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> The last possibility, then, is that the gibes about the cages being emotional support armour are actually correct, and that they have been added simply to imp

> The last possibility, then, is that the gibes about the cages being emotional support armour are actually correct, and that they have been added simply to improve morale by convincing the troops inside that they are safe. As Dr Benham-Crosswell notes, soldiers often take the view that every little helps. Once again, the general point of the article is "Russian army is soooo imcompetent, of course Putin is going to loose". I would not mind reading that into a cheap "troop-morale-boosting" stand-up act. However, even though I understand the Economist stands against pretty much everything Putin stands for - shouldn't we expect a little less blatant wishfull thinking and propaganda ? As an alternative, what would a _relevant_ source for info about the current warfare (a decent primer on who has what weapons, what they can do, etc...) be ? One that would aknowledge that _maybe_, the Russian army is not entirely made of clowns ?

dncornholio 5y ago
The war won't be won on the battlefield, it will be won by all the multinationals leaving the country. For the best context, look up Russians on social media and see what is going on inside. I've never been in favour of multinationals and subscription based services, but it seems these are what really are making the change now. Software like AutoCAD, Photoshop, etc etc, all stopped working in the last 48h. Russians begin to wonder why the whole world is against them. NAVO Sanctions alone couldn't do that. The Russian media jokes that they don't need western companies suddenly all stopped. It's like COVID. Russians only joked COVID won't reach them because vodka, but when the first case hit Moscow, all the jokes stopped. Same happening now. Companies leaving Russia seemed to hit hard on the people.
- phtrivier 5y ago
  > Software like AutoCAD, Photoshop, etc etc, all stopped working in the last 48h. Do you have a source for that ? Unless those apps are now systematically "phoning home" and the servers are setup to refuse requests from Russia, it's not obvious how they would "stop working".
kozikow 5y ago
There is a lot of clownery: - They destroyed their own secret comms system by accident, used civilian phones and general was killed based on the geolocation from the call. Amount of high rank leadershipo KIA would be embarassing even if they fought on-paper much stronger opponent than Ukraine opponent. Even visually confirmed losses from satellite imagery or 1/3 of reported losses by Ukraine is very embarrassing. - With the advantage in air they have not being able to establish air superiority is a clownery of it's own. Photos of planes with civilian GPS taped in. Stingers shouldn't be so effective against planes. - Many photos of Russian soldiers (even photos released by Russians) with cheap walkie takies from aliexpress that are easily jammed - Lots of photos of expensive equipment that got abandoned without standard procedure of sabotaging it - Supposedly elite units (especially VDV) getting massacred by barely trained territorial groups There are good reasons for clownery: Massive corruption. Nepotism. Army is intentionally crippled to not present threat to Putin. They never fought a real war. Nukes, submarines and navy are a huge resource drain. They didn't prepare for what happened. Outdated doctrine not adapted to modern war.
- phtrivier 5y ago
  An alternative version for the "clownery" is that, well, it's not actually happening as bad as western press want to tell, and we have to navigate propaganda from both side ? (I'm interested in your sources, though, as usual.) I know, "Hanlon's razor" and everything. But, still. I'll err on the side of "not underestimating the side that's bringing cities to dust" for a little more.
Loughla 5y ago
Genuinely, I wish there was unbiased reports. I know it's a war, so troop movements and outcomes from skirmishes and battles are not going to be a thing, but. I want an overview of what is happening and how it's going. Again, so do they, and I get that. But the propaganda is hard to sift through. That being said, the 'Russians are so incompetent' memes are very amusing.

dncornholio 5y ago

The war won't be won on the battlefield, it will be won by all the multinationals leaving the country. For the best context, look up Russians on social media and see what is going on inside. I've never been in favour of multinationals and subscription based services, but it seems these are what really are making the change now. Software like AutoCAD, Photoshop, etc etc, all stopped working in the last 48h. Russians begin to wonder why the whole world is against them. NAVO Sanctions alone couldn't do that. The Russian media jokes that they don't need western companies suddenly all stopped. It's like COVID. Russians only joked COVID won't reach them because vodka, but when the first case hit Moscow, all the jokes stopped. Same happening now. Companies leaving Russia seemed to hit hard on the people.

phtrivier 5y ago
> Software like AutoCAD, Photoshop, etc etc, all stopped working in the last 48h. Do you have a source for that ? Unless those apps are now systematically "phoning home" and the servers are setup to refuse requests from Russia, it's not obvious how they would "stop working".

kozikow 5y ago

There is a lot of clownery: - They destroyed their own secret comms system by accident, used civilian phones and general was killed based on the geolocation from the call. Amount of high rank leadershipo KIA would be embarassing even if they fought on-paper much stronger opponent than Ukraine opponent. Even visually confirmed losses from satellite imagery or 1/3 of reported losses by Ukraine is very embarrassing. - With the advantage in air they have not being able to establish air superiority is a clownery of it's own. Photos of planes with civilian GPS taped in. Stingers shouldn't be so effective against planes. - Many photos of Russian soldiers (even photos released by Russians) with cheap walkie takies from aliexpress that are easily jammed - Lots of photos of expensive equipment that got abandoned without standard procedure of sabotaging it - Supposedly elite units (especially VDV) getting massacred by barely trained territorial groups There are good reasons for clownery: Massive corruption. Nepotism. Army is intentionally crippled to not present threat to Putin. They never fought a real war. Nukes, submarines and navy are a huge resource drain. They didn't prepare for what happened. Outdated doctrine not adapted to modern war.

phtrivier 5y ago
An alternative version for the "clownery" is that, well, it's not actually happening as bad as western press want to tell, and we have to navigate propaganda from both side ? (I'm interested in your sources, though, as usual.) I know, "Hanlon's razor" and everything. But, still. I'll err on the side of "not underestimating the side that's bringing cities to dust" for a little more.

Loughla 5y ago

Genuinely, I wish there was unbiased reports. I know it's a war, so troop movements and outcomes from skirmishes and battles are not going to be a thing, but. I want an overview of what is happening and how it's going. Again, so do they, and I get that. But the propaganda is hard to sift through. That being said, the 'Russians are so incompetent' memes are very amusing.