re: Ukraine Lost 100,000 men KIA according to EU's Ursula.

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Right. And they would not have if Trump were president.

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Shhhhh....Mickey doesn't want to hear that.

He and the other Never-Trumpers would rather see One Hundred Thousand dead Ukranian and Russian children than face the daily barrage of mean Tweets.

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I think the outcome will be inevitable split of Ukraine

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It's bizarre that I've been saying this exact thing from the beginning, and getting downvoted and bashed into hell for it.

All along, Russia has wanted to take back the Eastern part of Ukraine that is still sympathetic to the Ruskies and believes they're still part of Russia. The Russians also annexed Georgia and Crimea for the exact same reasons, but we didn't fire up the MIC to block it back then.

Everyone with a functional brain needs to seriously look at those facts, and ask themselves why we intervene only now. The answer is right there, but people need to see it for themselves.

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She said 100k officers, which means millions, possibly tens of millions of enlisted dead

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Millions?

Come the hell on. No one believes that.

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The Russians … annexed Georgia

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I missed this. When? Link?

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The Russians … annexed … Crimea

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Obama was a pussy. Your point?

The downvotes on this more than imply there are many who believe that those Russian boys actually have enjoyed being yanked from their families, fiancées, and communities to go invade another nation, who really was no threat to them.

Even better to suffer pain and life-changing mutilations and worse to salve the ego, narcissism, and delusions of grandeur of a residual, left-over Bolshevik armchair irredentist who regards Lenin as his mentor and role model.

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If only the West and Russia hadn't convinced Ukraine to give up its nukes.

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This has been Monday morning quarterbacked. In short, it sounds simpler than it was.

First, Ukraine never actually had launch or targeting control of any of its arsenal. Those elements were run through Moscow.

Second, before abandoning Ukraine's nuclear sites, Russia disabled/destroyed any short-intermediate range delivery vehicles in the territory. Ukraine was basically left with ICBMs capable of hitting the US, but virtually incapable of short or medium range targeting. As defense against Russia, they were nearly useless, and could have threatened only Russia's furthest eastern reaches.

Third, Ukraine was compensated financially by the US and Russia for the weapons transfer.

Had Ukraine not transferred its nuclear material, it would have been shunned by both Russia and the West. The eventual circumstances could, and probably would have led blackmarket profiteering.

If the 100,000 dead number is true, then that means Ukraine’s total casualties — i.e., killed and wounded — is approximately 400,000. In other words, Ukraine has suffered almost 40% casualties since the start of the fighting. During the 20th Century, this type of modern warfare normally saw 3 wounded soldiers for every man killed. Using that ratio we get the 400,000 number for total casualties.

When the war kicked off in February, Ukraine’s total manpower for ground forces was 1,125,000:

According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), Ukraine has 196,600 active military personnel.


Ukraine’s state of emergency is still in effect and the reservists have been called to duty. In fact, Ukraine has gone beyond its normal reserve force strength and has been compelled by necessity to dragoon middle aged men into service. These are the “territorial defense” forces.
Russia’s current military leadership is not following the tactics Soviet generals employed in WW II (i.e., mass troop assaults). Russia primarily has relied on massive artillery and rocket/missile strikes before launching a ground offensive. The Russian rate of artillery fire is unlike anything we’ve seen in history. More importantly, the accuracy of the artillery is enhanced by the use of drones and satellites to adjust fires, with updated coordinates relayed in real time to the artillery units.

Another factor contributing to Ukraine’s horrendous casualties is its lack of air power and effective air defense systems to counter Russian batteries. If Ukrainian troops try to attack a Russian fixed position, their movement by foot or vehicle is unprotected and vulnerable to Russian artillery or combat air.

It appears that some Western analysts who previously pooh-poohed the Russian tactics, are finally beginning to realize that Russia is serious about de-militarizing Ukraine via methodical, grinding tactics. There will come a point when Ukraine runs out of men and cannot field a combat effective force. It appears that day is approaching.

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If you will look back in the thread, the 100K number was clarified to be total casualties, KIA and WIA. So most of what you say above doesn't apply.

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She was made to clarify her statement by the Ukrainians, who claimed the numbers were classified.

But I do not believe that von der Leyen misspoke, nor did she fabricate the number. If it really was an error of fact all she had to do was issue a statement to that effect, e.g., “Mea culpa, I meant to say 10,000 not 100,000”. She did not do that. She pretended she never said what she said.