Agreed! Keep pushing until they start to fall back, don't give Russia a break or a chance to regroup/recoup.
The balance would be made up of (mostly unwilling) conscripts whose combat value on a modern battlefield is negligible, and who are in any case not allowed to deploy outside of Russia unless martial law is declared. The 170-odd BTGs, manned by contract soldiers, also account for the vast bulk of Russia's material assets - tanks, artillery and such. You know, the stuff you need to actually prosecute a war.
<snip> Made absolutely zero sense.
Well Russia’s in the war where are they. You keep saying this and claiming Russia’s holding back some pulsating well armed military that is soon going to March to Poland and Romania’s boarder.
I think Putin probably planned this. He wanted to show to his friends he's trying to secure their food, without actually helping Ukraine. So, he gets a deal made to export the grain, but then blows up the port to stop Ukraine from financially benefiting from it, all whilst saving face with his friendly countries.So, Russia bombs port facilities in Odessa one day after signing the grain deal, and then officially claims it had nothing to do with said bombing. Honestly, I'm at a loss as to what kind of strategic advantage they're hoping to wring out of this. On the surface there's absolutely no upside; there are, however, very important downsides:
Honestly, the only reason I can think about is that this is some sick attempt at sorting wheat from chaff by testing who is willing to toe the line (i.e. doesn't have a problem with Kremlin's official statements regarding this incident). But that's a major stretch.
- Showing (again) that any deal signed with Putin isn't worth the paper it's written on. This sends a very bad message to any country that might want to strike some sort of deal with Putin, including countries Russia is currently smarming up to (such as China).
- Making Erdogan look like a fool. Not something Russia would want to do right now - Turkey, after all, is the subject of a tug-of-war between Russia and NATO.
- Jeopardizing any behind-the-scenes concessions Russia may have gained in exchange for agreeing to this deal in the first place.
I'd actually be willing to entertain the possibility that this one was not Russia's doing.
Interesting. But any damage a handful of missiles may cause won't really matter in the grand scheme of things. It's unclear what exactly they struck in the port, but I would be surprised if this had any major impact on the grain export operation - if indeed Russia is willing to go along with it. We'll find out soon enough.
Good point. But he would certainly demand something in return. Hence, drones.
so do I, but I don't know. All is possible.So, Russia bombs port facilities in Odessa one day after signing the grain deal, and then officially claims it had nothing to do with said bombing. Honestly, I'm at a loss as to what kind of strategic advantage they're hoping to wring out of this. On the surface there's absolutely no upside; there are, however, very important downsides:
Honestly, the only reason I can think about is that this is some sick attempt at sorting wheat from chaff by testing who is willing to toe the line (i.e. doesn't have a problem with Kremlin's official statements regarding this incident). But that's a major stretch.
- Showing (again) that any deal signed with Putin isn't worth the paper it's written on. This sends a very bad message to any country that might want to strike some sort of deal with Putin, including countries Russia is currently smarming up to (such as China).
- Making Erdogan look like a fool. Not something Russia would want to do right now - Turkey, after all, is the subject of a tug-of-war between Russia and NATO.
- Jeopardizing any behind-the-scenes concessions Russia may have gained in exchange for agreeing to this deal in the first place.
I'd actually be willing to entertain the possibility that this one was not Russia's doing.
MAYBE white phosphorus? Last vid seems to make it clearer.
Should have known for sure. I thought maybe there was some hope. Nope, just hope for Russia, that now will have a mine free route for its stolen grain.
So much for their friend that was going to save them right? No, as I said at the beginning China has its own interests and a nation cannot survive just trading with its neighbors.
I'm genuinely surprised by the lack of overt Chinese support for Russia.
www.theguardian.com
But the Odesa port is not actually "blown up." And no one goes back and corrects themselves on this. This is why it is important to wait for facts with war in Ukraine/Russia part of the world. It is like believing either Israel or the Palestinians. Both will send reports that say what their people want to hear, and the facts are often something totally different altogether.
" obvious misinformation" I heard someone calls this FAKE NEWS!
The addiction of too many in USA/Western media and too many in politics/government for outlandish hyperbole is unhelpful in building social cohesiveness and public trust. The hyperbole becomes so massive that any random person can point out "exaggeration" and/or open falsehoods. Public trust is key in a society.
