The more I read about the war the less I understand what Putin is doing. Why do you think he's just building this meatgrinder instead of fighting an actual war? Rurik, who you've probably also read, thinks it's a large Semitic conspiracy, but I don't really buy that as most elites would gladly sell out their own people, so ethnicity doesn't matter that much. But then what does it leave us with? Is Putin just doing this to help the US destabilize Europe? Is he just an idiot? Is he making money through this meatgrinder as a forever war always makes great money for the weapons manufacturers? Do you have any hypotheses for the bigger picture?
Just to play the Devil's advocate, and considering that war is but the continuation of politics by other means, I often wonder whether there are political implications, not easy to spot for laymen like me, that strongly advise against heavier mobilization on Russia's side. What do I know? Running a whole, complex nation like Russia involves tenfold more factors than just conducting a war. Might too fast gains trigger a much briskier and dangerous reaction on NATO's side? Might a big mobilization and/or entering into war economy result in inner destabilization? I could think of other similar questions, and I'm sure there are dozens of other possible issues I can't even imagine due to my ignorance.
Of course, most likely the truth goes along the lines of "This war is a farce; Putin, his team and puppeteers don't give a dime for Russians", but then again, what if? Not knowing all the factors involved, it's hard for me to be absolutely sure.
I'm about to unfollow, what a useless site. He - definitely a he - used to be good a few years back, railing against the US Empire, but now it's just ungrounded hatred of Putin.
I can find that in any Western corporate media outlet, don't need it in my inbox.
If you're an Israeli satrapy Queensberry Rules do not apply. The Empire commands that a local butchery morphs into a genocidal factory farming enterprise.
Putin is just part of the BRICS team of globalists that plays the enemy/ally game with the NATO and EU teams.
In the map below you can see where the teams are based and what regions they protect. Notice Africa and South America has no team so the raw materials are free for the taking.
There is nothing really special about using a protracted war to wear out public sympathy or divert attention away from a pandemic that was becoming too tame.
If Russia were to commit to a full-blown war economy, backers of Ukraine might very well prepare for the same and we'd have WW3 as a result.
Even assuming the West were to leave the Ukraine to its fate, once the latter is subdue by total war Russia, which according to you would happen very quickly, Russia would have to revert back to a civil economy.
Industrial conversion of civil industries to war industries is a huge undertaking, switching from producing supermarket food to military rations, from tractors and trains to tanks and cannons, from fertilizers to ammunition and shells - and then reverting back as soon as Ukraine surrenders - is simply unpractical and unfeasible in real life. For sure wouldn't happen for Ukraine, where truth being told, the stakes are only regional in scope.
If Putin were to set the nation on a war path, then why stop at Ukraine and not absorb the Baltics as well. Issues there are the same as Ukraine: large Russian minorities but oppressed, current border a liability for Russia. The West would use this reasoning to activate NATO for real and thus as an excuse to solve their bicentenary Russian problem once and for all.
Lastly, Ukrainian losses must be much heavier ATM. Just consider
guided gliding FAB air bombs + nonstop artillery + Orlan drone 360-degrees surveillance
vs
AFU's absence of air-defense + extremely rationed artillery (even for mortars at company level I think they are not even allowed 2-digits per day) + shallow hastily-dug trenches and defensive positions in the front sectors that are currently hot + demoralisation and lack of numbers for these AFU defenders
thanks for a careful and sober analysis of what's going on in this war. It's bizarre that after so many years of those like the Duran spouting complete nonsense (Putin is a master strategist; Russia is winning/advancing/ and Ukraine will collapse any day, week, month now) there are completely uncritical, possibly seriously stupid people swallowing this month after month, year after year. If Putin really wanted to win this war he would start bombarding the Dnieper Bridges (and that would probably do it without even having to mobilize fully). The problem is that Putin is a creature of the enormously rich billionaire oligarchs that stole the entire Soviet economy in the nineties, and they not only don't really want to win the war they are determined to keep their costs to an absolute minimum - sacrificing the lives of hundreds of thousands means nothing to them - they just want more and more luxury villas in the west, huge yachts, private jets and anything that might threaten their profits is unacceptable. Putin was appointed by Yeltsin as a front man for these oligarchs and he remains their creature.
In Anti-empire's previous post I pointed to the exact same, key idea: the Dnieper bridges. Despite Marko's troops/deaths/recuits analysis being interesting and very telling, I think the much simpler fact that the Dnieper bridges haven't been destroyed leads to the same critical question: What the hell is this war about?
