CNN just said all the corruption in Russia may be one reason

[applegrove]

why their military is so inept. Defence contracts go not to the best technology but to the group best at skimming money off the top for Putin and his oligarchs.

[Irish_Dem]

1. I don't even know if they have much of a military.

Where are the 1300 military aircraft they are supposed to have?

[Eyeball_Kid]

9. I recently read that the RU Air Force...

has a chronic shortage of advanced weaponry. For instance, in Syria they were causing random devastation because they ran out of GUIDED MISSILES (air to ground) and reverted to unguided missiles. In UKR, the Air Force cannot do precision strikes. I don’t have any secondary sources, so this is FWIW.

[Irish_Dem]

14. Why can't the RU AF do precision strikes?

Some of us here on DU are puzzled as the RU military power we are seeing in UKR does not match the RU military power numbers on paper.

Even when it comes to field hospitals. I saw a video of a RU solider who was captured and calling his mother back home. He said that the Russian officers are killing the RU wounded in the field, while the UKR solders are being taken to the hospital. He was distraught about this.

So does that mean the RU doesn't even have field hospitals or field medics?

I just cannot figure out what is going on.

[Linda Ed]

42. I read putin

has a crematory vehicle for burning bodies so that the actual count won't be known... “to see some of the things they’ve done previously” and that the use of a mobile crematorium “probably says everything you need to know about the Russian regime,” according to the Telegraph.
https://nypost.com/2022/02/24/russia-has-mobile-crematoriums-that-evaporate-the-dead-report/

[Irish_Dem]

43. Mobile crematorium cheaper than field hospitals.

Shoot the wounded on the spot, put them in the mobile crematory.
No need for medics and no body count.

[COL Mustard]

46. You have to remember that

High-altitude daylight precision bombing works perfectly. Every bomb dropped reaches the Earth!

[Irish_Dem]

48. True. :(

[DENVERPOPS]

50. The Russians/Putin also

evidently supplied Assad with the chemical weapons that it has been proven he used on his own countrymen, women, and children.
The Hague and world courts were finished gathering evidence, and it was on it's way to them, when suddenly, Trump/Putin withdrew our military overnight from protecting the people who were being targeted and suddenly Putin/Assad were in charge.......
Trump withdrawing U.S. troops from Syria resulted in countless deaths of citizens by Assad in the weeks and months afterwards.......

[monkeyman1]

21. can't fly without go juice ! tank's use air-craft fuel now day's !!

[Irish_Dem]

22. All roads lead back to the supply line problems.

[monkeyman1]

24. exactly !

[Irish_Dem]

26. That is so interesting that tanks use aircraft fuel.

Cuts down on the different types of fuel to keep the military running I guess.

[monkeyman1]

29. they are turbine engine's ! old style is diesel!

[Irish_Dem]

30. Oh wow. Like airplanes. OK got it.

I am not an engineer!
Thanks for the info.

[drray23]

35. yeah. I dont know about the russian tanks

but some tanks are designed to pretty much run on anything. When I was in the military, the french AMX30 for example could use diesel, regular car fuel as well as heavy fuel you would use on ships. I suspect American tanks are also designed to be flexible, but I do not know for sure.

[Irish_Dem]

37. Fuel flexibility makes sense from a supply standpoint.

So even AF and Navy fuel would work in an Army tank.

[DENVERPOPS]

51. Maybe they can run on Vodka

The Russian makers of Vodka probably have a lot of manufacturing capability to supply them, since everyone is boycotting Russia Vodka...

[smb]

45. They Can't Even Feed Their Troops

Hungry Russian soldier complains that his rations have ‘expired in 2015’ and that he is being “sent to die.”

[Gordcanuck]

47. Those aircraft are poised to handle NATO action

The conquest Putin planned was to be a cakewalk with kids and tired equipment.. The real army units are on each nato country border area. Some paranoid, he knows here the real crap will come from.

[brewens]

2. They have a bunch of conscripts and everyone else is a crook. Except maybe some elite units.

They go on forever getting away with stealing everything and then Putin does this and they aren't ready.

[FakeNoose]

3. The "elite" unit from Chechnya just got wiped out

[Cracklin Charlie]

5. Could you define conscript for me?

I’ve tried a couple of places, but still not completely sure.

Does it mean they are automatically enlisted for some reason? Age? Mandatory service for everyone?

[Trailrider1951]

10. Here ya go:

Quote: Conscription is used in Russia; the term of service is 12 months; and the eligible age is between 18 and 33 years old. Deferments are provided to undergraduate and graduate students, men supporting disabled relatives, parents of at least two children and — upon Presidential proclamation — to some employees of military-oriented enterprises. Men holding a Ph.D., as well as sons and brothers of servicemen killed or disabled during their military service, are released from conscription. Unquote. Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Armed_Forces

under the category "Personnel". Hope this helps.

