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Dude, Russia has a military budget of 60 billion US dollars which is 150 billion US dollars in PPP.

At least half of this goes on their massive nuclear forces which leaves just 75 billion in PPP terms for their conventional forces.

This is not much more than the amount that a country like France spends on their conventional military - around 50% more.

Russia cannot spend so little on its conventional forces and have a large and capable one - one of the two has to give here.

"At least half goes on their massive nuclear force". No, you really don't know what you're talking about. Your basic facts are wrong.

And secondly, Putin did not declare "war" on Ukraine he declared a special military operation. One is a subset of the other. If this was a full out war for Russia you would see them utilize the full force of their air force, navy, and army.

I think you and some of the retired western laymen who hang out the forum need to read more into the situation and stop just reading western sources. Let me guess you probably think Ukraine is winning...
 
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"At least half goes on their massive nuclear force". No, you really don't know what you're talking about. Your basic facts are wrong.

And secondly, Putin did not declare "war" on Ukraine he declared a special military operation. One is a subset of the other. If this was a full out war for Russia you would see them utilize the full force of their air force, navy, and army.

I think you and some of the retired western laymen who hang out the forum need to read more into the situation and stop just reading western sources. Let me guess you probably think Ukraine is winning...


How much do you think it costs Russia to maintain and deploy 6000 nuclear warheads and the associated delivery vehicles do you think?

Russia has land based MRBM, ICBMs, air-launched cruise missiles, SSBNs with next gen SLBMS.

Pakistan with maybe 1/20th Russia's nuclear arsenal at most spends several billions every year. I do not think Russian costs would be less than Pakistan.

I don't want to insult you here, but I suggest you do some little research before replying here.
 
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"At least half goes on their massive nuclear force". No, you really don't know what you're talking about. Your basic facts are wrong.

And secondly, Putin did not declare "war" on Ukraine he declared a special military operation. One is a subset of the other. If this was a full out war for Russia you would see them utilize the full force of their air force, navy, and army.

I think you and some of the retired western laymen who hang out the forum need to read more into the situation and stop just reading western sources. Let me guess you probably think Ukraine is winning...
Am traveling so I may not have time to go thru the latest comments in this discussion...

But if anyone truly believe what you said, their country deserves to be defeated in battle. It IS a war no matter how Poutine tries to play with words.
 
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Are you actually a "Think Tank Analyst" with some of your posts here that I have seen lately?

How much do you think it costs Russia to maintain and deploy 6000 nuclear warheads and the associated delivery vehicles do you think?

Russia has land based MRBM, ICBMs, air-launched cruise missiles, SSBNs with next gen SLBMS.

Pakistan with maybe 1/20th Russia's nuclear arsenal at most spends several billions every year. I do not think Russian costs would be less than Pakistan.

I don't want to insult you here, but I suggest you do some little research before replying here.


Dude, Russia has a military budget of 60 billion US dollars which is 150 billion US dollars in PPP.

At least half of this goes on their massive nuclear forces which leaves just 75 billion in PPP terms for their conventional forces.

This is not much more than the amount that a country like France spends on their conventional military - around 50% more.

Russia cannot spend so little on its conventional forces and have a large and capable one - one of the two has to give here.

I told you to check your basic facts but obviously that was too much to ask lay folks like you. You claimed Russia spends at least half of its $60bn military budget on supporting its nuclear forces, the fact is nobody publicly knows the actual amount they spend as that is classified information. The only info we have is what Russia chooses to publish and that is they spend roughly 17% of their defense budget on their nuclear program as of 2016. The true amount is never disclosed.

In 2010 total estimated spending on nuclear weapons was 194 billion roubles ($5.6 billion), equivalent to 15.3 per cent of total spending on ‘national defence’, compared with 521 billion roubles ($9.3 billion) or 17.2 per cent of ‘national defence’ spending in 2016 (excluding from ‘national defence’ a large one-off settlement of past defence industry debt). Not surprisingly, with the increased volume of procurement of new delivery systems for nuclear munitions since 2010, the share of total defence spending devoted to the nuclear triad has grown steadily in recent years.


I don't want to insult you here, but I suggest you do some little research before replying here.

Kid you're not even in a position to insult, you're embarrassing yourself thinking any country spends half of its budget on their nuclear program let alone pretending you know how much Russia actually spends. Now either post facts or shut up and admit you're wrong. Too many people posting bs data and claims here without any fact checking.

Am traveling so I may not have time to go thru the latest comments in this discussion...

But if anyone truly believe what you said, their country deserves to be defeated in battle. It IS a war no matter how Poutine tries to play with words.

Gambit, do you know what a subset of a war means? Technically special military operations != war. If US conducts a military operation in Somalia or another country, it doesn't mean it's technically a war. There is armed conflict going on at LoC between Pakistan and India right now albeit very low intensity compared to this but armed conflict alone doesn't equal war. There is a threshold.

Don't get me wrong, this of course is an armed conflict but for Russia its a military op not a full fledged war, it's a war for Ukraine however.
 
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After 20 years you guys couldn't win in Afghanistan. The Ukraine war is not a month old. Give it some time ans you will see that Russia will secure its objectives.
In the future, military academies WILL use Ukraine over Afghanistan as example on how not to conduct a war. But as far as the US military is concerned, the more foreign military academies uses Afghanistan, the more we like it.
 
