re: Latest Updates: Russia-Ukraine Conflict.

And they used to control more than that until Ukraine took it away from them...so how is that a sign that they are winning?

The blue areas are what Russia used to control in Ukraine before Ukraine took it back.
The area's inside the black border are what Russia controlled prior to the 2022 invasion
The area inside the red border is what Russia has to show for 4 years of war....was it worth it? Is that winning?

Consider the possibility that both Ukraine and Russia are losing at the same time.

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THEY CONTROL 30% OF UKRAINE

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WRONG

You are obviously reading the wrong things or you are just making things up.

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Would you consider helping Ukraine?

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Sure

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Would you know which end of a rifle to hold?

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You don’t even know how much of Ukraine Russia has conquered and you are gonna ask me a dumb question????

You are getting schooled. I think Citizen had you pegged.

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you are gonna ask me a dumb question????

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Not a dumb question. I genuinely don’t think you would know how to hold a rifle. You’d fit in perfectly with the old men Ukraine has kidnapped off street corners

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And Russia is gaining ground daily while Ukrainians are deserting in record numbers.

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Well, if Russia is able to gain 1% of Ukraine over the course of a year (and that's a generous estimate) then they are gaining about 1/36500 of Ukraine a day. Not exactly setting the world on fire.

And most of the reports of Ukraine's manpower issues focus around AWOL, not desertions, which is drastically different. It's clear that Ukraine has enough men to hold the line for the time being and withe their lead in drone technology and the support their getting from the West, they should be good at least through 2026.

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And most of the reports of Ukraine's manpower issues focus around AWOL, not desertions, which is drastically different. It's clear that Ukraine has enough men to hold the line for the time being

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Ukrainian officials disagree with your opinion


LINK

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'There will soon be as many people who have abandoned their units as there are in our army,' warned Roman Kostenko, the secretary of the Ukrainian parliament’s security, defence and intelligence committee.

'Eighty per cent of [recruits] are now fleeing training centres and the country is doing nothing to bring them back or create conditions for them to be afraid to run away and do their duty,' he told a Ukrainian news channel on Saturday.

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Ukraine is having real manpower issues, and they aren't likely to improve. The longer the war goes on, the more difficult the situation will become for Ukraine. I 100000000000% agree with you on this point.

So what?

That is not evidence of Russia winning. It's a factor of this war that is to Russia's benefit. It presents an opportunity for Russia to exploit Ukraine's manpower problem.

The challenge in doing that is that Russia has a related problem: it has to bring in people from other countries to fight the war. That's a different type of problem than Ukraine has. Why is Russia having to import troops from 3rd party nations? Is it because they have run out of people willing to sign up? Or is it to avoid having to implement some form of forced enlistment? I believe that it is more about the latter than the former. Putin is trying to keep his populace as sheltered from this war as possible because he knows it would be very unpopular to institute a draft.

So I think the two countries' manpower issues somewhat cancel each other out. That said, Russia is in a more dominant position, as it has its general population to tap if necessary, even if that might be unpopular. Ukraine does not have the same manpower reserves; however, it does have the 18-25-year-old population that it has resisted drafting so far.

ETA: What is your opinion of this?

Hey! You posted an actual reputable source!!! Way to go, Ag! Funny, the article I posted earlier stated they were AWOL's, but hey, I'll go with yours for the sake of this discussion.

Okay, well, let's see how this goes. My claim is that they are going to be good through the year 2026.

Wanna make a bet, Ag? I'll bet you an avatar that the Russians don't take more than 5% of the Ukraine this year. Granted, we can fight over sources, but I don't think it's going to be that close? Want to put your money where your mouth is?

I'll bet you a South Carolina avatar vs. an A&M avatar that Russia doesn't take more than 5% of the Ukraine in the calendar year of 2026.

Feeling lucky? Kinda like against Texas or Miami?

Is anyone interested in discussing the implications to Russia if Iran falls?

I know the Russians have localized a lot of the Shahed drone production. Are there any components of the Shahed that Russia still relies on Iran to provide? If so, that could have a real impact.

Iran buys Russian weapon systems, but given how they've performed, Iran would probably turn to China for any future purposes.

How else will Russia be impacted if it loses Iran?

ETA: Does Russia move oil through Iran?