[Cracklin Charlie]

15. Very helpful.

Thank you!

[monkeyman1]

31. fancy wording for mandatory enlistment ! s.korea has the same thing !

[moonscape]

4. The current defense minister (not sure

on title) is skilled at doing what he knows is wanted, having replaced the one who was ousted because he fought the entrenched power in order to have a better military. Too bad I’m miserable remembering Russian names. Always had this problem with Russian novels too but I digress …

There was a great twitter thread on this I read earlier (pointed to from DU) and will come back and add the link if I can find it.

Edit:

Link to tweet

Very interesting thread

[applegrove]

6. Thanks.

[moonscape]

7. Found and added. n/t

[L. Coyote]

25. Here's the one I had posted earlier, deep dive, long thread, into maps and warfare:

The important point being made is that Russia does not control the shaded areas just because they drove down one highway, and we are doing #TableGenius Putin a huge favor by creating makes which make it appear they have conquered this much area.

Link to tweet

[Beetwasher.]

8. I Bet MIG Parts Sell For a Good Price

on the black market.

[ironflange]

33. I remember reading once. . .

. . .that Russian crews called the MiG-25 the Flying Restaurant for the amount of alcohol it carried in its systems.

[intrepidity]

11. This seems logical

They have only really been involved in "easy" wars lately, and their military seems to not be battle-hardened. But, that may prove a misconception if the next wave are actually more competent. Time will tell.

But there is no doubt that their oligarchy has weakened all of their national infrastructure.

[eppur_se_muova]

12. Well, yeah. Every responsibility in Russia given to an oligarch who profits from it.

They squeeze it for all they can get and run it only well enough to look good on (carefully edited) paper. Poor supplies, "ghost" supplies, Hell even "ghost soldiers" are an old tradition in corrupt regimes.

[Johnny2X2X]

13. There's a lot of truth to this I bet

And there's also truth to it with the US too, we look at money spent as the measure, when a lot of it's just jobs programs for obsolete and useless equipment. Plus some corruption. The thing keeping us ahead still is everyone else is corrupt too.

But the USSR's corruption is probably a totally different level.

[SMoss]

39. Not true

Nor true. I have been working in and for the DoD since 1966. The emphasis is on readiness, keeping all of our systems up and ready to go. That is how we wiped out Sadam's giant tank corps and command and control system in a few days. The is no comparison here. A10s would eat that stalled convoy for beafast, before lunch.
We should lend lease them some A10s with volunteer formerly airforce pilots, like the Flying Tigers.

[Ferrets are Cool]

16. He didn't get that rich by being nice.

Grifters gonna grift.

[TimeToGo]

17. And then remember Trump

Trump was on his way to making the U.S. that corrupt. I mean, I understand we have corruption problems, but corruption isn't our main operational identity. Another Trump term and . . .

[L. Coyote]

27. Started with Reagan actually.

[TimeToGo]

38. I get that

But the culture of corruption that Trump brought in was unparalleled.

[BeyondGeography]

18. But their (former) yachts are (were) cool

[Wounded Bear]

19. And they got those built in other countries...

[BeyondGeography]

20. And stored there

Kind of like their money.

Some key details were overlooked on the Back to the USSR tour.

[Martin68]

23. I'd say another factor is their total lack of respect and training for their recruits.

[gab13by13]

28. The oligarchs at Rosneft and Gazprom,

are as crooked as they come.

[Danascot]

32. There is so much corruption anyone with any kind of elevated position in Russia

regards it as a license to steal and extort anything they can. One example: brand new stolen Russian arms make up much of the illegal arms trade.

[iemanja]

34. Just like the Republicans want our govt to function.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

41. Just what I've been thinking reading this thread.

And they don't gaf if it destroys our country, as long as they & their cronies profit.

[BobTheSubgenius]

36. Reminds me of the corporation in Catch-22.

Selling off military assets, and leaving IOUs for the men to find when they went to get whatever it was they needed.

[Strelnikov_]

49. And with the loss that M&M Enterprises took on Egytian Cotton,

they had to take on a contract from the Germans to bomb their own base.

But everyone has a share!

[Texaswitchy]

40. Got that right.

Look at those old MREs.

The money for new ones went in Putin's pocket.

[Happy Hoosier]

44. All that Oligarch wealth has to come from somewhere....

Hoisted on their own petard....

I think a lot of the kleptocrats thought that there would never be a conflict big enough to expose the damage of their thievery.


Oops.

[Texaswitchy]

52. Yep.

The greedy got to greedy.

The mighty Russian military can only take on little countries.


Then they run out of fuel and spare parts.