3 ms·

I mean Russia definitely keeps losing very many soldiers every day, I don't think that is comparable at all. It's completely different from US vs Iran.

SanjayMehta 3mo ago
This comment epitomises one of the reasons why the US does not and cannot win any war against a peer adversary. Flawed data.
- dralley 3mo ago
  I don't even understand what this comment is supposed to be saying in relation to the previous one.
  - SanjayMehta 3mo ago
    Look at the body exchange ratios between The Ukraine and Russia. Jan 29th: 1000 - 38 Feb 26th: 1000 - 35 Apr 9th: 1000 - 41 May 15th: 526 - 41 Jun 18th: 522 - 33 Jul 16th: 501 - 31 Total: 4549 - 219
    - tencentshill 3mo ago
      The only sources I can find for that are all Russian. Wikipedia (Which I assume you will dismiss out of hand) says it's complicated to determine at best, as they both hide information and boost propaganda. At least don't state it as fact. No one actually knows, which is why citing sources is helpful so that weight can be added.
      - helij 3mo ago
        Here's some from BBC (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg7ed4rp7x5o https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg7ed4rp7x5o and https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp9jl8vxdy9o https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp9jl8vxdy9o) and one from Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-hands-ukraine-1000-war-dead-rbc-says-2026-04-09/ https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-hands-ukraine-10...). No reason not to believe these numbers as neither side denied it. The reasons for such numbers mismatch are many and don't always tell the story of who's "winning".
      - SanjayMehta 3mo ago
        Mediazona is a British intelligence asset and even they can't find the Russian bodies that western propaganda hallucinates. While YouTube is full of videos of miles and miles of Ukrainian graveyards. No need to use the Wikipedia excuse.
  - mewpmewp2 3mo ago
    I mean I guess I disagree with the fact that it has any truth about being a "special military operation", when it is really an invasion where a country is trying to gain territory using ground forces etc. It's an invasion and a war, they wanted the binary outcome, they just didn't expect the opponent to push back so strongly.
spacebanana7 3mo ago
Rome lost loads of soldiers in the Germanic wars too. The parallel is that these wars are too expensive (for a non-existential conflict) to take to fulfilment, but also can't easily be disengaged from.
- ryandvm 3mo ago
  > but also can't easily be disengaged from I guess it depends on what you mean by "easily", but Putin could very much just say "fuck this" and turn off the war machine in one day and it's not at all clear to me that there would be much consequential blowback other than the personal humiliation of one man. Would other countries now decide to attack Russia? Of course not. Would the oligarchs flip out and have him assassinated? No. Would the West disassemble the sanctioning apparatus? Eventually. But the real downside is just simple humiliation and to prevent that, they will continue sacrificing young men. Politics is a fucked up game.

SanjayMehta 3mo ago

This comment epitomises one of the reasons why the US does not and cannot win any war against a peer adversary. Flawed data.

dralley 3mo ago
I don't even understand what this comment is supposed to be saying in relation to the previous one.
- SanjayMehta 3mo ago
  Look at the body exchange ratios between The Ukraine and Russia. Jan 29th: 1000 - 38 Feb 26th: 1000 - 35 Apr 9th: 1000 - 41 May 15th: 526 - 41 Jun 18th: 522 - 33 Jul 16th: 501 - 31 Total: 4549 - 219
  - tencentshill 3mo ago
    The only sources I can find for that are all Russian. Wikipedia (Which I assume you will dismiss out of hand) says it's complicated to determine at best, as they both hide information and boost propaganda. At least don't state it as fact. No one actually knows, which is why citing sources is helpful so that weight can be added.
    - helij 3mo ago
      Here's some from BBC (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg7ed4rp7x5o https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg7ed4rp7x5o and https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp9jl8vxdy9o https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp9jl8vxdy9o) and one from Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-hands-ukraine-1000-war-dead-rbc-says-2026-04-09/ https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-hands-ukraine-10...). No reason not to believe these numbers as neither side denied it. The reasons for such numbers mismatch are many and don't always tell the story of who's "winning".
    - SanjayMehta 3mo ago
      Mediazona is a British intelligence asset and even they can't find the Russian bodies that western propaganda hallucinates. While YouTube is full of videos of miles and miles of Ukrainian graveyards. No need to use the Wikipedia excuse.
- mewpmewp2 3mo ago
  I mean I guess I disagree with the fact that it has any truth about being a "special military operation", when it is really an invasion where a country is trying to gain territory using ground forces etc. It's an invasion and a war, they wanted the binary outcome, they just didn't expect the opponent to push back so strongly.

spacebanana7 3mo ago

Rome lost loads of soldiers in the Germanic wars too. The parallel is that these wars are too expensive (for a non-existential conflict) to take to fulfilment, but also can't easily be disengaged from.

ryandvm 3mo ago
> but also can't easily be disengaged from I guess it depends on what you mean by "easily", but Putin could very much just say "fuck this" and turn off the war machine in one day and it's not at all clear to me that there would be much consequential blowback other than the personal humiliation of one man. Would other countries now decide to attack Russia? Of course not. Would the oligarchs flip out and have him assassinated? No. Would the West disassemble the sanctioning apparatus? Eventually. But the real downside is just simple humiliation and to prevent that, they will continue sacrificing young men. Politics is a fucked up game.