• wise_pancake@lemmy.ca
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    4 days ago

    War is basically all logistics and the value Ukraine is getting out of their drone program is insane

    • AlexLost@lemm.ee
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      3 days ago

      A man fighting for his home is worth 100 fighting for someone else’s cause. Russia was never going to win the numbers game.

    • Pennomi@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Honestly when they’re done, that manufacturing capacity will do great things for their economy.

    • krimson@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Ukraine playing it smart and understanding how modern warfare is done. Russia only throwing in more and more soldiers.

      • wise_pancake@lemmy.ca
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        4 days ago

        In Russia’s defence, who could have possibly have thought that invading Ukraine in the winter wasn’t going to be a simple 3 day weekend kind of thing?

          • wise_pancake@lemmy.ca
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            3 days ago

            That feels like a big contingency that they failed to adequately plan for

            Plus wouldn’t the armed forces still fight?

            • Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works
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              3 days ago

              They would have fought, but they would have been demoralized.

              They also would have likely been replaced by a Russian sympathizer or asset and the US/West would be very wary to send all sorts of expensive weapon systems to Ukraine.

      • real_squids@sopuli.xyz
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        4 days ago

        It works though, that’s why they keep doing it. It’s slow as hell and inhumane, but they can afford it for many more years I’d wager. Their capabilities of data gathering/transmission are much better these days as well. Also don’t forget they set up wired drone production (in serious numbers at least) first, they can be smart at times.

        Underestimating them irl is pointless.

        • markko@lemmy.world
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          4 days ago

          This spring marks the highest rate of military conscription that Russia has seen in 14 years. In late March, Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree ordering 160,000 men aged 18 to 30 to be called up.

          According to Ukraine’s Eastern Human Rights Group (EHRG), at least 300 people from the occupied territories were conscripted into the Russian army in fall 2024

          “After their training, many conscripts are sent to the front upon signing a contract with the Russian army,” Lysianskyi says. This decision is sometimes voluntary, but often made under duress due to a lack of alternatives, he adds.

          https://www.dw.com/en/how-russia-recruits-troops-in-occupied-ukrainian-territories/a-72289013

          Russian authorities continue to conscript Ukrainian civilians in occupied areas or otherwise try to forcibly enlist them, including those in detention, into the Russian military

          https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/12/20/russia-forces-ukrainians-occupied-areas-military

          “She explained that it was in a military camp, and that I would be like a caretaker with tasks like cleaning and cooking…”

          But once in Russia, Samuel was in for a surprise. Instead of cooking utensils and cleaning products, he was given a Kalashnikov – which he accepted very reluctantly.

          Samuel found himself in uniform without knowing exactly who he was fighting for, or in which unit. “The contracts they made us sign are doctored. We don’t have a copy of the document, so we don’t get the salary we were supposed to. Apparently, the Russian commander who made us sign gets part of it back, so it’s a whole chain.”

          https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20250117-african-troops-forced-to-ukraine-frontlines-while-russians-stay-in-camp

  • barneypiccolo@lemm.ee
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    4 days ago

    For context, the America lost about 55,000 soldiers in the Vietnam War, which lasted about 10-12 years. Russian has already lost at least 600,000 in a couple of years.

    • IttihadChe@lemmy.ml
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      4 days ago

      The article does not say that there have been 600k casualties. It says there are 600k fighting in Ukraine.

      Where did you get “already lost at least 600,000”?

      • thatKamGuy@sh.itjust.works
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        4 days ago

        I agree that the 600K figure is a mis-read of the article; however:

        According to figures from Ukraine's General Staff, Russia has lost 217,440 troops since Jan. 1, 2025.
        
        The discrepancy tallies with Western analysis of Russia's staggering losses.
        
        "They lose somewhere in the ballpark of 35,000 to 45,000 people per month, and perhaps they recruit a little bit north of that number," George Barros, Russia team lead at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), told the Kyiv Independent earlier this month.
        

        I am generally inclined to believe Ukraine’s official figures of over 1 million dead, injured or captured Russian soldiers so far in this “3 day special military operation”.

          • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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            3 days ago

            You don’t. You have lots of conscription to supplant your front lines. You do all sorts of corruption in the middle-ranks of the military, so junior officers can generate income off the desperation of their greener soldiers. You create an industry around the war, such that everyone hates it but someone is always profiting off the misery of others.

            And then the machine grinds on.

    • Anonymaus@feddit.org
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      4 days ago

      Its says 600,000 dead, wounded or missing in action and also usa wasnt the only one at war with north vietnam, they had help from their puppet south vietnam

  • PotatoLibre@feddit.it
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    4 days ago

    Russia it was already a mess before but considering their median age, after a 1mln loss they’re as good as fucked.

    Putin doesn’t care about his country, but Russians then?

    • real_squids@sopuli.xyz
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      4 days ago

      They don’t care either. The majority, that is, there are some good apples who left the bunch

    • barsoap@lemm.ee
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      3 days ago

      Tho’ it is hard – the earthly load,
      The Cart is easy in its move,
      The reckless couch-time, on road,
      Will not get of his bench above.

      In early morn we take our places;
      We glad to break our empty head,
      And leaving leisure for the races,
      We cry, “Go on, you idler, damned!”

      At noon, our bravery’s diminished;
      We have been tossed and more afraid
      Of slopes, steep, and ravines, peevish,
      And cry, “Be easier, you, brat!”

      The cart rolls in the former fashion,
      By evening, we have used to it,
      Wait for night lodgings, doze, patient, –
      And Time tends horses to full speed.

      – Pushkin, “The cart of life”, translated by Yevgeny Bonver

      tl;dr it doesn’t really matter the cart keeps on racing until it crashes. And then they Slav it back up and it keeps on racing. Nobody knows who or what the fuck actually holds the reigns. Also that “go on, you ildler, damned” does not give the profanity used in the original credit. Like, not even close. English isn’t capable of it.

  • someguy3@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    Kelin was then asked about Russian army recruitment.

    “I’m not a specialist in this area, but as I understand it we have 50-60,000 a month, those volunteers who are coming, recruiting, posting, and they would like to get engaged in this thing (in Ukraine),” he replied.

    He did not explain why the size of the Russian army fighting in Ukraine has gone down despite what would amount to around 250,000 extra troops being recruited and sent to the front since the beginning of the year.

    From I figure, basically by giving recruitment numbers and total numbers in Ukraine, the West can calculate number of casualties, which the West figures is 1 million. Remember casualties includes injured.

    • SkyezOpen@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      Ukraine has been keeping a tally of Russian losses since pretty early on, and it’s been pretty much perfectly accurate.

  • seven_phone@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    It alludes to the staggering number in the title and in the abstract but does not give the number which means it’s clickbait.

    • Hubi@feddit.orgOP
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      4 days ago

      The discrepancy tallies with Western analysis of Russia’s staggering losses. “They lose somewhere in the ballpark of 35,000 to 45,000 people per month, and perhaps they recruit a little bit north of that number,” George Barros, Russia team lead at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), told the Kyiv Independent earlier this month.