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[Strongpoint]

One year, one damned year. Strange how it both feels like it was yesterday and like a decade has passed

[King Zultan]

Damn it doesn't feel like its been a year.

[Lord Shonus]

Seeing reports that the first Leopard tanks and trained crews have arrived in country. A fitting anniversary present.

[martinuzz]

Conflict has broken out between Wagner and the Russian defense department.
The leader of Wagner blamed the Russian minister of defense for the many losses Wagner suffered, ranting about how he ordered munitions but it wasn't supplied.

This is unheard of in Russia. You don't critisize the government.

Let's hope it does not turn into a coup. I am 100% for getting rid of Putin, but I think having Wagner as the new ruling party in Russia is possibly even worse than Putin.

[Il Palazzo]

This is unheard of in Russia. You don't critisize the government.

What are you talking about. This jockeying for influence between Wagner and the MoD has been going on pretty much from the onset.

[martinuzz]

Jockeying for influence, sure. But publicly declaring war on the minister of Defense, no.

[jipehog]

The point is that it is bigger than Ukraine, if it was just 'dead Russians and broken equipment' Russia could still win, just like they won in Syria after everyone told that its military intervention is doomed to fail for a decade. My argument as before is that they already lost strategically regardless the outcome in Ukraine.

In Syria they were supporting (and with the support of) al Assad's regime (and army). Its arguably easier to prop up a goverment than to launch a full scale invasion.

Arguably what they had planned for Ukraine was easier than getting in midst of civil war that turned into a free for all, but that is tactics.

More importantly Syria is of vital strategic value for Russia. For example, its port is vital for the same reason that Crimea sevastopol is, and is Russia's only Mediterranean port and way around Turkey hold on bosphorus. As well as many other regional advantages. They would have supported Assad no matter what.

The point is that it is bigger than Ukraine, if it was just 'dead Russians and broken equipment' Russia could still win, just like they won in Syria after everyone told that its military intervention is doomed to fail for a decade. My argument as before is that they already lost strategically regardless the outcome in Ukraine.

The best they can hope to achieve at this point is a pyrrhic victory. They've burned through a lot of their more modern military stock and a good number of their military units in this war, even if they win it'll take them a number of years to recover both and losing so many experienced soldiers to war makes training the next lot up to the same level that much harder.

They've also gone and made Europe more defensively-oriented, so any further actions in the European theatre are going to require them to either convince us they aren't a threat or wait for decades for us to calm down again. The former will require Russia to have a complete reorientation in their behaviour and government (Which means Putin loses big time, quite probably by having a gun shoved down his throat or a noose around his neck), the latter's going to take a long time and thus limits their immediate ambitions.

I agree with conclusion, my reasoning are more in line with second part. Because Russia could still claim victory if it was just matter of material and human loss, but there several things within and without that undermine its great-power aspirations including decrease in influence in its 'near abroad' and more broadly in Europe and Asia.

[Il Palazzo]

But publicly declaring war on the minister of Defense, no.

Honestly, dude. It's like your only setting is hyperbole.

[anewaname]

Wagner is probably challenging the MoD because of problems within Wagner. In the end, they are mercenaries and not interested in high odds of death, for a cause or for money.

[Strongpoint]

Russia is kinda hysterical the last few days claiming that Ukraine is about to help Moldova deal with a Russian canc... I mean treacherously attack a totally legit country Transnistria.

I hope this operation is indeed planned, securing our rear is a really good thing and few K of POW for exchange are badly needed

[Random_Dragon]

Russia is kinda hysterical the last few days claiming that Ukraine is about to help Moldova deal with a Russian canc... I mean treacherously attack a totally legit country Transnistria.

So to translate this from Putin-speak, I assume we should expect Russia to nuke the Transnistria region for reasons that make sense only to Putin, sometime in the next few days.

[Starver]

So to translate this from Putin-speak, I assume we should expect Russia to nuke the Transnistria region for reasons that make sense only to Putin, sometime in the next few days.

I'm not even sure how Transanistra is being sustained, especially as far as Russian 'peacekeepers', since at least this time last year. Surely it cannot be Chișinău International alone, through which the necessary materiel makes it way, even if it suffices for personnel movements. But that probably just shows how little I truly understand about the whole Moldovian situation (outwith the defacto/dejure fragment, landlocked between there an Ukraine).

[Strongpoint]

It feels like the battle for Bakhmut is about to conclude and I can only hope that Ukraine will pull forces back to another defensive line in time. We have one of our most motivated and trained units there, including politically important like: elements of the Georgian Legion, Belorusian regiment, the "Freedom of Russia" legion, two groups of Chechens (Islamists and more secular ones).


It is a Russian wet dream to inflict serious casualties to those.

[martinuzz]

Belgian tv broadcast a documentary made by the Belgian journalst Inge Vrancken.

It is called 'verkracht aan het front' ('raped on the front')

It tells the stories of Ukrainian women who have been raped and gangbang raped by Russian soldiers.
It lets Ukrainian women tell what happened to them, and finding women able and willing to talk about it wasn't easy. They are traumatized and horrified.

If they catch the fucks who did things like that, I hope they don't shoot them dead. They should instead be slowly tortured to death over a period of weeks.

[Strongpoint]

It is so widespread that we severely lack specialists who can provide psychological help to these women... and men... and children.

And don't forget, those were liberated. There are many who are living under the occupation for many months, up to a year. There are also POWs, including female soldiers, resistance members and just random patriots who wrote wrong things on their social media page.

It is the kind of thoughts you constantly push out of your mind to not become insane and I am lucky. I don't have relatives or close friends who are left on the occupied territories (only ones who narrowly escaped). Many do and I can't even imagine what they feel.

Things like this make me consider people who say nonsense like "After Putin, there will be friendship between Russia and Ukraine again" mad or hypocritical. Not for this generation, and not for the next one.