Planet Rugby Forum

openclashXX

A graphic representation of how wide the disparity in manpower has become between Ukrainian and Russian troops, in Donetsk.

The ratio has gone from approximately 1:1 to more than 2:1 in favour of the Russians in the past six months, most of that occurring from February 2024 onwards.

openclashXX

Sign-up payments for Russian volunteers are going up even more - now at 10,000 EUR per person in some regions, up from 3,000 EUR at the beginning of 2024. Keep in mind the average monthly income in Russia is around 500 EUR / month. It would be the equivalent of paying someone £50,000 as a sign-up bo...

openclashXX

This isn't going to end well :uhoh: Poland and Lithuania have said they are prepared to help Ukrainian authorities return men subject to military conscription to the country, after Kyiv announced this week that it was suspending consular services for such men who were now abroad. “We have suggested ...

openclashXX

It's a good recap, it'll save lives but won't allow an offensive this year as noted. For mine the key issue now is more Ukraine's personnel, and morale at the front and in civilian life for the ordinary Ukrainians. It's tough, a constant flow of coffins returning home. The people doing the fighting...

openclashXX

Kiel Institute has done an analysis on current levels of Western support for Ukraine. The new US aid package will bring support level back to early-2023 levels, for roughly 6 months Europe and US overall aid levels are now roughly on par (someone should let Trump know) - the difference is in composi...

openclashXX

Brighton getting pieced up here

openclashXX

Bad news emerging from the frontlines. The Russians appear to have established a salient, roughly 5-10km deep, west of Avdiivka reaching to the village of Ocheretyne. The Russians are claiming a small breakthrough - that seems unlikely, but certainly the reports are they were able to burst into the ...

openclashXX

This could be the first move in a post-election bloodletting among the siloviki . It's an open secret that Patrushev is trying to manoeuvre his son into a position to succeed Putin. Patrushev's son has reportedly fallen out of favour since his Agriculture department's mismanagement of the egg and d...

openclashXX

A rare hit among the Russian elite. Shoigu's #2 has been arrested on charges of bribery. Notable that this is the guy whose main portfolio has included the reconstruction of occupied Mariupol. Federal investigators have arrested Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov on felony bribery charges. Ivanov ...

openclashXX

Unpopular opinion, but I don't believe anyone in the West should be cheering for Chechnya to become headline news again

Without the Russian thumb sitting on top of it, it's far likelier to become the next aspiring Islamic caliphate than a peaceful beacon of Western-style democracy

openclashXX

Tuchel looks like he might be lined up for the Man United job.

Imagine the amount of abuse he's going to unload on the current bunch of wasters. Hope they bring back Sancho just for the inevitable blowup

openclashXX

Mark Galleoti, the Russian political observer who writes for the Spectator, did a good breakdown of what might happen if Kadyrov dies the last time there was a major health scare reported - Kadyrov would likely insist on his 18-year-old son Akhmat being named as successor, in order to keep the famil...

openclashXX

More news about Kadyrov's health issues. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has been living with a diagnosis of pancreatic necrosis for more than five years, the independent news website Novaya Gazeta Europe reported Monday, citing anonymous sources at the Moscow presidential hospital where he was allege...

openclashXX

The use of English is an interesting one that I've seen elsewhere. Recently was in Tbilisi - sat at a restaurant, next to a Russian-speaking couple, having a conversation in Russian. The restaurant staff also clearly spoke Russian since the menu was printed in Georgian, English and Russian, but the ...

openclashXX

I was listening to a podcast the other day with The Telegraphs former Moscow bureau chief, Julius Strauss, who recently visited Kharkiv. He said that there is still about 1m people living in and around the city, which is incredible really, but the major difference he found this time compared to whe...

openclashXX

So torturing and slaughtering may make them fonder of Russia? Or do you mean sue for peace. I don't mean either of those things. Just that Ukrainian history post-independence is a little more complex than you're making it out. The three defining events since 1991 - the Orange Revolution, Euromaidan...

openclashXX

In 1991 there was a free and fair election held in which 93% percent of the population voted in favour of independence. Every single region voted in favour of it. I'm pro-Ukraine and I still find using the 1991 election as an indicator of people's views in 2024 to be a flawed argument. A lot of tim...

openclashXX

Speaking of elections in Ukraine - Zelensky is now 18 points behind Zaluzhnyi in the polls Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would lose to the commander-in-chief he fired if an election were to be held now, according to a poll. Zelensky removed Valerii Zaluzhny from his post in February followi...

openclashXX

In 1991 there was a free and fair election held in which 93% percent of the population voted in favour of independence. Every single region voted in favour of it. I'm pro-Ukraine and I still find using the 1991 election as an indicator of people's views in 2024 to be a flawed argument. A lot of tim...

openclashXX

You'd have to assume Russia will have to ramp up funding for the war even more to try and keep up - it already accounts for one-third of their entire state budget