The more I read about the war the less I understand what Putin is doing. Why do you think he's just building this meatgrinder instead of fighting an actual war? Rurik, who you've probably also read, thinks it's a large Semitic conspiracy, but I don't really buy that as most elites would gladly sell out their own people, so ethnicity doesn't matter that much. But then what does it leave us with? Is Putin just doing this to help the US destabilize Europe? Is he just an idiot? Is he making money through this meatgrinder as a forever war always makes great money for the weapons manufacturers? Do you have any hypotheses for the bigger picture?
Just to play the Devil's advocate, and considering that war is but the continuation of politics by other means, I often wonder whether there are political implications, not easy to spot for laymen like me, that strongly advise against heavier mobilization on Russia's side. What do I know? Running a whole, complex nation like Russia involves tenfold more factors than just conducting a war. Might too fast gains trigger a much briskier and dangerous reaction on NATO's side? Might a big mobilization and/or entering into war economy result in inner destabilization? I could think of other similar questions, and I'm sure there are dozens of other possible issues I can't even imagine due to my ignorance.
Of course, most likely the truth goes along the lines of "This war is a farce; Putin, his team and puppeteers don't give a dime for Russians", but then again, what if? Not knowing all the factors involved, it's hard for me to be absolutely sure.
Are you sure you didn't just make this all up? Is Poteru site your only source for a rise in Russian death notices.
Your "anti-empire" fervor is palpable, but the evidence to support your claims is lacking, sadly.
I'm about to unfollow, what a useless site. He - definitely a he - used to be good a few years back, railing against the US Empire, but now it's just ungrounded hatred of Putin.
I can find that in any Western corporate media outlet, don't need it in my inbox.
If you're an Israeli satrapy Queensberry Rules do not apply. The Empire commands that a local butchery morphs into a genocidal factory farming enterprise.
Putin is just part of the BRICS team of globalists that plays the enemy/ally game with the NATO and EU teams.
In the map below you can see where the teams are based and what regions they protect. Notice Africa and South America has no team so the raw materials are free for the taking.
There is nothing really special about using a protracted war to wear out public sympathy or divert attention away from a pandemic that was becoming too tame.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/7wtop7/locations_of_companies_in_the_fortune_500_global/
If Russia were to commit to a full-blown war economy, backers of Ukraine might very well prepare for the same and we'd have WW3 as a result.
Even assuming the West were to leave the Ukraine to its fate, once the latter is subdue by total war Russia, which according to you would happen very quickly, Russia would have to revert back to a civil economy.
Industrial conversion of civil industries to war industries is a huge undertaking, switching from producing supermarket food to military rations, from tractors and trains to tanks and cannons, from fertilizers to ammunition and shells - and then reverting back as soon as Ukraine surrenders - is simply unpractical and unfeasible in real life. For sure wouldn't happen for Ukraine, where truth being told, the stakes are only regional in scope.
If Putin were to set the nation on a war path, then why stop at Ukraine and not absorb the Baltics as well. Issues there are the same as Ukraine: large Russian minorities but oppressed, current border a liability for Russia. The West would use this reasoning to activate NATO for real and thus as an excuse to solve their bicentenary Russian problem once and for all.
Lastly, Ukrainian losses must be much heavier ATM. Just consider
guided gliding FAB air bombs + nonstop artillery + Orlan drone 360-degrees surveillance
vs
AFU's absence of air-defense + extremely rationed artillery (even for mortars at company level I think they are not even allowed 2-digits per day) + shallow hastily-dug trenches and defensive positions in the front sectors that are currently hot + demoralisation and lack of numbers for these AFU defenders
Botox Putain is a master in cosmetics
thanks for a careful and sober analysis of what's going on in this war. It's bizarre that after so many years of those like the Duran spouting complete nonsense (Putin is a master strategist; Russia is winning/advancing/ and Ukraine will collapse any day, week, month now) there are completely uncritical, possibly seriously stupid people swallowing this month after month, year after year. If Putin really wanted to win this war he would start bombarding the Dnieper Bridges (and that would probably do it without even having to mobilize fully). The problem is that Putin is a creature of the enormously rich billionaire oligarchs that stole the entire Soviet economy in the nineties, and they not only don't really want to win the war they are determined to keep their costs to an absolute minimum - sacrificing the lives of hundreds of thousands means nothing to them - they just want more and more luxury villas in the west, huge yachts, private jets and anything that might threaten their profits is unacceptable. Putin was appointed by Yeltsin as a front man for these oligarchs and he remains their creature.
In Anti-empire's previous post I pointed to the exact same, key idea: the Dnieper bridges. Despite Marko's troops/deaths/recuits analysis being interesting and very telling, I think the much simpler fact that the Dnieper bridges haven't been destroyed leads to the same critical question: What the hell is this war about?
The simple answer is that Russia's war production is maxed out. What good are more troops if you can't equip them?