The funny thing about this attack is that Russia's war bloggers have started referring to it as Russia's Pearl Harbor. What ignorance! Did they really think that Russia was not at war with Ukraine for the last 3+ years? If they expect this to rouse the Russian public and get them to sign up to fight, they'll be disappointed. Also hilarious: some were surprised that Ukraine did not notify the Trump administration before the attack. Trump left in dark over air base attacks on Russia
The audacious attack is being referred to as “Russia’s Pearl Harbor” … You remember what happened after Pearl Harbor ?
Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago; Japan's attack on Peal Harbor was the opening salvo. Only Russian bloggers and sympathizers are calling this "Russia's Pearl Harbor." Maybe it should be "Ukraine's D-Day."
Every country on this earth led by authoritarians have economic systems that are, by design, corrupt. The corruption starts at the top and works it's way down. Corruption is also rampant in Democracies but not on the level of authoritarian societies. While it is easy to make such claims, I base this on construction economics, using Russia as an example, because I am in the construction industry I watched a film and read articles about the Russian construction efforts for the Sochi winter Olympic games of 2018. According to the information I examined, construction costs, when compared to U.S. or Western European nations, was estimated to be 300% higher. According to the sources, for every dollar or ruble spent, at minimum, one of every three dollars was expended for bribes and payoffs, at every conceivable level. Starting with permitting, successful bid acquisition, materials and of course labor. It is my understanding Mr. Putin, whom many claim to be the richest man on earth, most certainly got "His". I'm sure those of you familiar with the Ukrainian conflict are well aware that the reason Russia is still fighting this conflict is attributed by western sources as a result of the gigantic corruption associated with the Russian Military Industrial complex from the very beginning. Equipment was not maintained or stored properly, and consequently did not work, high ranking military staff, down to company level officers, were selected and positioned by political favoritism or bribes, soldiers were not trained, infrastructure and logistics systems were inept. One merely need look at how Putin set up his "Wagner" group, a Russian Corporate entity, whose original concept was to use force for financial and natural resource gain in Syria, Africa, Georgia, Ukraine and various other parts of the world. Wagner was not a professional, state run, Russian military entity, rather a well financed bunch of thugs, answerable to Putin. It's interesting and quite fitting that "karma" came to roost for that bully organization and their mafia chief Prigozhin, in the blood stained streets of Bakhmut. They were finally confronted with more than rebels, or rabble on the battlefield, when Ukraine, with Western aid, was able to put together a "real" military to check their tactics. For Wagner it was a death sentence, Ukraine bled them dry, and we all saw Prigozhin whine and cry, every day, about the incompetence of the regular Russian military, as Putin burned them out in and around Bakhmut. The "bully" got bullied. It's incredible that Prigozhin blew his chance to march on Moscow. He held a few cards and refused to play them and he got the inevitable Putin treatment. Talk about an idiot.
While I wish no ill on the Russian Citizenry in general, one must consider Russia invaded Ukraine, not the other way around. In addition, the Russian military has hurled THOUSANDS of missiles and rockets at Ukraine, with the bulk of them at civilian and municipal infrastructure rather than military. If the responsible parties for civilian collateral damage needs to be apportioned I would start with Mr. Putin and his Kremlin henchmen.
While the drone attack in Siberia may serve as a public embarrassment to the Kremlin, it does very little in practical terms for this war. Tactically, it’s not even up there with the Kursk invasion. So it sets Russia back a few billion dollars. Putin can liquidate one of his oligarch’s bank accounts and replace the jets. And if Ukraine were truly killing Russians at a 1,000 per day clip (lol) as has been suggested, this story would be an afterthought of an afterthought. But instead, it’s another classic example of pomp and circumstance, with very little substance.
I am not sure Russia has the ability to wage a conventional war. 3 years in Ukraine and they have not been able to declare Victory- they were in Afghanistan over 9 years and could not win.
what would lead a person to abandon all principle and support a sworn enemy who is committing documented war crimes in an act of aggression? what would such a rapid turn in personal values to reflect the opinion of a dear leader, maybe even an off color one? there is a term for such undying loyalty to an individual over all other principles but it is a word in the english language banned from this site that seems to describe this type of behaivor? what other term could be used to describe a grouping of people with such undying loyalty to an individual over their personal principles up to the point that they joined the grouping?
You might also add that those bombers have been used regularly by the Russians to launch cruise missiles at Ukrainian deep targets, especially urban areas. Now there are as fewer as 40 with which to do that. Also without a readily available regeneration mechanism for that combat loss. Certainly, that does not win the war, and I would rather have taken out the Bridge. But it certainly is not the big nothing burger as you have attempted to characterize.
Two very different wars with very few points of relevant comparison. This one is far worse for Russia in nearly every way.
Yeah, I can see the Pearl Harbor analogy. Ukraine suddenly and deliberately, without a formal declaration of war, attacked a nation with which it was at peace and was conducting (farcical) negotiations for sustaining that peace. It totally tracks. Russia should be outraged.
