Because the Russian gear is working out so badly for the Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine, getting the Russians slaughtered wholesale, it must be cheap as fuck shit.
Why the fuck does Wallace think the Ukrainians want it?
–
eta:
ffs.
Here:
>Russian military expenditure has grown significantly over the past two decades. It increased by 30 per cent in real terms between 2010 and 2019 and by 175 per cent between 2000 and 2019. Although Russian military spending decreased in 2017 and 2018, it rose again in 2019 to reach $65.1 billion (see figure 1 and table 1). The military burden on Russia’s economy—that is, military spending as a share of gross domestic product (GDP)—was 3.9 per cent in 2019. This was higher than in 2010, but much lower than the peak of 5.5 per cent reached in 2016.
>
>[27 Apr 2020](https://www.sipri.org/commentary/topical-backgrounder/2020/russias-military-spending-frequently-asked-questions)
–
>To explain this surprising development, experts pointed out that the Kremlin had wrong assumptions about Ukraine’s willingness and ability to fight. And while that may hold true, there is another factor that might have contributed to Russia’s incorrect pre-war assessments and poor performance on the ground — systemic corruption in the country’s defense and security sectors.
>
>[March 8, 2022](https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-military-corruption-quagmire/)
Please… if you really feel the need to attack me; go get yourselves some decent reliable artillery, at least.
This isn’t a bad thing. The Russian equipment performs “fine”, even the fairly dated stuff. Putin evidently had no idea that the military supplies/reserves/equipment had been systematically looted, and even the best gear won’t help you if it hasn’t been maintained or gutted and stripped for resale.
An exception might be the Russian tanks which are proving very vulnerable to Javelins, but the Russians don’t have their own Javelins, only what they’ve captured.
And given how effective those Javelins have been, i’m not certain that more modern/western tanks would have fared all that much better.
Every world power is paying close attention to that aspect of the conflict, that and the usage of drones making older weaponry like mortars a lot more effective on the battleground.
Do proxy wars ever work out?
I hear the Ukrainians already have a load of it. Give them more tractors.
You do have tractor magazines, don’t you Johnson?
Crowdfunding campaign by the Ukrainian Embassy in the Czech Republic in cooperation with Czech defense companies (Soviet-era weaponry)
>With available Czech weapons stocks valued at over USD 100 million, there may also be room for governments to join this initiative.
The British government is determined to fight Russia until the last Ukrainian
It makes senses.
Most of their own equipment is soviet era hardware so it’s what they are trained on, new hardware is great, but it takes time to train them on how to use it effectively, which isn’t a luxury you have when someone is blowing your country up each day.
Fringe benefit, it’s taking arms out of circulation (yes will need to clean up Ukraine but they are all in one place. )
10 comments
Because the Russian gear is working out so badly for the Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine, getting the Russians slaughtered wholesale, it must be cheap as fuck shit.
Why the fuck does Wallace think the Ukrainians want it?
–
eta:
ffs.
Here:
>Russian military expenditure has grown significantly over the past two decades. It increased by 30 per cent in real terms between 2010 and 2019 and by 175 per cent between 2000 and 2019. Although Russian military spending decreased in 2017 and 2018, it rose again in 2019 to reach $65.1 billion (see figure 1 and table 1). The military burden on Russia’s economy—that is, military spending as a share of gross domestic product (GDP)—was 3.9 per cent in 2019. This was higher than in 2010, but much lower than the peak of 5.5 per cent reached in 2016.
>
>[27 Apr 2020](https://www.sipri.org/commentary/topical-backgrounder/2020/russias-military-spending-frequently-asked-questions)
–
>To explain this surprising development, experts pointed out that the Kremlin had wrong assumptions about Ukraine’s willingness and ability to fight. And while that may hold true, there is another factor that might have contributed to Russia’s incorrect pre-war assessments and poor performance on the ground — systemic corruption in the country’s defense and security sectors.
>
>[March 8, 2022](https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-military-corruption-quagmire/)
–
eta2:
>https://i.postimg.cc/0N7S5Mcf/Screenshot-2022-05-12-at-13-25-01-uk-military-procurement-Google-Search.png
–
Please… if you really feel the need to attack me; go get yourselves some decent reliable artillery, at least.
This isn’t a bad thing. The Russian equipment performs “fine”, even the fairly dated stuff. Putin evidently had no idea that the military supplies/reserves/equipment had been systematically looted, and even the best gear won’t help you if it hasn’t been maintained or gutted and stripped for resale.
An exception might be the Russian tanks which are proving very vulnerable to Javelins, but the Russians don’t have their own Javelins, only what they’ve captured.
And given how effective those Javelins have been, i’m not certain that more modern/western tanks would have fared all that much better.
Every world power is paying close attention to that aspect of the conflict, that and the usage of drones making older weaponry like mortars a lot more effective on the battleground.
Do proxy wars ever work out?
I hear the Ukrainians already have a load of it. Give them more tractors.
You do have tractor magazines, don’t you Johnson?
Crowdfunding campaign by the Ukrainian Embassy in the Czech Republic in cooperation with Czech defense companies (Soviet-era weaponry)
>With available Czech weapons stocks valued at over USD 100 million, there may also be room for governments to join this initiative.
[atlanticcouncil.org](https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/new-crowdsourcing-campaign-can-help-save-ukraine/)
PS: The embassy posted following tweet, which contains bank account numbers.:
https://www.twitter.com/UKRinCZE/status/1498299434668597248
The British government is determined to fight Russia until the last Ukrainian
It makes senses.
Most of their own equipment is soviet era hardware so it’s what they are trained on, new hardware is great, but it takes time to train them on how to use it effectively, which isn’t a luxury you have when someone is blowing your country up each day.
Fringe benefit, it’s taking arms out of circulation (yes will need to clean up Ukraine but they are all in one place. )
Can we send Boris?
Now is the Tankies time to shine!