The War in Ukraine

[Colin Parkinson]

View of a Russian solider

 

[The Bread Guy]

Honouring the Norks for their Kursk work ...

Kursk-Dispatched Troops March in North Korea Military Parade

Kursk-Dispatched Troops March in North Korea Military Parade Russian Official Hails Alliance Forged in Blood After Parade Featuring Troops Who Aided in Retaking Kursk

www.chosun.com

North Korean soldiers who fought with Russian troops against Ukraine celebrated

Russian and North Korean flags were marched in Kim Il Sung Square as part of 80th anniversary of Workers’ Party.

www.rfa.org

(photo source)

 

[ueo]

I wonder if it is a translation thing: 100 commanders=100 units?

If you count PL Comds etc, might make 100+

 

[Colin Parkinson]

I was wrong, I did not expect they be allowed to re

Honouring the Norks for their Kursk work ...

Kursk-Dispatched Troops March in North Korea Military Parade

Kursk-Dispatched Troops March in North Korea Military Parade Russian Official Hails Alliance Forged in Blood After Parade Featuring Troops Who Aided in Retaking Kursk

www.chosun.com

North Korean soldiers who fought with Russian troops against Ukraine celebrated

Russian and North Korean flags were marched in Kim Il Sung Square as part of 80th anniversary of Workers’ Party.

www.rfa.org

View attachment 96147
(photo source)

I was wrong, I thought they would not let them back into the country. I guess they really wanted that combat skills to teach back home. Time for the SK to form their own international brigade in Ukraine as well.

 

[The Bread Guy]

I was wrong, I did not expect they be allowed to re

I was wrong, I thought they would not let them back into the country. I guess they really wanted that combat skills to teach back home. Time for the SK to form their own international brigade in Ukraine as well.

Well, they at least kept the option of other help on the table as of late last year ....

South Korea says ‘not ruling out’ supplying weapons to Ukraine

President Yoon signals shift based on Pyongyang's support for Russia and says would 'prioritise defensive weapons'.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[HavokFour]

Russians had 100 KIA just from this recent failed assault.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Sounds reassuring to me ....

Zelenskyy vows to only use Tomahawks against Russian military targets

The Kremlin has warned of the risk of escalation if Kyiv is provided with the US-built long-range missiles.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[armrdsoul77]

 

[The Bread Guy]

View attachment 96177

The REAL green warriors!

 

[HavokFour]

Thanksgiving bonfire on the beach.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1977591847368475115

 

[RangerRay]

I wonder if it is a translation thing: 100 commanders=100 units?

I figured it was a mistranslation of “commandos”.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

I figured it was a mistranslation of “commandos”.

Could be.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Even the hard-hard-neo-Marxist left is pitching in against USSR 2.0 ....

Raging Against Vladimir Putin’s War Machine

In Russia and occupied Ukraine, many thousands of civilians have been jailed or forcibly disappeared for speaking out against the invasion. The numbers reflect a crackdown on dissent worse than at any point since the 1950s.

jacobin.com

... with this tidbit jumping out at me from the piece:

More from the dual RUS-ITA citizen anarchist & his drone work (usual self-reporting caveats apply) here (blog post archived here).

Original article also archived here.

 

[Kirkhill]

Netherlands Strengthens Ukraine's Navy with Alkmaar-Class Minehunter: Second Vessel Due by 2025 | Defense Express

The Netherlands has delivered an Alkmaar-class mine countermeasures vessel to Ukraine, marking another step in bolstering Kyiv's naval capabilities in the Black Sea

en.defence-ua.com

This follows on from the donation of a couple of Sandowns from the UK. But those have been stuck in Portsmouth where the Ukrainians are training on them and operating them in the Baltic on NATO and JEF exercises.

For Now, Ukraine's Only Warships Will Have to Remain in the UK

The United Kingdom has begun rebuilding Ukraine's navy with the donation of two minehunters, but a long-foreseen hitch prevents the vessels from...

maritime-executive.com

.....

But....

One of the oldest trade routes is from the Baltic, through Poland via the Bug, then to the Dniepr and the Black Sea by way of the Pripyat Marshes, Brest-Litovsk and Kyiv.

The rivers are navigable by sea-going ships up until you reach the Brest-Litovsk canal in the Pripyat. And Brest is in Belarus.

Is E40 River Route Connecting Baltic and Black Seas a Good Idea? - 4liberty.eu

The E40 waterway project is a great idea from the geopolitical point of view. It connects three countries situated between Central Europe and Russia, and creates grounds for deeper regional cooperation. However, the economic and environmental sides of the project are not that great.

4liberty.eu

....

There is another route.

The Bystroye Canal connects Ukraine to the Danube. That bypasses Romania, but....the Danube passes through Hungary.

....

Road move to jump the gap?

Or leave them where they are because they would be too tempting a target and too little use at this time?

 

[The Bread Guy]

Next step for USSR 2.0: "rolling" mobilization of reserves, instead of big, broad, honkin' reserve mobilization?

Warning: The Kremlin is Preparing to Mobilize Reservists on a Rolling Basis to Fight in Ukraine for the First Time

Russia may mobilize active reservists gradually to sustain its war in Ukraine but is unlikely to launch a large-scale call-up.

understandingwar.org

... and the "so what?"

... The amendment will likely allow the Kremlin to deploy active reservists into combat more rapidly than was possible under the previous mechanism that required a formal declaration of war or mobilization order ... Compulsory rolling mobilization of reservists may enable Russia to generate forces more cheaply ... The amendment will likely allow the Kremlin to deploy active reservists into combat more rapidly than was possible under the previous mechanism that required a formal declaration of war or mobilization order ... Compulsory rolling call ups of reservists may enable the Kremlin to “demobilize” servicemen mobilized in 2022 to appease segments of Russian society and assert that Russian forces in Ukraine are fighting on a fully voluntary basis ... The amendment will likely allow the Kremlin to deploy active reservists into combat more rapidly than was possible under the previous mechanism that required a formal declaration of war or mobilization order ... Compulsory rolling mobilization of reservists may pose greater political risks to the Kremlin, however ...

Also archived here.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Considering they are offering 6,000,000 rubles per contract, I can see that this "rolling compulsory mobilization" being very attractive to the Kremlin and might push some to sign up to avoid being drafted on the cheap.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Considering they are offering 6,000,000 rubles per contract, I can see that this "rolling compulsory mobilization" being very attractive to the Kremlin and might push some to sign up to avoid being drafted on the cheap.

That's around $107K Canadian as of this post - not bad, indeed, especially in the USSR 2.0 economy.

 

[HavokFour]

Considering they are offering 6,000,000 rubles per contract, I can see that this "rolling compulsory mobilization" being very attractive to the Kremlin and might push some to sign up to avoid being drafted on the cheap.

That's around $107K Canadian as of this post - not bad, indeed, especially in the USSR 2.0 economy.

Not everywhere, there's a bit of creative accounting happening to hide the rapidly growing monetary and manpower shortfalls.

Russia Cuts Soldier Sign-Up Bonuses by 75% in Four Regions Amid Recruitment Crisis

Enlistment bonuses in Russia's regions, including Tatarstan and Belgorod, have seen significant cuts, highlighting a shift in military recruitment strategies.

united24media.com

 

[Maxman1]

That's around $107K Canadian as of this post - not bad, indeed, especially in the USSR 2.0 economy.

Assuming they actually pay it.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Assuming they actually pay it.

Like troops voting in “Starship Troopers,” you don’t get it if you don’t come back, right?