dimyh

Umm I think you're misreading his msg. Auto is saying that Putin's strategic logic for external buffer states is bullshit. If Russia simply focused on not being an asshole to its neighbors and simply focused on basic border security then they wouldn't have all of these mythical "threats" to their national security.

Ruzzia haz a lot of moral fuckittude.

Bringing this post up as I think these new PMCs are going to be a factor in the upcoming warlord cage match. I had not heard too much aside from Putin adding his blessing to encourage these new forces. Which still dumbfounds me that he would continue to empower a faction build up. Instead of trying to consolidate the chain of command he is instead fragmenting his power. Now I can see certain positives with this initiative: 1) Secret mobilization - allows deployment of existing security personnel without utilizing an official 2nd wave of mobilization. 2) Offset costs - forces PMCs to shoulder most of the burden of recruitment/salary/equipment costs. 3) Administrative structure - bypasses the need for governmental red tape and utilizes existing corporate hierarchy to handle the fine print. 4) Weaken Wagner - by advocating new PMCs, Putin is clearly limiting the funding and resources for Priggy. However it is just insane to me that he does not consider all of the drawbacks: 1) Fragmented chain of command - the existing COC has been horrible and adding in multiple players is just going to detoriate further. I wonder if this is also a sign that they may not have enough leadership structure to even train and utilize these new bodies in the regular army in the first place. 2) Corruption will continue - who knows how many of those recorded mercs are actually available on the front? Guaranteed that these companies will over report the number of bodies available for duty. 3) Legitimizes factions - this has made it very legal for private businesses to expand on their security forces. They have time to organize trainers, equipment, and build together teams with more advanced tactics than what would normally be acceptable. While not at the same level of experience as Wagner it is a big first step for building a functional fight force that has inherent loyalty to the company and not the state. Now Gazprom is a state business and essentially another wallet for Putin, making those PMCs nominally his private army but there have got to be other oligarchs building up their forces. Teaming up with other mafia muscle to cement a survival plan for once vova Putin bites a bullet. They may not all be ambitious in securing the top spot but they are definitely trying to preserve their fiefdoms. If not actively knocking out competitors they will be muscled up to stop unplanned launches from their penthouse's windows. It is going to be nuts trying to keep track off all the potential players once this pops off. Putin/Shoigu/Gerisimov/Prigozhin/Kadyrov are the big names at this point. What other names are going to pop up over the next couple of years?

So the sweetest schadenfreude is that Putin is on record stating that the collapse of the Soviet Union was the biggest tragedy of the 20th century. So when the time is right, I like to think the last thing to go through his head, other than that bullet, was to wonder how he created the biggest disaster in the 21st century.

Things not only getting more heated around the border but also in the studio. Gotta love this one guy's "bitch please" looks when arguing with these morons.

Well aren't you pleased with yourself!

We'll see how long these revolutionaries hold out. I'm still thinking it's going to be a quick in and out panty raid but if they hold on then we might start seeing some comparisons to the Time of Troubles. One of the bloodiest times in Russian history where the false Dmitrys would march to Moscow claiming to be the true heir to the throne.

Me: disappointed that the Ukrainian counter offensive hasn't started Also me: disappointed that the Russian counter offensive has already started Also also me: thrilled that the Russian counter offensive is also against the Russians

Found a video of the Ukrainian special forces spreading the word:

Some rumors from Telegram are saying that Mikhail Mizintsev is now deputy commander in Wagner. Who is this guy you may ask? I know its hard to keep track of all of these potato-headed Bond villains but this is the guy that was recently fired by Putin from his post as deputy minister of defense and logistics. Prior to that he was better known as the Butcher of Mariupol as he was the one who commanded that assault all last year. So very interesting that the guy who was recently bitching about lack of ammo and piss poor logistics gets the very guy who was in control of all of that just a few weeks ago. Not quite sure if this a way for Prigozhin to backdoor into some secret stockpiles. Or just partnering up for an eventual showdown for the upcoming warlords dance party. Or maybe its a calculated move by Putin to secure a replacement for Priggy? Fake a dismissal just so that he can plant him in the one PMC that is the biggest loose canon out there. Tons of possibilities and different theories we can make about this news. Either way it is going to be quite fascinating on who starts pointing fingers once this counter-offensive starts popping off. There is no early buyout and and a chance to retire to their dacha for these guys.

My new screensaver

Soon, very soon this will be playing for you Prigozhin:

And interesting story about the experience of the 3 former Russian POWs released. One is already back in a PMC and the other two much more disillusioned about the war. All of them though have some form of PTSD.

Love that one random internet comment tees up perfectly to someone's dissertation. Just waiting for that one moment to shine. 😁

Personally I think Putin is tired of that commute to the Kremlin. He staged this false flag so he'd have a credible reason to do WFH and not piss off his HR dept. Now he can safely stay in his bunker, play with his toy soldiers, maybe set a new high score on Tetris, without raising any suspicions.

I'm guessing Ruskies maintenance program is not much more advanced than me as a teenager with my first car. Waiting for the freak out once they have a major in air failure.

This era of drone and satelite intel is quite amazing. I shudder to think what D-Day would have been like if the Nazis had the reconnaissance tech of today. Maybe we would have taken Normandy but with 5x the casualty rate. Maybe we don't get to meet the Soviets in Berlin and all of Germany becomes East Germany. Lotta what ifs we could play with all day long. It will be interesting to see how modern armies adapt for major offenses when the fog of war can be so thin nowadays. Which is why I'm so anxious waiting for this next phase to kickoff.

Fair points in the above and I agree in general that this is not a huge paradigm shift. However this one of the first publicly documented instances where the Putin and Xi "friendship without limits" is clearly subordinate to China's interests. China is clearly signaling that the European market is of much more value than the Russian market. And that's got to add to Putin's pucker factor going forward.

What Putler youth doing? A depressing look at Putin using ex-soldiers to push patriotic propaganda to school kids. Which is why a total defeat would be terrific as I hate to see this level of brainwashing continuing year after year. Maybe if they focused more on teaching critical thinking skills and less about jingoism then this could recognize the hypocrisy of the guy preaching that it's the Ukrainians that are facist. Long article but worth the read from meduza.

Some are reporting that these were the drones used in the strike: https://www.muginuav.com/product/mugin-5-pro-5000mm-super-large-vtol-uav-platform/ Which were the Chinese brand that was supposed to be disabled for any type of military use. Looks like someone regifted Ukraine a few of these and managed to figure out how to bypass any restrictions. At 13k a pop that has got to be a steal. Hope they can find some more in the bargain bin.

Russians don't even understand the concept of slow and low. Dumbasses.

A typical Russian success story as 6 officers have been caught stealing 360 tons of jet fuel or the equivalent of Brisket after 4 Baltic dogs. Despite being in a war and directly undermining their war effort they get punished with a $637 fine. If you protest the war you get years in prison but stealing just gets a slap on the wrist.

Egypt might be gearing up, either materially or politically, for a showdown with Ethiopia due to the new dam being built. On paper Egypt should dominate a 1v1 but as Russia has clearly demonstrated preseason rankings can be complete bullshit. Securing some new tech and maybe more importantly some USA interest may be their goal. Maybe enough political muscle to influence Ethiopia without becoming a hot war. Defer to others as I'm not well read in this area. Maybe @InkaUtexas has got some background in this region?

Ben Hodges talking about the counter offensive. Doesn’t get into too much detail but gives a nice strategic summary on the need to push south and take Crimea.

Video of the Russians accidently bombing Belograd. Didn't realize that there was such a delay from impact to explosion. Those nearby cars were lucky it buried so deep otherwise could have been a lot more fatalities.