Russo-Ukrainian War Thread - Page 579

On September 13 2023 02:59 Ardias wrote:

Russia is using more and more of their new JDAM kits with range of few dozen kilometers. Since they mostly target stuff on or near the frontline, short range AA of AFU can't get them, and long range AA is a) overstretched on long front and rear areas b) depleted throughout the war c) is a juicy target for Lancets if brought too close.
AIM-120 missiles with airborne carriers would be a big help in that regard, as well as in contesting Russian fighter superiority. Ukraine simply doesn't have an efficient counterpart to Russian R-77 and R-37 AA missiles atm.

On September 13 2023 03:56 JimmiC wrote:
There is small gains being reported most days by Ukraine, or targets hit. Is that sort of news happening in Russia in the other direction? I can’t imagine a slowly losing or even stalemate is popular at home.

Like I’d the Russian state media and the bloggers suggesting that they are close to a break through or is that hope to just sacrifice men and out wait the western support? What do average Russians even gain from that?

I would assume at some point a quiet drum beat towards we killed the Nazis let’s go home and stop losing so much has to pick up steam no?

On September 13 2023 05:14 Ardias wrote:

Russia considers currently controlled Ukrainian territory as its own now, so it can't "go home", it's already at home defending. There was even an election weekend amidst all this.
Russian POV in short is that Ukrainian offensive achives nothing beside few villages, and Ukraine is suffering grave losses in return. Also that there could be no peace talks until UA offensive is on, there is a steady flow of new contract soldiers, and no need for a second wave of mobilization.

On September 13 2023 04:34 maybenexttime wrote:
An opinion piece by a senior Kremlin official advocating for a preemptive nuclear strike on a NATO country (from June this year; not sure if it was already discussed here):

https://eng.globalaffairs.ru/articles/a-difficult-but-necessary-decision/

Russian politicians keep blabbering about the West allegedly being determined to destroy Russia. While we had no such intentions, they may eventually force us to.

On September 13 2023 05:01 KwarK wrote:
One can only hope that he’s a talking head rather than someone in a position of influence because that’s some crazy shit. His argument that Russia’s constant nuclear rhetoric hasn’t worked, not because they set their red lines absurdly high but rather because the west is unaware of what a nuke is, is nuts.

The west knows as well as anyone what a nuke is and how scary it is. The problem is that you can’t simply give into nuclear blackmail every time it’s brought up, you have to recognize that “is this worth killing everyone over” is a question for both sides, not just one. The west has been repeatedly saying “yeah, sure, whatever buddy, we’re ready to all die for this” because Russia has been saying “we’re prepared to kill everyone over this” over things which quite frankly everyone knows they’re not.

The real lesson is to be honest about your nuclear red lines and don’t make threats you’re not prepared to go through with.

On September 13 2023 07:24 Dan HH wrote:

His actual argument is the same one Medvedev has been yelling every other week, it's basically:
"Hey Europeans, look how loco we are, you're lucky Putin has barely been able to hold us back so far, pls tell your leaders to stop helping Ukraine."

Obviously if the goal were to convince Putin to preemptively nuke Poland that would have been done behind closed doors. I mean the guy even cut out the middlemen and published this directly in English, just in case you weren't sure it's meant strictly for a Western audience.

On September 13 2023 06:20 JimmiC wrote:

I get that is the governments public point of view, but can it not be rolled back as quickly as it was enacted? Like are Russian people really made that Ukraine has taken Russian land? It seems like they would know that is just political and could easily be talked around. Crimean seems like that would be a harder sell to give back, but it is still very recent.

On September 13 2023 14:17 Ardias wrote:

Depends on person in question. Some people consider these territories fully Ukrainian and occupied by Russia; some consider them Russian and thus worth defending; some recognize that majority in Donetsk/Lugansk/Crimea don't want to be a part of Ukraine anymore, but they don't want to bear economic hardships and the risk of mobilization, so they are fine with Ukraine taking them back and doing whatever they want there. A lot of people simply don't care.
This conflict of opinions is probably why there is no second wave of mobilization and Kremlin relies solely on volunteers - to not stir up the public. For ordinary Russian, besides higher prices, life is basically the same as before, so many people simply aren't concerned much about what is happening, unless it affects them in particular.

On September 13 2023 20:51 Manit0u wrote:


I guess some things did change though. Consumer electronics in Russia went from 40% Chinese to 95% Chinese. Car imports also now mainly sourced from China. It might not be visible now since it's been only 2 years of this jump but I think it'll be more and more noticeable as reserves of western stuff dry up and Russia will be literally taken over by Chinese products.

On September 13 2023 22:09 JimmiC wrote:
This shows musk was wrong that attacking Russian navy would trigger nuclear war.

On September 13 2023 20:51 Manit0u wrote:


I guess some things did change though. Consumer electronics in Russia went from 40% Chinese to 95% Chinese. Car imports also now mainly sourced from China. It might not be visible now since it's been only 2 years of this jump but I think it'll be more and more noticeable as reserves of western stuff dry up and Russia will be literally taken over by Chinese products.