Russia-Ukraine War

The value of the land in Donbass which is mineral rich far exceeds the value of Russian losses ATM. It's probably why Putin is prepared to take such loses for each mile over there.

That's what confuses me. There are reports like what you shared but there's also reports of Ukraine having plenty of reserves and not committing them to help the Donbass. Who knows if it's true but if it is Ukraine are choosing to lose territory here. I'm sure there are some tactical reasons why but if Pokrovsk is lost and easier then Bakhmut it's a big win for Putin and he'll feel the whole Donbass can be taken in a few years.

Up above kupyansk the Russians have taken a village that was fought over for months. That leaves 1 more village before the town can be attacked. I'm sure another target for Putin.

You have to replace the X in your link with twitter. Can't believe board's didn't update this yet. No maintenance anymore?

To answer your question Putin is forming volunteer units and pulling mercenaries back from abroad along with conscripts to half the Kursk incursion. Against some of Ukrainians best attacker's they're probably aware of a worst case scenario where they've to defend more rear positions.

Would also make it easier to defend against Ukraine SOF or recon units going behind the lines.

On the F16.

"Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk addressed the recent F-16 crash, stating that the causes will be thoroughly investigated and that no information is being withheld. He noted that both Ukrainian leadership and U.S. partners have been promptly informed and involved in the investigation. Oleshchuk criticized Ukrainian Parliament member Maryana Bezuhla for suggesting the F-16 might have been downed by friendly fire, accusing her of undermining both the Ukrainian Air Force and U.S. weapons manufacturers."

The Russians apparently lost a lot of jets to friendly fire including the AWACS so I guess it's one possible reason for the F16.

The oil would get burned anyway.

The destruction off all that oil should make you buy in more to non fossil fuel green technology.

The Economist does excellent, fact based reporting on the war, here an interesting one on how Russia is relatively easily getting around EU sanctions (basically, by getting their pals like Kazakhstan to import the goods then export them to Russia), first few minutes of this podcast explains it clearly and why sanctions are never going to do the job sufficiently:

The sneering contempt towards any kind of concern towards the environment is depressing, always recalls right wing populists and bitter old men: Trump, Bolsonaro, Farage, Putin, etc

LOL 🤣

Came here to post that same link. The Russians are doing everything possible not to pull troops from Donbas to shore up Kursk. They've already move troops from Kaliningrad. Now this.

It'll be interesting to see if Burkino Faso further destabilises as a result of this. The people there welcome the Russians with open arms. Of course the Russians would abandon them whenever it became expedient to do so.

Increasing doubts about the Kursk gamble in Ukrainian circles, and complaints that Ukrainian leadership is downplaying the gravity of the situation in the east. Fair or harsh?

What?????

I wonder is it to do with the F16 and that it was shot down by friendly fire.

Busy evening

Just because you are fighting terrorists doesn't mean you need to sink to their level.

The Americans need to authorise a mass strike on military targets…. and take out that **** bridge too….. the war can be ended. Biden needs to step up but is suspect he is thinking about his legacy.

No defo not.

God forgive me, but think next time I want to hear of Chay Bowes is to read a news story that he has annoyed the wrong oligarch (or Putin), and is howling for Irish and EU consular assistance!

I'm not surprised Russia appears to be doing well, they're effectively at full employment, their industrial productivity has gone through the roof ,

GDP (minus the refined oil and natural gas exports ,) is likely way up , if the tank that used to cost 4 million now costs 6 because of black market increases ,ect - GDP goes up,

And if that tank gets blown up , the scrap collection adds to GDP too.

The word "flourishing" is definitely over the top, headlines are often designed to attract attention, and Russia's economy supposedly growing by 4 percent can be taken with a pinch of salt. But did you actually listen to the report? The main focus is on how they are getting around sanctions and it's backed up by a lot of statistics: huge leap in goods exported from Europe to Kazakhstan, Turkey, and other countries since 2022, alongside huge leap in those countries' exports to Russia, and they are precisely the kind of goods Europe may no longer export to Russia.