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Related to the quoted post:

U.S. and allies quietly prepare for a Ukrainian government-in-exile and a long insurgency

[. . .] in Washington and European capitals, officials anticipate that the Russian military will reverse its early losses, setting the stage for a long, bloody insurgency.
[. . .] Officials have been reluctant to discuss detailed plans, since they’re premised on a Russian military victory that, however likely, hasn’t happened yet.
[. . .] Ukraine’s allies are planning for how to help establish and support a government-in-exile, which could direct guerrilla operations against Russian occupiers.
[. . .] weapons the United States has provided to Ukraine’s military, and that continue to flow into the country, would be crucial to the success of an insurgent movement
[. . .] take up a $10 billion
[. . .] The possible Russian takeover of Kyiv has prompted a flurry of planning at the State Department, Pentagon and other U.S. agencies in the event that the Zelensky government has to flee the capital or the country itself.
[. . .] United States diverted some military aid to Ukraine that it had planned to send to Afghanistan, but that package mostly included small arms, ammunition and medical kits
[. . .] As the Russian military struggles with logistical challenges — including fuel and food shortages — Waltz anticipates that the Ukrainians will repeatedly strike Russian supply lines. To do that, they need a steady supply of weapons and the ability to set improvised explosive devices, he said. “Those supply lines are going to be very, very vulnerable, and that’s where you really literally starve the Russian army.”
[. . .] Continuing a resistance campaign will require continued clandestine shipments of small arms, ammunition, explosives and even cold-weather gear. “Think about the kinds of things that would be used by saboteurs as opposed to an army repelling a frontal invasion,” Moulton said. Officials remain cautious about overt support for a Ukrainian insurgency lest it draw NATO member countries into direct conflict with Russia. In Moscow’s eyes, support for a Zelensky government operating in Poland could constitute an attack by the alliance, some officials warned.
[. . .] successful insurgencies. Veterans of such conflicts say that the Ukrainians so far have demonstrated the key ingredient. “The number one thing you have to have is people on the ground who want to fight,”
[. . .] If Russian and Ukrainian negotiators who have been meeting near the border in Belarus reach some settlement, that will likely diminish the momentum for an insurgency and support for it [so the dreamers of protracted insurgency will have a problem with a successful negotiations and would want them to fail ?]
[. . .] “As occupation progresses and extends for a longer time, what can start out as a more centralized resistance often changes into smaller resistance groups or units. It is not a negative thing,” she said. “In fact, smaller groups allow more resilience.”
[. . .] as stocks of ammunition dwindle and the Russian military extends its encirclement of major cities. . . . Russian occupation forces will try to squeeze supply pipelines and cut off cities.
[. . .] Ukraine should be preparing its citizens for combat in cities . . . they should establish safe areas underground to survive. . .place snipers on rooftops.
[. . .] Putin might attempt to reduce Ukraine “to a much smaller state.” . .western Ukraine would remain independent. The other territories would be incorporated into Russia, occupied, or declared independent states, as the Kremlin has already done with the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. But Russia’s ability to impose that vision is “most improbable,” the diplomat said, given the profound anger in Ukraine against the Russian invasion.



Another similar article:

As war loomed, U.S. armed Ukraine to hit Russian aircraft, tanks and prep for urban combat, declassified shipment list shows

...The list indicates that as early as December, the Pentagon was equipping Ukrainian fighters...

Russia’s war in Ukraine galvanizes extremists globally


. . For neo-Nazis and white supremacists, “Ukraine could become their version of what Afghanistan was for the jihadi movement in the 1980s,”
. . graphic circulated by the neo-Nazi . . “Nationalists help nationalists.”
. . “During the fighting in Ukraine, nationalists are at the forefront.” . . among them the far-right Azov Battalion.
. . has galvanized hardliners, from neo-Nazis supporting paramilitary factions to militant Islamists who see cracks in Western power . . have a very low threshold for using weapons and lethal force,”
. . Some are backing Ukraine’s struggle for sovereignty, but many others are aligning themselves with Putin
. . active online recruitment suggests that a drawn-out conflict could attract many more . . right-wing extremists, including within the ranks of the German military.





Since the YT video in quoted post has been deleted, so here's alternate link:
@13:19+
 
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Appears Skiff can be remotely operated. Definitely a feature that I have always felt would be great for PA's Baktar Shikan (HJ-8 variant). Great for a defenders.

In the future, military academies WILL use Ukraine over Afghanistan as example on how not to conduct a war. But as far as the US military is concerned, the more foreign military academies uses Afghanistan, the more we like it.
Afghanistan and Ukraine are two completely different types of wars. Ukraine has lessons for conventional warfare and Afghanistan has lessons for unconventional warfare and the issues with nation building.
 
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No one matters in this conflict's narrative except for America's narrative and that too is sourced from only a small cabal of people who drive wars for profiteering. There are powerful lobbies working on Congressmen and Senators to drive American policy. In a recent video, Colonel Macgregor, who has almost become a whistle-blower, said that it takes $20,000-30,000 of lobbying money just to enter a Senator's office, aided by lobbies. If people can kill for a $50 bill then imagine what they could do for a $1 billion dollar pay off.

If the cabal changes its position about this conflict then the dominant narrative will also change. Notice how 'Indo-Pacific' has become an established geographic entity within only last few years?? That's the power of the American led global narrative.

Here, a prominent UK blogger Russel Brand is talking about the connection of this war and profiteering. And he has to be very careful using lest he too gets 'cancelled'.

 
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Afghanistan and Ukraine are two completely different types of wars. Ukraine has lessons for conventional warfare and Afghanistan has lessons for unconventional warfare and the issues with nation building.
We (US) know that. But what we want is for other leaders and their military advisors to NOT know that.
 
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