessa. So Calibers are not a problem, no matter how much you would like the opposite. I am glad that Russian Caliber is not a problem for Ukraine. Moreover, Russia ran out of them in early March due to sanctions (according to Ukrainian propaganda). Let's omit about aircraft carriers, tell me better - why are NATO ships (of various classes, including cruisers, destroyers) constantly present in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, and are they "not afraid of daggers"? And these are not only American, but also Italian, Greek, .... I'm very interested to hear the "logical explanation"! If we omit about aircraft carriers, what will be left of the former military power of the United States? This is a very sensitive issue for Pentagon generals. The "logical explanation" is simple, Russia is not at war with NATO now - this is only why. Oh yes - and more. It’s probably not news to you that the “Dagger” needs what to become a hypersonic missile? And here's what - "the missile must be dispersed by the MiG-31 carrier." Those. this "feature" works only with such a launch ("Iskander", which underlies the "Dagger" rocket itself is slow). The question is - what will happen if the enemy simply destroys the same MIG-31s at the parking points, which, in the version adapted for the launch of the "Dagger", are literally one? It's complicated ? Not ! Especially when you consider some facts:
- MIG-31 in general, only 519 units were produced for the entire time.
- A dozen of them are now monuments.
- At present, a little more than 250 MiG-31 aircraft of various modifications remain in service and storage in the Russian Aerospace Forces.
- Combat radius: 720 km (at an altitude not very convenient for NATO air defense, i.e. at the maximum ceiling).
- The car itself is quite outdated (more than 25 years old) and very unreliable - even an official Russian source speaks of almost 45 lost aircraft due to various kinds of malfunctions.
Good logic, but it has one significant flaw. In addition to the MiG-31K, Dagger missiles are also capable of carrying TU-22M3 aircraft. And about the habits of fighting To fly at maximum height and bomb Aleppo in the Syrian way, which had no air defense - this is Russian heroism. But in Ukraine, for some reason, the "heroes" do not risk inflicting massive air strikes deep into the territory of Ukraine. Can you tell me why? I will answer ! Even weak Ukrainian air defense is a PROBLEM for the Russian Air Comic Forces! Of course I can, in Ukraine, Russia does not carry out massive bombing strikes, so as not to damage civilian infrastructure. The only case so far when Russia used air bombs in Ukraine at all was the bombing of the Azovstal plant in Mariupol. |
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Yes, Dagger, this is essentially an Iskander missile "tied" to the MIG-31. And the whole hypersonic characteristic, it appears due to the summation of the speed of the aircraft, and additional acceleration due to the "fall" from a great height. As for the impossibility of shooting down, I agree that the rather outdated air defense of Ukraine can hardly cope with this task, but I’m not sure that this will be a noticeable problem for NATO, don’t compare the technologies of the 21st century and the dispersed ancient wagon from the mountain, which they pass off as a Bugatti Veyron, just because that she rolls down the mountain faster than being towed by a horse Oh yes ... I wonder how these missiles will be produced in the absence of Western high-tech components? Missile stocks are not eternal, and production will soon be completely paralyzed. "Import substitution"? Do not make me laugh ! For example, I personally observed the dismantling of the "unparalleled" Orlan-10 UAV (really a very primitive device) and the wreckage of another one, the name of which I do not know. So - if you throw out Western components from there, it will be absolutely not a functional glider for manual launch from the roof of the house For the Ukrainian missile defense system, even relatively slow Calibers are a problem. And the hypersonic Dagger is a big and so far insoluble problem for NATO missile defense in general and the United States in particular. To effectively intercept missiles, your anti-missile must fly at least twice as fast, and preferably four times. The dagger flies at a cruising speed of approximately Mach 5.5 and the US does not have (and is not expected to in the foreseeable future) missile defense missiles capable of flying twice as fast. Another problem with NATO and the Russian Dagger is that this missile, flying in a hot cloud of plasma, is capable of maneuvering, that is, it does not fly along a ballistic trajectory, which makes it practically invulnerable. And the main problem of the United States with the Russian Dagger is that the Americans are used to fighting, urging an aircraft carrier and then bombing from it. And where are all the American aircraft carriers now? They are 1500+ km from the nearest Russian Dagger, because Dagger (even without a nuclear warhead) is a born carrier killer. That is why I said above that the first launch of the Dagger ruined most of the US plans. The Pentagon now does not know how to fight, there is no longer an effective military strategy. This is not an empty hatred in the style of "the Taliban with rifles drove the Yankees out of Afghanistan", this is a simple statement of facts and the current state of affairs. |
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No, I'm not talking about India, I'm talking about the situation in the world in general. "Money doesn't smell!". Some believe that you can earn money by working with terrorists. Bring them money, essentially sponsoring terrorism. And then put a good income in your pocket at the expense of consumers or quietly resell at a good markup or ... Yes, there are many more options that we are now seeing.
What was well shown by the terrorist war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine, and the economic war against the whole world, is the "real face". The real face of international organizations that have shown their complete lack of impotence or cowardice, instead of doing what they were created for. The real face of corrupt politicians, and much more. But now everyone is visible, and everyone understands that it is possible to "score" on moral, ethical standards and human values. True, in case of some kind of trouble, all these "persons" will begin to appeal to humanity, humanism, and the need to urgently help them ...
PS Just for the sake of interest - how did India live in a terrible oil "shortage" until 2022?
Last month, the US bought $2 billion worth of stuff from Russia. And the European Union is about 25 billion dollars. According to your logic, the US and the EU are the sponsors of global terrorism. |
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As far as mercenaries, I believe to become Ukrainian citizen they would have to give up their previous citizenship as Ukraine doesn't allow dual citizenship, which apparently didn't happen. How are they different from other mercenaries, or is the claim that there are no mercenaries at all in Ukraine and all foreign fighters fall under Geneva convention now because they signed some paper with UA army? Following that logic Aiden Aslin wasn't a mecenary in Syria as well if he also signed some form there?
