Recent comments in /f/worldnews

Patsfan618 t1_jaco7au wrote

Reply to comment by Chii in Australia uncovers Russian espionage ring, expels spies: Report by WhoIsJolyonWest

Moscow has a history of recalling anyone back, who they even slightly suspect of being compromised. If there's any evidence at all, that person would be interrogated and disposed of. So it was always a dangerous game, getting that recall notice. Do they think your cover has been blown and want to keep you out of prison, or are they going to stick you in a furnace while still alive? You don't know. If you don't follow the order, they'll have their answer and send someone for you.

At least, that's how it was in the 60's. That's as far back as declassification goes right now. That's how Oleg Penkovsky was disposed of, allegedly. Arrested and placed in a furnace, which was then turned on.

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mechanicalpulse t1_jacnt5n wrote

Reply to comment by Thue in Ukraine war: Zelensky says situation in Bakhmut worsening by jacobhong

Exactly my thoughts. I've never heard of the Parthian shot (that was a great read, thank you for the link), but I am reminded of the Battle of Austerlitz in which Napolean deftly executed just such a feinted retreat into ambush. Modern engagements are very different, of course, so I think the Parthian shot is an apt comparison to the grenade-carrying drones that are picking off individual Russian soldiers. In any case, you're right to point out that deception remains an important aspect of military strategy.

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robinNL070 t1_jacn26w wrote

Reply to comment by Skorkabian in Scrounging for Tanks for Ukraine, Europe’s Armies Come Up Short by Majestyk_Melons

That is really a myth to be fair. The U.S spend 3.4% while having a larger GDP per capita than the Netherlands and we spend 1.4% on defence. also a lot of our money we spend on defence doesn't come back in our economy but yours does and even makes money abroad. On infrastructure the U.S. is not as dense as we have so it becomes more expensive to have nice roads everywhere. We are also the europort so we need to have good infrastructure to get the goods to Germany and the rest of Europe. hospitals are also privatized here as well but more regulated than in the U.S. Even we need to regulate more still but that is an ongoing battle that will go on forever anyways and will become more strict or more loose with each time a political party is in charge.

I follow the U.S. politics a bit but they always seem to make a lot of noise for big changes and nothing happens afterwards because it is to big to change in one go. America should do it more slowly and incremental and become a tiny bit less populist on both sides democrats and republicans. We also have our problems to be fair and are not perfect at all.

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BlessedTacoDevourer t1_jacluzx wrote

Reply to comment by SleepyNervousBoi in Ukraine war: Zelensky says situation in Bakhmut worsening by jacobhong

As it looks currently, Russia will most likely focus on capturing Chasiv Yar, a city close to Bakhmut. It's the only line of supply into Bakhmut itself and capturing it would cut off the Ukrainians in Bakhmut from being resupplied or reinforced. The assumption being that since Ukraine would operationally encircled they would be forced to withdraw their troops, allowing Russia to move in. If this happens, Russia would likely move into Konstantinovka to straighten their frontline which would let their artillery advance and target the next area.

There are two main reason why the advances are made in small steps.

  1. Essentially every little village along the front is a stronghold and incredibly difficult and costly to capture

  2. Russian troops want to stay in range of their short range howitzers and MLRS. Russia has suffered from bad communication already and presumably this is a way to combat that.

Its worth noting that this is a best case scenario for Russia, if Bakhmut falls the troops in Siversk would then be at risk. If this happens the Russians will most likely attack Siversk from Soledar, Lysychansk and Bilohorivka.

If this is successful then Russia could take the M03 highway and move onto Sloviansk. Advancing in this manner would mean advancing for 40km on a very narrow stretch of land, obviously putting those Russians in major risk of being cut off and encircled by the Ukrainians. The likely way Russia will attempt to combat this is by using their troops in Konstantinovka to take the H20 highway and move on Kramatorsk at the same time. This would mean a Russian advance of 30km.

Bakhmut started in August 2022, so it's unlikely that this will be successful, though I'm basing this on information from Feb 13. Something that complicates it is the elevation difference between Sloviansk and Krasna Hora. It's an advantage for Ukraine as it would allow them to see the Russians easier. A similar advantage has been used in Vuhledar to stop the Russians from advancing.

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Yelmel t1_jacljjo wrote

Reply to Belarus leader and Putin ally Lukashenko on China visit by Saltedline

> Beijing on Friday issued a proposal calling for a cease-fire and peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, but has also said it has a “no-limits friendship” with Russia and has refused to criticize Moscow’s invasion, or even to call it an invasion. It has accused the U.S. and NATO of provoking the conflict and condemned sanctions leveled against Russia and entities seen as aiding its military effort.

The reason that China cannot call this an invasion is simple. Because it is invasion it means Ukraine is able to invoke UN Charter article 51 rights to self-defence. If Russia is the aggressor, and the UN thinks so, 141-7 or 95% resolved, then everyone can legally aid Ukraine in their self-defence including sanctions and weapons. That's why China is taking on their irrelevant peace planning in an alternative reality where Russia is not the aggressor and basically carving itself into isolation with Russia.

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