Ukraine reports they destroyed, damaged or captured 2978 Russian artillery in 1 year 2 months fighting.
That number does not include MLRS.
Visually confirmed Russian losses to artillery - howitzers - 589. Though this number is only visually confirmed. I am guessing since these hits are at km range... less visual proof of destroyed or damaged artillery.
You need enough artillery in swarm numbers (super-saturate Russia with targets), so that you have artillery left to fire the shells that Europe should be mass producing in cold war era quantities.
Yes, mortar is part of artillery. And highly effective.
I only see articles that say artillery is responsible for ~80% of casualties, though mortar is part of that artillery numbers. And for frontline vs frontline firing, it would be mortar. Though there is no breakdown on the 80%.
Howitzer Artillery is needed to keep your enemy honest. If you only have mortar artillery at the frontlines, longer range enemy artillery can knock out less entrenched frontline positions. With howitzers, you can return fire on enemy howitzers. Drones are also effective, as are other means. Europe can and should make 100000s of mortar for millions of conscripted EU citizens. Though this is affordable. The only thing missing is industrial capacity. Europe has a one shot defense against Russia, if EU loses, Europeans (xFrench) are the new Chechens, 100 year+ occupation and servitude to Russian criminals.
When Russia invades the European Union, you will see that the Ukraine War was a limited war, comparatively.
Russian society is not going to collapse and cause the cronies that run Moscow to lose to democracy. The nation is run by fear. It is a 1984 state. Only an full invasion and capture of Moscow would the Russia Mafia, Russian Chabad and Russian Oligarchs lose the Kremlin. These control the Kremlin, Putin has to obey the script. Russia is a mafia state of criminal looters of Russia. You are aware that Russian populists and nationalist grassroots in Russia get kidnapped and disappear into "prisons". The entire system eliminates opposition and only allowing the criminals to control the Kremlin. I was reading an article explaining how there is a pecking order in Russia. The worst criminals rule Russia, and they can kill/harm those lower than these Kremlin/Mafia criminals. And the criminals lower than that group can get away with murder and out of "court cases" if they only harm those below them. The entire society is a criminal racket. This system Putin is planning to export to Europe after an invasion. And MAGA wanted to import to the USA with Trump.
Europe has the economy to easily win an arms race with Russia and chooses to risk it and gamble Europe doing what is really minimal (IMO) can defeat Russia.
No urgency in rearming means you are sleepwalking into occupation. This is the stuff that makes MAGA and Tucker prosper.