Unless it's a civil war, isn't there always going to be one side made up of entirely foreign fighters? Does the geneva convention really exclude prisoners of war from human rights depending on what country their passport is from? That doesn't make sense to me. I don’t understand why you are focusing on the Geneva Convention, although neither Russia nor Ukraine have signed or ratified it, and for these countries the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War is a legally insignificant document. I have a question that you don't have to answer, but I'll ask it. Have you read the text of this convention, which has already been repeatedly mentioned? |
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Donetsk region within Ukraine. Putin is a powerful man, but he has no power over the Supreme Court of a sovereign state (he doesn't even have power over Russia's Supreme Court).
On paper he don't have such power, but reality is a bit different. And it's fun to hear that Putin dodn't have power over Supreme Court of ''sovereign country, but at the same time he want to change path of sovereign country (Ukraine) and occupy as much as possible territory of it. It looks like we both know who the most powerful person in the world is and it's not Zelensky. If Putin has enough power to impose a Putin tax on food and gas in the US, as Joe Biden said yesterday, of course he can influence anything - including the fate of two Englishmen and one Moroccan. I don't think the death sentence will be carried out, don't worry about it. A mercenary is still a soldier IMHO. They can be war criminals or even terrorists if they do not play by the rules, but that is related to their actions, not to their origin nor to the fact that they get paid - if you think of it, the RF soldiers get paid, are they not mercenaries? Are they not going to a foreign country to wage war and die just to steal territory and goods from Ukraine?
There is logic in your words and I think you are right. The soldier of the Russian army, who serves under the contract, is also in a sense a mercenary. It's not a problem to be a mercenary in itself, it only becomes a problem if you were taken prisoner in the DPR and you have some strange passport in an incomprehensible language with you. |
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"Two different things
Inflation and recession describe the momentum of an economy. Inflation makes the economy barrel forward at full speed, sometimes uncontrollably, leading to price surges and a higher cost of living for the average consumer. A recession would be the opposite, a much slower economy marked by a decline in economic activity and potentially higher unemployment.
Sometimes the stars converge in such a way that inflation is combined with a recession, this is called stagflation (stagnation + inflation). This is the scariest beast of all - when the economy slows down and prices rise at the same time. |
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Ok, Ukraine, which does not have significant air defense, missed a certain number of Kinzhal missiles. Here no one disputes this fact.
Even Biden had to admit that the Dagger is an ordinary missile, it's just almost impossible to intercept it. Do you know what this means in reality? That 80% of all NATO strategies and combat plans flew into the trash after the first successful combat use of the Dagger. And after that, NATO realized its incompetence and in every possible way avoids the escalation of the conflict, so as not to be drawn into it by its direct participation. And this is a relatively light rocket, in fact, the usual good old Iskander, which was hung under the plane and thus dispersed to hypersonic. But at the same time, the Ukrainian army, in many other situations, just showed the uselessness of Russian "unparalleled" ones (the funniest narrative from Russian media). The cruiser Moscow, Zmeinny Island, the "vaunted" electronic warfare and other advertised "fakes", especially the welded grilles on the towers of "tanks that have no analogue", "guaranteed to save from being hit by a javelin", all of them showed their effectiveness, which is very different from the declared one. Of course for the worse. But for some reason you "forget" about it, a sort of selective sclerosis. Engagement? Don't be fooled, the sinking of the Moskva is actually Ukraine's only significant and meaningful tactical success in this confrontation with Russia. Otherwise, Ukraine acts as a whipping boy. I pay tribute to the courage of Ukrainian soldiers, they show great fortitude, despite the absence of even the slightest chance of success. The forces are too unequal, Russia is in a different weight category. |
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I believe in less than three months Putin's kingdom is over , what do you think?
False. Russia will hit until it will be able to do so. For russia (not only for Ukraine, yep) this was is existential. If it will fail - for russia this will means an and and country (as we know it) will collapse. That rare case when I agree with you. Russia does not have much choice to continue or end, there is too much at stake. |
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I mean unstoppable Russian hypersonic weapons that can easily destroy city blocks
The main problem that there to few of such weapons in russia. For example, X-32 missile has a velocity around 3,5—4,6M. But the main problem that there around 30-40 such missiles (!!!). If orcs will use them all, they will be without such weapon at all. This rocket uses western parts in it, so there will be no more new missiles X-32 anymore. Only what's left. And the same story with all new weaponry in Russia. The main "working horse" of the war - Kalibr cruise missile, late soviet project, mainly was built since 1994 , when there were no sanctions at all (the same story with Iskander ballistic rockets). And we can't see any new (which was announced after 2014) weapons on the battlefield in significant numbers. Why so? The answer is easy: sanctions after 2014. And after 2022 I doubt that russian will be able to built even 5 missiles in year. So the answer for your question can be enough simple: orcs and their rules - gnomes, just economize their few modern missiles and rockets. It would be to my advantage to leave you in the dark about the true state of things, but I'll say it anyway. The main workhorse of Russia now is cannon artillery, and ammunition supplies are almost unlimited. Of the missile weapons, the main workhorse is the X101 air-launched cruise missile. However, since it has no export analogue, the sea-based Caliber missile, which became the main star of the operation in Syria and remains the main star of the operation in Ukraine, took all the glory of high-precision missile strikes (there was even a special term "calibrate"). I don’t want to upset you, but Russia’s stocks of these missiles are quite large and are constantly replenished. |
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