Video of an apparently drunk Putin at the "Hero's" reception yesterday explains why strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure will continue because "they started first by attacking the Crimean bridge"

First reports in Russian social media of their soldiers freezing to death in Ukraine, no supporting evidence provided.

well, RU has a lot more infrastructure to target.

before they get too trigger happy, they might remember that a lot of their USD reserves are being held hostage, so it wouldn't be a huge surprise to me if some of those ended up paying for the UA repairs...

Russia digging trenches on Crimean beaches.



Happy holidays

Well that's a bit pointless, isn't it?

Everyone knows what happens to sandcastles when the tide comes in and it it doesn't reach that far up, the rain will wash it all away.

Good article on the apparently pointless battle for Bakhmut

In the ‘Bakhmut meat grinder’, deadlocked enemy forces slog it out

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...inder-deadlock

I refer you to my honorable colleague Sisyphus.

Edit: probably the Russians will be spending all their time digging snow out of their trenches.

And another recommended episode of the War On The Rocks podcast:

Winter and Beyond: An Inflection Point in the War Over Ukraine

Mike Kofman and Ryan Evans start this episode by taking a step back to the beginning to put this stage of the war in context. Mike offers possible scenarios on the next few months of the war, discusses Ukraine's recent strikes on Russian bases deep in Russian territory, and assesses the state of forces, munitions, and kit on both sides.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2CoLcpdK9s50HqPWPeMXnY

If this is true and the US provides the necessary long-range weapons then it would be very helpful, especially if they can prevent the cowardly Russians from launching missiles from their own country where they believed they were safe.

or dutch holiday-makers reserving their spots

That can't possibly be Dutch, there are no caravans.

“Some units are simply running out of people. From what I saw, in only one fight, we had around 10 of our guys killed, never mind the number of wounded. Not everyone could be extracted from the battlefield, some just bled out where they lay.”

In these conditions, the common belief about Russia’s poor effectiveness as a fighting force can quickly melt away.

“They (Ukrainian military leadership tell everyone about the huge casualties suffered on the Russian side, but from what I could see around Bakhmut, things are more or less OK for them,” said Ivan.

https://kyivindependent.com/national...ult-on-bakhmut

Standard Russian mode: Drive a slave army to try and grind the enemy, very little flexibility. Hence the high casualties.

Note that the Russian army or other armies using Russian tactics almost always lose battles against an army since WW2.

The west should increase it's support to Ukraine against Russia and Iran.

“Some units"

As I have mentioned earlier in this thread, Winter will be decisive. Ukraine and the West must be relentless, and Moscovites need to feel the pain. Putin is relying on alliance cracks and/or breaking the will of the Ukrainians.

Anyone suggesting talks at this stage is sabotaging the game. For every Russian killed in Ukraine, a mother's cry will add to the protest.

Jeez, how lame.

The cracks will form because not everyone wants to give this cause the same priority.

And to root against peace so that more Russian soldiers (aka human beings) can die is despicable

How can "peace" be achieved at this stage, Mr.Kiwiguy? I think some people want the Ukrainians to just start negotiating (does Putin even want that? btw), and I personally know some people like that irl too, who are good and decent people otherwise, but this is not a long term solution and it seems they simply don't get it. Crimea annexation had demonstrated Russia has bigger plans and should be stopped now. Our opinions definitely differ, so please feel free to groan, ridicule or whatever.

Would you be so kind to say that to Mr Putin as well, please? He might have something to do with all this, just a tiny bit...
/sarcasm

See, the biggest problem here is not Putin et.company and their imperial complexes.....it's the Ukrainiiiians! It's Zelenskyyyy!!

Phhlease. Give me a break.

Do you ever think of "cause and consequence" bro?

I would say it is to have some idea of what you are fighting for. What can Ukraine accept post war? The war is now at a stage where neither side will make significant gains without some kind of calamity and should a significant gain come, the war will be escalated to new levels. (More russians mobillized or deadlier weapons to Ukraine)

1) Status quo
2) cede 2022 gains back to Ukraine with promise of autonomy
3) cede 2022 gains back to Ukraine unconditionally
4) cede Crimea back to Ukraine
5) Russian war reparations

Assuming you don't want to do option 1, it will come down to points 2-3 and that will be tough as Russia will be hard pressed to agree to 3 and even that would be a major loss for them. Getting 4 back as well would be incredibly bloody and require multiples of casualties of what we have today as the area is massively profitable. A 5 would be a catastrophic loss like the Germans in WWI/II and I think only a lost nuclear war would precede this. (assuming its not a life ending event)

So I am not saying that a negotiation is easy, it will not be. But if the Ukrainians would like our money to achieve points 3-5, then I am not sure this is a price we should pay