Ukraine (Mod Note & Threadbanned Users in OP)

I thought this was an interesting read;

Basically saying that Russia are their own worst enemy here. Their military capability is spread across everything meaning they are not as strong as they could be in any one area, and the higher up the chain you go, the more people are in position for political reasons rather than ability.

The Ukrainians are being armed to the teeth and are incredibly motivated so will fight until the last man, plus it's easier to defend than to attack. They just need to hang in there and the reality of economic sanctions will hit Russia like a tonne of bricks. Ukraine are playing for a score draw then extra time and penalties, Russia need 3-0 in normal time but Ukraine are already on the scoreboard.

I'm continuously suspicious of anything coming out suggesting that Russia is faring poorly. It could easily be propaganda from either side to try and change the response.

But on the face of it, a theme is emerging. Many Russian forces were surprised by the response on Thursday. They expected very little resistance, that Ukrainian forces would just surrender and the local populations would welcome them. One whole unit that was caught in the North told the Ukrainians that they did not expect to have to do anything except talk. Their capture a complete shock.

Two Russian soldiers were captured in one town because they ran out of fuel and went to a police station to ask to borrow some.

An entire convoy of Russian fuel tankers travelling in the open was destroyed and with it the lead general of the "elite" Chechen military was killed.

Just small incidents in a general display of failure. Overall speaks to a force that was ill-prepared for a fight this time, and the Red Army may in fact be considerably weaker than we've all believed.

Several state-run media outlets in Russia were caught with their pants down yesterday. They had pre-prepared op-eds ready to be published, toasting the mastery of Putin's advance and celebrating the return of Ukraine to the Russian fold. They were swiftly deleted, but the words were unambiguous;

Putin 100% expected to walk over Ukraine and be in complete control of Kyiv by the weekend. Whatever cash reserves and preparation Putin and his cronies put in place, were not designed to handle a prolonged conflict.

His nuclear alert warning yesterday is posturing to a certain extent. A warning to the EU that he's watching and waiting.

But Putin is at his most dangerous now. This was supposed to be his legacy, his swan song. His headline in the Russian history books. And it's gone disastrously wrong.

We have to have faith that his military will not launch nuclear weapons without a clear threat - they have families that will die in nuclear war. But Putin has his own concerns - the risk of coup has never been higher. And he's built such a legacy as a brutal authoritarian, they he won't be quietly shelved. In a coup, he is a dead man, and his family is also likely to be executed.

You could be correct, just pointing out very, very, very little footage on the main Media outlets. The stuff I've seen on the Russan CA Thread is as vague , brief Twitter video clips that are probably not verified.

I'm just making a general observation on what I believe and despite a massive media presence, is very little footage being captured.

In the context of Irish history a large number of Irish would be Russian snitches

My point generally is there is a massive media presence and not just in Kyiv, SKY news and CNN have correspondents in a number of cities as does the BBC , there's also reporters on Polish, Belarusian, Hungary and Molovian Borders and in some of thos countries also. To suggest reporting only coming from Kyiv a bit of a stretch.

Russians are punishable by jail time for publicising activities or troop movements online, so there isnt widespread leaking on information on social media.

Ukrainians are the opposite approach, publishing a lot of (necessary) propaganda for troop morale. If you only read the Ukrainian publications you would think they were winning, but look at the territorial gains and it paints a very different story. I'm sure theres also sensationalist media at play, exaggerating stories for clicks and views.

No Russian version are bigger. Russia likes to make big bombs

Perhaps better trained is questionable. However, the idea that the russians have greater numbers is likely beyond question and the possibility that ukrainians are going to overrun them with knives and molotov cocktails is ludicrous.

Who has suggested that showing footage is for entertainment.

I think we can argue that this is pure desperation on the part of Lukashenko - he would clearly feel that if Russia fails, and perhaps Putin Falls (or stumbles) - his days are numbered - he is really only in power due to being backed by Moscow.

Also one could only speculate on the standard of military support Minsk could actually offer. And the loyalty of said forces would also (imho) be in doubt. Its one thing for Belarusian people to have to remain silent at home. Sending a division of armed Belarusians abroad, where they are likely to be filmed by western media - could be a tricky proposition

The war in Iraq (both of them) and Afghanistan, were led by Western military's who had western journalists embedded with the invading spearheads - footage of actual combat was therefore readily available. However if you recall, you saw very little in the way of Iraqi coverage of the conflict. they were being invaded and may have had more on their minds than providing televised coverage

In this situation the Ukraine is the country being invaded. We see what the journalists (who are in safe spaces, or at least hope they are) are able to transmit. What you should (imho) take away from the lack of footage is this:

Where is the dramatic footage of successful Russian liberators? Where are the images of battle hardened Russian hero's fighting? The fact there is no such footage, does not indicate that nothing is being recorded. More indicative of the fact that what is being captured, is Failure - or in Politburo terms - 'Unsuitable for consumption by the General Public'

Also, in all honesty - i question the nature of complaining that we arent getting to watch what may well be a bloodbath of human suffering -