$60bn is a massive number... the entire Russian defence budget for 2024 is $110bn

openclashXX

David Sacks predictably going into meltdown @DavidSacks It’s not “just” $61 billion. Ukraine will need massive annual cash infusions to stave off total defeat. So it’s $61 billion as the baseline for an annual appropriation in a new forever war. @DavidSacks It’s no coincidence that the Uniparty is s...

openclashXX

Russian reactions to today's votes in US Congress: ◾️Peskov: - on seizing Russian assets: "If it's really about confiscating our assets, the USA will answer for that. Moscow will take measures in accordance with our interests, no time limits." - on aid to Ukraine: "the decision will make the USA ev...

openclashXX

Donald Trump has said the survival of Ukraine is important to the US, in what Reuters describes as a shift in tone days before Republicans are due to vote on a $61bn aid package in the US House of Representatives. “As everyone agrees, Ukrainian Survival and Strength should be much more important to...

openclashXX

Perhaps a sad indicator of the times we live in - there are already playable video games based on the war in Ukraine, produced by each side Death from Above is the Ukrainian offering - you play as a drone operator behind the frontlines taking out Russian tanks Best in Hell is the Russian offering - ...

openclashXX

Total US aid for Ukraine between 2022-2024 thus far has been $74bn

Difficult to understate how massive another $60bn would be, if approved

Hopefully this is the impetus for Ukraine to get its act together on mobilization

openclashXX

Luna: Furthermore, remember, Ukraine chose to not join NATO. Berman: It was NATO and the US and others who didn't want Ukraine to enter Luna: I’m going to have to respectfully push back on that because I disagree https://x.com/Acyn/status/1780951793322574145 On that evidence they need to pass a bil...

openclashXX

Germany's going through one of its "we support Ukraine" phases again Germany has written to dozens of countries including Gulf Arab states to plead for more air defence systems for Ukraine, saying Kyiv needed urgent help to protect its cities, troops and critical infrastructure from the “murderous o...

openclashXX

The question is more what he'll table at this point I think. If the Dems will be prepared to swallow a loan type aid deal and if there's any unacceptable riders on it. Content has been published: The content of the Ukraine aid bill has been published on the House of Representatives website. Similar...

openclashXX

The BBC's independent verification of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine, through sources like funeral postings, newspapers, social media and graveyard satellite photos, has now climbed above 50,000 confirmed killed

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-68819853

openclashXX

towny wrote: ↑Wed Apr 17, 2024 6:14 pm So the US would loan Ukraine to buy obsolete/expired equipment and ammunition that’s in US inventory instead of the US throwing it out?

That’s a good deal, right?

Yes, and the money the Ukrainians "pay" would go towards restocking. It's effectively a subsidy for American weapons manufacturers

openclashXX

Russian "peacekeepers" officially withdrawing from Karabakh - that's around 2,000 troops. Full control of the territory now with Azerbaijan Russia has begun withdrawing its "peacekeeping" contingent from Nagorno-Karabakh, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on April 17, according to Russian...

openclashXX

CanNZ2000 wrote: ↑Wed Apr 17, 2024 4:31 pm Saturday could be a very good day for Ukraine, support wise, fingers crossed.

https://twitter.com/foxreports/status/1 ... SFNmRh_ECg

He's likely signed his own political death warrant by finally moving ahead with a vote on this bill, but it's long overdue

openclashXX

Last night's strike on Dzhankoy in Crimea looks more and more curious Early indications that the Ukrainians used ATACMS missiles ($1m each) to strike the base. Russian milbloggers claiming it was as many as 11 missiles, likely a massive exaggeration but certainly multiple were used as more than one ...

openclashXX

The UK already has one of the lowest smoking rates in the developed world, under 15% of people smoke, down from around 35% in 2000. That's considerably below the 20-40% range across most of the EU. The anti-smoking legislation passed during that time clearly had some effect. I would've preferred hav...

openclashXX

Completely forget there was Champions League on tonight

These scores

openclashXX

So it looks like the US house vote on Ukraine aid will be voted on, potentially as early as this Friday - but not as part of a combined bill with Israel + Taiwan + border funding, but instead as a standalone funding bill for Ukraine Would be keen to know whether that improves or harms its chances of...

openclashXX

Reports emerging that morale among Russian troops is so low that many are now committing ritual seppuku instead of running head-first into the next meat wave assault source: trust me bro LOL. Keep swallowing whatt America, the UK, Western MSM, Facebook and youtube allow. You're being completely not...

openclashXX

Reports emerging that morale among Russian troops is so low that many are now committing ritual seppuku instead of running head-first into the next meat wave assault

source: trust me bro

openclashXX

According to The Standard, the FA recently released data on the Chelsea stars as part of their annual agent payments report last week. The data suggests that the Blues have extended the contracts of Fernandez and Mudryk until 2032 and 2031 respectively. If both the players stay at Stamford Bridge u...

openclashXX

Suggestions that they've exhausted the combat capabilities over several areas of the frontline at this point based on the expenditure of men and materiel over their winter offensive(s). Surely it'll take them a good while to reconstitute and resupply before they can throw people into the grinder ag...

Search found 15883 matches