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Yup, it may have slipped off the front pages but the fighting there remains horrendous, on another level to anything else the world has seen in recent years in terms of sheer intensity.
To give you a sense of scale, in 20 years of fighting in Afghanistan the UK lost 457 service personnel.
I appreciate that the Russian number is 'casualties and not 'deaths' but even so, the scale of the loss is staggering.
Highest Russian casualties of the war today: 2000
It's hard to comprehend. I can't imagine any other country that could sustain those sorts of casualties, from an offensive not defensive war and not have a mass public revolt. It just shows how effective the state media and lack of free press is. That and the fact it's not the sons of those is Moscow or St Petersburg who are doing the dying, but the sons of the rural poor from the far flung regions. For what? It's utterly grim 🙁
Highest Russian casualties of the war today: 2000
🙁
And now the sons of rural North Korea fighting in a far flung land for a far flung dictator.
It just shows how effective the state media and lack of free press is.
I think the amount they are allegedly paying for people to sign up also helps.
Admittedly this goes back to lack of free press and so whether that sign up bonus actually appears but I can see why it would tempt those rural kids in the far flung regions.
Highest Russian casualties of the war today: 2000
I just had a quick google and to put this in context the Russians lost 15,000+ in 10 years of fighting in Afghanistan.
It just shows how effective the state media and lack of free press is.
I read that some Russians have already named new born babies as Oreshnik. So whilst the state media is doing a great job .. a stupid Russian audience helps ...
Anyone in a country where Russia is propping up a regime or has a part of their territory occupied by Russia might start thinking this world be a good time to put the boot in.
I hope.
but Putin stands to loose his warm water naval base and influence in the region?
I understand Assad is in Russia atm?! A coup in Syria would be a disaster for putin if he can't guarantee his port Tartus
There are already reports that rebels have overrun several Russian SOF teams near Aleppo.
It's not 100% confirmed but Russian weew know to be operating in the area am d video footage has emerged of rebels showing off kit that is highly likely to have come from dead or captured Speznatz personnel (VSS rifles for instance).
Anyone in a country where Russia is propping up a regime or has a part of their territory occupied by Russia might start thinking this world be a good time to put the boot in.
I hope.
Indeed, but we've been here before hoping all sorts of countries under Russian 'influence' might start thinking now is a time to make a move, be it a rebellion or political change.
Anyone in a country where Russia is propping up a regime or has a part of their territory occupied by Russia might start thinking this world be a good time to put the boot in.
I hope.
^^ Sorry I have no idea how that was posted again some 40 minutes back, I wasnt even actively on the forum. Lol
S’alright poopscoop. We’re statistically likely to have a high ranking official on here from a rebel organisation in a country being propped up by the Russians. We have some wide representation…
Nothing wrong with a polite reminder.
So where does Georgia fit in, what's going to happen there?
Slight thread diversion – but Assad and Putler are taking a beating in Syria, not sure how it plays out geopolitically but Putin stands to loose his warm water naval base and influence in the region?
It looks like the Syrian rebels are taking advantage of not only Russia's problems, but also Hezbollah's problems following Israeli action. Aleppo is significant as the second largest city, but also as a base for both Hezbollah and Syrian forces. Israel has struck Aleppo on at least two occasions since October and in the same raid in March struck an Hezbollah weapons store near to Aleppo airport and Syrian forces in another suburb.
Russia has air force assets, which it's using against the rebels, but ground forces are heavily compromised and are needed to regain territory. To alleviate this Russia has spoken with both Turkiye and Iran, their allies under the Astana Process. Iran has it's own problems so time will tell whether they respond.
Turkiye will probably respond but is quite likely to want to move the balance of power towards their forces and away from Iran and Russia. Relations between Turkiye and Russia are complex https://carnegieendowment.org/russia-eurasia/politika/2024/07/turkiye-russia-fragile-partnership?lang=en
We'll have to see how it plays out, but Russia has some serious prioritising to do to maintain a foothold in Syria; I suspect that they'll focus on Ukraine.
So where does Georgia fit in, what’s going to happen there?
I'm not sure that it's linked specifically to other conflicts. There are links, e.g. young Russians migrated to Georgia at the beginning of the 2022 invasion.
It'll hold echoes of Ukraine's EuroMaidan uprising in 2013 for Russia, so expect some action from the Russian-controlled South Ossetia region of Georgia, recognised as independent only by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, and Syria.
Russian military seems to have really dropped the ball in Syria
I wonder if this is the result of them hollowing themselves out in Ukraine
https://bsky.app/profile/tendar.bsky.social/post/3lca7bhhjuc23
Meanwhile in Georgia....
https://bsky.app/profile/maks23.bsky.social/post/3lcbgx5vyuk25
Putin has a lot of pots on the boil at the moment that he needs to keep an eye on,
And the Russian economy has been far more reliant than expected but inflation is nuts, they have sent all their workers to war and they're bullshitting their GDP numbers
https://www.ft.com/content/b4bc5668-69bc-4842-af2d-bf49756be3c9
And the Russian economy has been far more reliant (resilient?) than expected but inflation is nuts...
