Posted on 04/11/2024 4:47:23 PM PDT by MinorityRepublican
Russia's armed forces have grown larger and not dwindled during its war in Ukraine, a top US general said on Wednesday.
"The army is actually now larger — by 15 percent — than it was when it invaded Ukraine," US Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, told the House Armed Services Committee in a hearing.
"Over the past year, Russia increased its front-line troop strength from 360,000 to 470,000," Cavoli continued, adding that the bolstered numbers stemmed from Russia raising its conscription age from 27 to 30.
The increase, Cavoli said, meant that Russia was able to enlarge "the pool of available military conscripts by 2 million for years to come."
"In sum, Russia is on track to command the largest military on the continent," Cavoli said in his opening statement to Congress.
"Regardless of the outcome of the war in Ukraine, Russia will be larger, more lethal, and angrier with the West than when it invaded," he added.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
been stating this for a long time
North America/Russia/Japan working together could have easily contained the Chinese and the rest of the world and kept them where they would never be a threat
You know Russia is a net EXPORTER of oil right? They produce more oil than they can even use! Higher oil prices mean more oil reevenue for Russian sales to India, Iran etc
Russia needs the added troops just to be able to conquer a few more square kilometers per month. They lost 17,000 soldiers to capture around 25 square kilometers in Avdiivka and hundreds of vehicles.
Russia needs to use more infantry because they can't succeed with armored assaults, they progress by sacrificing their young men.
Ours is smaller, but much more woke, so.....50% less manly presence? (officer corps effective thinking)
Attritional war is fought with high volume, low cost, low margin munitions which the MIC is not interested in because they are not profitable.
155mm shells are produced in a gov’t owned factory.
Putin is an idiot to have started this war. I thought his original justification for the war was the curtailing NATO expansion. Sweden and Finland have joined NATO recently weakening Russia’s northern flank. Russian supply routes to naval and sub bases in Murmansk and Archangel are vulnerable to sabotage and attack through Finland which has a long border with northern Russia. It also bottles up their fleet in the Gulf of Finland putting their enclave in Kaliningrad (Konigsburg) at risk.
No one told him that the Ukrainians got arms and training from NATO. But Putin is a dictator and his "yes men" were not going to tell him the truuth.
“155mm shells are produced in a gov’t owned factory.“
True but the factories are operated by civilian contractors. (IDK if the factory workers are union members; perhaps a knowlegeable Freeper can explain.)
Powerful video. The problem for Ukie Generals is early in the war tens of thousands of Military age Ukie Men fled YouCrayneee to other Countries
and those men are not coming back.
If NATO says its 15%, then its probably 100%
The oligarchs’ sons are hitting the discos
The aholes in DC are getting their kickbacks
The poor Ukie Dog faces are getting the crap blasted out of them
Nuland, the war criminal is retired , fat dumb and happy
The Russian military has always been built to “fight” women and children. That’s why they are having so much trouble defeating Ukrainian farmers and miners.
Wow, that strategy sure backfired.
Russia had approximately 370-380k active force in 2022. They have trained over 677k additional soldiers by February 2024. There will another 350k in July and possibly 400k in January 2025.
Russian soldiers serve 2 years and only spend 6-11 in combat before discharge i to the reserves.
Currently Russia has 360k in Ukraine. They have a corps of 500k in operational reserve which may join the war in June. In July 250k were slated dor Ukraine, 30k for Syria and 20k for Africa... Niger.
In 2026 Russia has an authorized troop strength of 2.2m in 4x 500k corps level units.
FAB 3000s are the new Uke buster. Delivered by aviation these and the 250, 500, 1500s have destroyed all but 2014 NATO city. It will fall within 45 days.
Anytime since Vietnam the DNC Senators have betrayed every US ally. Just like S. Vietnam no longer exists, Ukraine will be absorbed into 6 different nation states.
To ordinary Russians their money is better than your dead oetro dollars.
Another general said it costs 8,000 for one 155mm shell for Ukraine. That cost was 2,000 3 years ago.
When Brics goes on the Gold Standard... watch the dollar pivot to Bitcoin.
Russia is degraded. Just because the Army is 15% bigger doesn’t make it 15% stronger. They’ve lost a lot of their better, experienced units and replaced it with prisoners and fresh conscripts. That doesn’t make you stronger. Their navy has lost how many ships? With experienced sailors? Experienced pilots? EWACS?
It’ like if you take a big boxer in his prime, and compare him after he’s been retired 20 years, but you stuff his shirt with pillows. He’ll look bigger, but he sure won’t hit you harder.
“If they have even been recovered and buried, by not collecting the bodies they are listed as missing, and they don’t have to pay families benefits”
Who? The Russians? Nothing new for them. That was their thing in WWII, family notifications for party members only.
Yup, no body no casualty.
Shows a level of control not sure even Soviet Union had
15000 Kia over Afghanistan “SMO”, and that at least contributed to fall of Soviets. 10 times that and barely a blip of protest.
Imagine many folks there are thinking “what are we doing”, but few risk saying anything let alone protesting.
Usuals will point out Putin “won “ election in a landslide as proof of support…..
The Ruble has been more or less decoupled from the price of oil for a while now. This isn’t the old days when the two moved in tandem, because oil dominated Russian exports. These days the Russian economy is much, much more diversified.
Freaking strategic deep thinkers in charge really dug a deep hole thinking they could use Ukraine to degrade the Russians.
Russians are having to use reservists and 1950 vintage tanks now. Yeah they’re a lot stronger. If Russia isn’t careful they could find themselves unable to refine oil soon what with the drone strikes going on. Ukraine is being destroyed and the Russian economy is going downhill. Don’t let those GDP figures fool you.
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