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> Ukraine is losing the war right now Ukraine is _stalling_ the war right now. Russia is able to capture more moonscaped villages by forcing expendable (their

> Ukraine is losing the war right now Ukraine is _stalling_ the war right now. Russia is able to capture more moonscaped villages by forcing expendable (their words, not mine) manpower to assault Ukrainian positions. Ukraine is slowly retreating, but at the rate that will require Russia _years_ to gain a meaningful amount of territory.

DennisP 2y ago
And that will cost Russia a great deal. This has turned into a war that heavily favors defenders. Both sides are dug in, with a wide no-mans-land between the front lines, where anyone who enters is likely to get killed by a drone.
- gruez 2y ago
  >And that will cost Russia a great deal. How much is Russia spending on the war compared to Ukraine?
  - DennisP 2y ago
    What I mean is that attackers from either side will take a lot more casualties than defenders.
  - onlypassingthru 2y ago
    Here are just some of the reasons Russia is hastening its economic demise: - spending all of its foreign reserves and weakening its currency - killing tens of thousands of working age men - permanently removing hundreds of thousands of working age men from the workforce - increasing the demands on social benefits for disabled veterans by hundreds of thousands of men - suppressing the birth rate by staying in a protracted 'special military operation'
gizmondo 2y ago
The military experts I listen to all more or less agree that the focus on territory is just wrong. It's a war of attrition unsustainable in the long run for both sides, the question is who runs out of resources first (or if there is some sort of ceasefire before that). Germany famously lost such a war a century ago without losing any territory!
- cyberax 2y ago
  That's correct. Territory captured is useless for Russia, but it's what Putin wants, so his generals push for it at a great expense. Ukraine is suffering 3-5 times fewer casualties than Russia, but it's also 3 times smaller than Russia.
  - aparticulate 2y ago
    > The generals push for territory at great expense …by focusing on controlling sectors in mainly the East?
    - cyberax 2y ago
      Sorry? What? Russia is not gaining any strategic advances from the push. It's not a fight to get some magical prize.
  - nwatson 2y ago
    Ukraine is sending troops over 26 or so years old now. They will need to dip into their prime-aged young population eventually, the 18-to-26-year-olds. That will be a hard moral choice they apparently want to avoid, but perhaps necessary.
    - slt2021 2y ago
      All these 18 year old cohort - they dont exist in Ukraine anymore, a lot of them escaped Ukraine while they were minors before reaching 18, because this issue of conscripting 18+ has been discussed for quite a while. If you look at the reports from Ukraine high schools - its all girls class, no boys
      - artem2471 2y ago
        Sorry what? Reports from Ukrainian high schools? I live in Ukraine, this is not true.

DennisP 2y ago

And that will cost Russia a great deal. This has turned into a war that heavily favors defenders. Both sides are dug in, with a wide no-mans-land between the front lines, where anyone who enters is likely to get killed by a drone.

gruez 2y ago
>And that will cost Russia a great deal. How much is Russia spending on the war compared to Ukraine?
- DennisP 2y ago
  What I mean is that attackers from either side will take a lot more casualties than defenders.
- onlypassingthru 2y ago
  Here are just some of the reasons Russia is hastening its economic demise: - spending all of its foreign reserves and weakening its currency - killing tens of thousands of working age men - permanently removing hundreds of thousands of working age men from the workforce - increasing the demands on social benefits for disabled veterans by hundreds of thousands of men - suppressing the birth rate by staying in a protracted 'special military operation'

gizmondo 2y ago

The military experts I listen to all more or less agree that the focus on territory is just wrong. It's a war of attrition unsustainable in the long run for both sides, the question is who runs out of resources first (or if there is some sort of ceasefire before that). Germany famously lost such a war a century ago without losing any territory!

cyberax 2y ago
That's correct. Territory captured is useless for Russia, but it's what Putin wants, so his generals push for it at a great expense. Ukraine is suffering 3-5 times fewer casualties than Russia, but it's also 3 times smaller than Russia.
- aparticulate 2y ago
  > The generals push for territory at great expense …by focusing on controlling sectors in mainly the East?
  - cyberax 2y ago
    Sorry? What? Russia is not gaining any strategic advances from the push. It's not a fight to get some magical prize.
- nwatson 2y ago
  Ukraine is sending troops over 26 or so years old now. They will need to dip into their prime-aged young population eventually, the 18-to-26-year-olds. That will be a hard moral choice they apparently want to avoid, but perhaps necessary.
  - slt2021 2y ago
    All these 18 year old cohort - they dont exist in Ukraine anymore, a lot of them escaped Ukraine while they were minors before reaching 18, because this issue of conscripting 18+ has been discussed for quite a while. If you look at the reports from Ukraine high schools - its all girls class, no boys
    - artem2471 2y ago
      Sorry what? Reports from Ukrainian high schools? I live in Ukraine, this is not true.