Not helped by traders exporting gasoline against a national ban (and presumably avoiding taxes). The ban is being lifted for producers, which will increase income for the state https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russia-lifts-gasoline-export-ban-producers-extends-others-2024-11-30/
The Ruble has started to stabilise but only because the central bank stopped buying dollars and euros. Interest rates are at 21%, but some experts think that 30-40% is more realistic. Rates of that level simply aren't practical and now stagflation is a fear https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/currency-drop-worsens-moscows-stagflation-fears-2024-11-29/
President-elect Trump is already warning the BRICS nations about trying to replace the $US https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-warns-brics-nations-against-replacing-us-dollar-2024-11-30/
For cost of living and what is being written in the Russian newspapers then I'd recommend Steve Rosenberg's YouTube channel, find the "Reading Russia" playlist series
Apparently more drones crash landed into Belarus than made it into Ukraine last night. New jamming of some kind?
I read last week the Ukrainians had developed a new GPS jamming system that gives out a false 'location' causing the drones to fly off course and crash.
With all this talk of peace negotiations in the news along with handing over seized land to the Russians my mum met up with the Ukrainian partner of a soldier for coffee. I mentioned her a good few months back as she used to live in my mums street but had to move due to the house lease, she said to my mum that she/her husband and his fellow soldiers will not rest till every occupying Russian is swinging from the trees and they get their land and homes back.
This could be a long festering sore in Europe for years/decades to come.
Russian military seems to have really dropped the ball in Syria
I wonder if this is the result of them hollowing themselves out in Ukraine
Well, we all know who are behind the scene stirring the pot. Just like the mujaheddin fighting the then USSR with the puppet master puling the string to provide all the necessary resources.
If Assad is gone then the so called "rebels" (rebrand ISIS) will recuperate for a decade or two to gather their strength and when ready (with surprise attack) they will march south, while those in the south will march north. Their actual target is Israel. With the humiliation of Palestinian people, most middle eastern population will support the "rebels" and many of the middle eastern govts will fall. Once Israel is gone, the next target is Turkey which is the final destination.
double post
turkey are using this opportunity to take land in Syria and attack the kurds
Yes, but they will just quicken their own downfall because they will not have the buffer between the ISIS advancement.
Assad is actually doing the West a favour without them even knowing.
Notice none of the middle eastern nations actually want a war with Israel?
This could be a long festering sore in Europe for years/decades to come.
Some Korean style DMZ could be the result but far less stable. I'm not sure if the Ukrainian people can bury the hatred they must have in even a couple of generations to come. I really hope they prosper as Russia looks on and falls ever further behind. They've paid a heavy price for their independence and economic prosperity is the very least they deserve.
On the drone/EW topic: extract from ISW below - it does seem ukraine has some new bit of counter drone tech, and has the ability to re-route russian drones, into Belarus
" Independent Belarusian monitoring group Hajun Project reported on November 25 that 38 Russian Shahed drones entered Belarusian airspace on November 24 and 25 – a record number of Russian drones violating Belarusian airspace.[14] Belarus scrambled jets to respond to the airspace violation—suggesting that Belarus was unprepared to receive errant Russian drones and that Russia had not anticipated the impacts of Ukrainian interference or communicated them to Belarus in advance."
she said to my mum that she/her husband and his fellow soldiers will not rest till every occupying Russian is swinging from the trees and they get their land and homes back.
That is what some of the takes suggesting that the USA can 'solve this in a day' by forcing both sides to the negotiating table seem to miss, if the lines freeze where they are that will leave millions of Ukranians behind 'enemy lines' and there is no way that this does not lead to decades of violence and brutal repression in the occupied areas, which at any time could provide the spark for a whole new conflict.
Yes, Iran. There’s a regime that has brought nothing but utter misery to everything it has touched.
Unlike the Shah of course. Maybe we could get Iraq to invade them again? That worked out great last time.
On the drone/EW topic: extract from ISW below – it does seem ukraine has some new bit of counter drone tech
Absolutely. This will continue as it has since 2022, counter-tech, counter-counter-tech...
Russia leveraged experience from EW operations in Syria and transferred that to Ukraine, the to and fro has continued since then (2022 article- https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-fall-and-rise-of-russian-electronic-warfare )
The US have learnt from this and one promising area 12 months ago was microwaves https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3588869/ Other areas were being explored for when atmospheric conditions weren't favourable to a specific technology
Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems (c-UAS) munitions were the thing five years ago and are being supplied to Ukraine, but how times change 🙂
Some Korean style DMZ could be the result but far less stable.
Who gives up a chunk of land? Who polices almost 2000km?
Ukraine has heard about border agreements and treaties before and would prefer simple NATO membership. Hungary, and probably a handful of others as well, certainly won't go for membership though
Crimea is more suited to being a DMZ and can attract tourist money with its Black Sea coast. Ukraine-controlled, civilian policing only
Russia is 28 times the size of Ukraine (approximately 603,550 sq km, while Russia is approximately 17,098,242 sq km) and they want another 20% of Ukraine? No country should settle on those terms.
...if he can’t guarantee his port Tartus...
It looks like the die is cast. Russian ships have left Tartus, which suggests that Russia will focus on Ukraine; those ships can't influence Ukraine because they won't be allowed access to the Black Sea
Rebel forces in Syria are advancing south towards Homs, a staging post in Iran's logistics chain supplying Hezbollah in Lebanon. That's arguably good for stability in the middle-east, but could mean more availability of Iranian materiel for Russia to use in Ukraine. That's in the future though and a successful middle-east ceasefire will see greater availability in any event