₦airaland Forum

IMEI:
This thread is one of the most qualitative threads on Nairaland, with the most substance and there's a gameplan to rubbish it with half-assed takes on issues.
All who have been enlightened by this thread owe it a defense and the upkeep of its value

Procashtips:
To me, getting rid of the moles the west is using in Taiwan is better than outright war.

The Chinese have enough spies to do this, why is this not an option?

I still believe China won't start any war in the sma China called Taiwan

LordAdam16:
Zelensky is fighting a PR war.

He should push them to advance further.
Way easier to kill Ukrainians in outstretched positions within Russia than in fortifications inside Novorossiya.

-Lord

motayoayinde:
Wisdom came along with age for this man,
unlike the old fool called Lindsay Graham.

LordAdam16:
From the early days of the War, a strategic concern had been building.
We've seen many instances of Russia destroying concentrations of foreign mercenaries in Ukraine.
However, Ukraine has been able to amass large aggregations of men and materiel across the country without Russia taking them out.
Maybe it's due to AD. Or Ukraine doing too many things at the same time (since they outsource a lot of the planning to the 14 Eyes and the West), that RU has to prioritize. But that inability made the Kursk incursion a possibility.

All they had to do was designate a Kalibr or Iskander for every grouping that exceeds 2,000 men - enough to cause damage - and run down the clock on the Eastern Front.

Add that to the list of limitations. They also can't stop the free flow of weapons into Ukraine. And they also can't destroy Ukrainian military industry since they can always just move underground. This has been a boon for the production of small drones, since they import parts from Asia which does not have the same deficiencies as the West.

Essentially, Ukraine cannot win the war. But they can be a very costly nuisance. The Kursk gambit reflects this.
It shouldn't lead to anything significant, but it was always an asterisk. Ukraine amassed soldiers on the borders of Belarus, Transnistria, and Russia. They could have pushed into any of the three. Belarus would be a provocation since they aren't currently a belligerent. Moldova firmly opposed moving into Transnistria. So they went into Kursk. The partisan infiltrations into Belgorod over the past 18 months provided critical insight into Russian defenses and response times. They also softened the underbelly with the deep strikes on airfields and radars.

Russia has the trump card because they have the superior force, a lot of land, larger population, and an intact MIC.
By some estimates, Ukraine can only support an incursion of about 100KM. That's the farthest they can go before supply chain and logistic snags wreck them. The deeper they go in, the larger the defense perimeter of the Ukrainians, which they'll have to man with more troops. It also allows Russia lots of surface area to press for pinchers through the flanks. It is a strategic gift.
It's the Prigozhin affair again. Let them roll in and make Russia the newest cemetery for Ukrainians.
From a PR perspective, this is not ideal. But if I can see it, I'm pretty certain Command would have told Putin that his slow, methodical approach would always have this as a potential outcome. Got to take the good with the bad.

This is also reminiscent of the Kharkov offensive. Ukraine had swift, lightspeed attacks. Captured a lot of ground. It fizzled out. They've been on the backfoot since. And right now a repeat seems implausible. Russia is learning a lot on the fly right now.

I had called for a general mobilization since last year. Equip a 5m man army. Take everything east of Dnieper and connect a land bridge to Transnistria. End the war and prepare for other theaters. Russia will need a lot of operators and resources to back its clients in Africa - Libya, Sudan, CAR, and its new Sahel friends; the Middle East (Syria, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon); its Asian commitments - the Big One (a potential Taiwan invasion), North Korea, India, expanding its Pacific Fleet; and South America - Cuba, Bolivia, Venezuela, and maintaining its strategic interests on the continent.

But Putin wants a slow war . And that provides more time and boundless opportunities for more ship sinking, airfield strikes, terrorism and assassination, taking out pricey radar and AD installations, and Kursk-like incursions. These are the drawbacks of a slow war. Right now, many in the West think a Russian mobilization and all-out attack is justified, but Putin still would not bite.

Certainly Netanyahu has provided a stark contrast even though he has not and cannot achieve his objectives. He has helped buttressed the merits of Putin's approach. Ultimately, this is how he has opted to fight this war. When Medvedev fought the Georgian War, he deployed troops at a 5:1 advantage, disabled Georgian air and naval forces. Then it became a turkey shoot.

-Lord

Procashtips:
This struck my attention.

Are these not floating tanks?

Like tanks like boats?

Dream25:
I still don't know why we allow people from righteousness thread to destabilise this thread..
They're enjoying a picnic day on the other thread while they turn this thread into cesspit.

We're giving them a field day here and allow them to preserve their thread. They're taking this into our territory while they enjoy themselves on their territory..

Pls let learn to ignore this people instead of replying them every time..

WrriterNg:
⚡NYT:

China needs Russia because Moscow is "the only big partner capable of balancing the United States."

The growing cooperation between Moscow and Beijing in the field of defense "causes concern in Washington."

If the United States and its allies want to launch a naval blockade of China, the Russian-Chinese land border may turn out to be "vital for the supply of weapons, oil and other goods," the authors of the material believe.

According to their estimates, the Russian Federation could also close access to airspace near its borders, especially near Japan, where the United States has military bases.

According to Chinese military expert Song Zhongping, military exercises, especially near Alaska, will be held more often to "resist American pressure."

OkpaNsukkaisBae:
cc:
Stoplying

We finally found the full meaning of NAFO...