Yeah, even if 5-1 in casualties is true (I don’t think it is that high in favour of Ukraine, desite being high, based on battlefield reports from UA commanders, saying they lose 1-2 companies a day and a batallion a week during this RU offensive), the ultimate reserves of the Russian Federation are much larger. It seems like a kill-box.
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Of course, it’s about bleeding them in a fortress, but at what cost. UA losses there are extremely high and Bakhmut seems to have taken a symbolic value for UA precisly because of how many have died defending it. But sure, Wagnerites are taking extreme losses and will likely culminate after the battle of Bakhmut I guess.
But difficult for me to say precisly, I speculate too.
Sure, but UA losses are much larger than many think. I am not convinced of the wisdom of this or that this is where most UA soldiers should die now, even though RU losses are much higher (but primarily in Wagnerite formations I should add).
That sounds like a classic sunk cost fallacy. One would hope that they still have a military objective.
RU videos and posts. I think it is important to post some of it, since it is easy at times for readers to get the impression that this is a one sided war. It isn’t, UA are taking heavy casusalties.
Summary
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4 from Poland are there inside Ukraine now it was reported yesterday. Remaining 10 next week (from Poland) Small but it is starting to trickle.
Also, according to Poland, a patriot battery is soon going to get operational
Edit: Turned out to be Polisg big mouth talking about the patriot
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The Shoigu line is taking shape in Zaporitzia. Sure, it is static, but it is precisly in the direction UA wants to counter-attack in the spring and static defenses takes a lot of time to overcome (on offense, time is of the essence). So nothing really to laugh at.
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Neither am I - I can see why they stayed, but not sure why they are staying now. I suspect the decision is entirely political, thinking that the Russian capacity is close to faltering and that holding Bakhmut would be a devastating blow. But that is precisely the logic that produced Verdun.
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This is an illegal field execution and obviously should only be viewed if you can stomach it (it’s not bloody, but he gets mowed down on camera). Don’t just click it if you can’t bear it.
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3679259-ukrainian-soldier-executed-by-russians-is-tymofiy-shadura-ground-forces.html
nothing Magnus, was really just trying to make a joke of it.
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But yeah, the Government Pension Fund of Norway has had more than a bit cash injected in 2022. We don’t use those money though (if we did, there would be Dutch Disease and even higher inflation than now), but invest it abroad and save it. The state use 3 % in a normal year for budget funds, though in 2020 and 2021 it was 3.6 due to special circumstances (we injected more money into people and bussinesses in those harsh years). So the fund only increases as we never use more than is injected annually. This year too we are forecasted to use more than 3% (That is the so called “Action Rule”, to never spend more than 3% in a normal year, and here is parliamentarian consensus and all parties agree to it except the Progress Party who wants to use more) due to Ukraine war, inflation and higher prices. Amongst the things that costs a hell of a lot is the Energy Support Package that is still in action in 2023. The Energy Support Package is extraordinary and means that the state pays 80% of all energy costs when the electricity costs more than 70 Øre (0.7 Kroner) per kWh per month. This because after the war, a lot of people even with decent jobs are struggling to pay electricity bills. This support package does of course cost a lot.
You can read about it here if you want to:
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“We understand that after Bakhmut they could go further. They could go to Kramatorsk, they could go to Sloviansk, it would be open road for the Russians after Bakhmut to other towns in Ukraine, in the Donetsk direction,” he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in an exclusive interview from Kyiv. “That’s why our guys are standing there.” - Zelensky.
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Global events have pushed the problem way down the agenda, but the problem with high electricity bills actually predates the Ukraine war. Norway is generally a net exporter of electricity, with hydroelectric and win being #1 and #2 generation sources, hydro #1 by a long way. Norwegian hydro output has been low for the past three years, and particularly low for some peak pricing months. There simply isn’t the thermal generation capacity to make up that shortfall, so Norway has had to go into the European wholesale market to make up the balance in an unprecedented fashion. That has actually offset some of those gas profits, as Norway has been selling natural gas to European generators who then pass on those high gas costs in the electricity price.
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If this was the same clip I saw on the news last night it is pretty graphic including blood. I wouldn’t recommend watching it.
Presumably, this is intended for domestic consumption because I thought the whole point of offering safe quarter is that encourages an enemy to surrender rather than fight to the last man. Aside from being a clear violation of the Hague conventions it’s also rather stupid to have allowed this into the public domain.
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