BTW:

My family was INVITED to come to this country and settle
here. They fulfilled their 2 year contracts fully and
helped build this nation's infrastructure. They have earned
their right to be here and have paid for it fully. Without
them this country would still be the cultural backwater it
was when they first arrive.

You're welcome!

- More on the discussion of civilians dragged off the street and sent to the front;
Apparently there's an article in the Guardian that talks about reports that Ukrainians are being conscripted in the street.
I haven't found the article itself yet, but if it was false, they'd deny it outright.

Meanwhile the Guardian (a Pro-Ukrainian source) reports that Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov states Russia has 500,000 mobilised troops on Ukraine's border.

(They only started with 190K + 50K Wagner PMG + fighters for the DPR and LPR and Chechens.)

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/02/russia-major-new-offensive-to-mark-one-year-anniversary-ukraine-war

"Speaking to French media, Reznikov warned that Russia would call on a large contingent of mobilised troops. Referring to Russia’s general mobilisation of 300,000 conscripted soldiers in September last year, he claimed that numbers at the border suggest the true size could be closer to 500,000."

Maybe you lot had better start preparing for more bad news?

Personally I wonder if Russia should blow up all bridges across the Dnieper at Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia, and send a force south from slightly West of Kharkiv towards Dnipro, and another force north along the Dnieper through Zaporizhzhia region and meet in the middle, and cut the entire UAF in the east off entirely.
- But no-one knows Russians plans and I'm not a military strategist.

Hi Foxy,
"What have you don to help the Russian cause that you so firmly
believe in - apart from blabbering on the web?"

How many times do I have to state my position?
I support the Russians by DEFAULT, because I don't support the Wests endless wars.
I don't support economic sanctions (collective punishment) or regime changes.
I'd rather a multipolar world where countries show mutual respect for each other than a Unipolar world where the West rules by threats, blackmail, regime change and military intervention.

Respect is a 2 way street, if you don't give it to others you can't expect to get it in return;
- And maybe on a personal level that's something you should also learn.

Foxy,

Why these Putin fanciers believe whatever is put out by Russian propaganda channels I can't fathom especially after it is wrong so frequently.

Unless Putin is completely stupid, he cannot believe that he is winning this war. He is now simply throwing thousands of poorly trained conscripts across open fields into the teeth of machine guns and artillery with predictable results. Every month his army gets weaker as planes helicopters tanks etc are lost at a rate that cannot be replaced while Ukraine continually gets increasingly sophisticated weapons.

Similarly, every month the world tightens the noose strangling Russia's economy and revenue whilst giving Ukraine $bns in financial and humanitarian aid over and above the weapons.

The only strategy that I can think that Putin could be following is like a desperate gambler he's going all-in in the hope that the other party will blink and that he will be in a better position at the negotiating table. However, on the other side, the US and the EU see this as an opportunity like Afghanistan on steroids to smash Russia's military to the point that it will take decades to recover. And used it as an opportunity to empty their stockpiles of redundant weapons that are more than equal to what Russians are using. The satellite data lets Ukraine know exactly what the Russians are doing to extract the maximum damage to Russia's military.

This is not a war that Russia can win.

shadowminister,

Thank You.

I sincerely hope that you are right!

As do freedom-loving people everywhere.
Especially the ones who have lived under and experienced
life under the Soviet Regime.

p.s.

The US has just announced another $475m in weapons supplies and $1.75bn in aid. More armoured vehicles, 250 javelins, anti-aircraft defences etc.