Mark Chadbourn: It’s unsustainable. Ukraine’s drone attacks on Russian oil facilities have also been economically devastating. Russia can’t carry on like this which is why Putin is shifting focus to get puppets elected in western democracies so they can push for a peace deal that will save Russia. 2/2

The Economist has some astonishing figures on Russian losses in Ukraine. They surpass all losses by the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation from 1945 to 2022 combined. Up to 728,000 soldiers eliminated, confirming Ukraine’s figures. 1/2

It’s unsustainable. Ukraine’s drone attacks on Russian oil facilities have also been economically devastating. Russia can’t carry on like this which is why Putin is shifting focus to get puppets elected in western democracies so they can push for a peace deal that will save Russia. 2/2

And Russia is now planning to sow “panic and terror” in the US, according to a leaked report.

Russian spy plot to sow 'panic and terror' in US leaked in bombshell reportwww.newsweek.com An investigation has revealed that Moscow aimed to sow disinformation in the West about Ukraine, stoking fears and creating animosity toward Ukrainian refugees.

theyve been doing that for at least 8 years.

The new bit is getting them to push for Putin’s “peace plan”, also known as give me everything I want.

And I'm willing to bet that the people running The NY Times, CNN & WSJ have a few Russian "friends."

Well I never. A canary in the Russian coalmine, you say?

Boris Johnson and the Lebedevs: how I exposed the prime minister’s defining scandalwww.theguardian.com The ties between the PM and an ex-KGB officer, first revealed in the Observer three years ago, could be Johnson’s lasting legacy

Playing the long game.

Very long indeed. Not quite CCP-level but far longer plays than any short-term Parliamentary cycle

Link to the actual write up on the report. Very hyperbolic and a bit sensational (the second paragraph really sets a ton by noting the Russian is ‘pudgy’) but sort of interesting to see how cheap it is to deploy internet ads to amplify state propaganda.

“Morality and ethics should play no part”: Leaks reveal how Russia's foreign intelligence agency runs disinformation campaigns in the Westtheins.ru The Insider has obtained hacked correspondence from officers of Russia's foreign intelligence agency (SVR) responsible for “information warfare” with the West. The leaked documents, intended for vario...

Odd how responses to the Newsweek article are just “This is nothing new.” Reminds of “Nothing to see here” from Airplane movie. No one actually refers to or quotes the article. It’s almost as tho they cannot read. Can bots read?

www.msn.com/en-us/news/w...

MSNwww.msn.com

They need F16 and really good air defense. I'm convinced Russias deals with North Korea and Japan are evidence of how parlous the state of its military really is.

Japan ?

Auto correct I meant Iran just tried it again and it did the sane thing I think itvvould be fat fingers

Ah makes sense, no worries (everything I had read was that since the war started their relations are even worse, so I was wondering if I'd missed something)

Not at all just incompetence on my part. If Japan is Russias ally something very odd has happened.

They'd be better off with Gripens or other strike aircraft that are designed to takeoff and land in less ideal conditions.

now that Sweden is in NATO, its entirely possible

Hornets a la Finlande using motorways as forward strips.

Gripens would be better in principle, but F-16s are incredibly common, which means munitions, spare parts, maintenance expertise are also common. It was easier to get Ukraine F-16s than Gripens, so Ukraine gets F-16s. I say this as a Gripen-lover.

I'll take your word for it I have no real knowledge tbh.

And North Korea-produced shells are unreliable at best. www.rfa.org/english/news...

www.rfa.org

fake photo, don't share deep fakes

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 All's fair in beating the Mango Molester. Period.

I was expecting the damage done to the oil facilities wasn't being given enough credit in the grand scheme and Putin's image of perfect authority has faltered.

I just finished this book today - Russia by Anthony Beevor. One of the hardest reads in my life. About the revolution and the civil war. The rise of the Bolsheviks. The brutality and loss of life was staggering, and he doesn’t pull punches in the dialogue. I learned a lot about GB’s involvement too!

Looks interesting. Might need to take a look.

The use of torture was widespread- even when they were routinely ( I paused to think about that there .. ) executing people , not interrogating for any info etc .. whole townships were eradicated just because they used to be held by the other side at one point. The ordinary citizens suffered so much

That's hardly a shift in focus, though.

Pushing for a peace deal is. I know he’s raised it before but not it’s a key strategic aim.

📌

Is there any clarification given on 'losses'? Dead? Dead/injured? Dead/injured/deserted? Out of curiosity, as such things all have implications.

The term used is “eliminated” so it covers death and injuries so severe they are unable to do anything.

Thanks

I hope it's unsustainable, but they keep back-filling the 30,000 soldiers they lose every month, and that's without a mobilization. Of course eventually this will become a significant problem, but the question is "When?"

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