I read something a while back that a lot of Russia s special forces, especially the infamous blue stripe shirt wearing Spetnatz branch' strength has been greatly exaggerated by Moscow for years. That what you see in parades are often guys recruited to just look intimidating but don't hold a candle to many of the mercs like Wagner. Whether that's true or not I obviously don't know for sure, but it seems highly likely there is a lot of ineptness in those ranks.
Russian invasion of Ukraine | Fewer tweets, more discussion
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Yes, all of it. But it's quite difficult to get information about their supply situation.
So what are we hoping for exactly? Probably a defeat of Prighozin, preferably with huge losses on both sides, because he could escalate the war (e. g. with nukes)?
Also, the word is that during the first clashes of Wagner with Rosgvardia in the border area between Crimea and Rostov, the later forces have fled leaving behind the weapons and ifvs. Wagner is on the move.Tweet
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He doesn't have any nukes with the possible exception of a bomb able to be transported by a man, like a backpack or suitcase nuke.
Would highly, highly doubt that they had one of those.
I go offline for a few hours for once and Russia starts a bloody civil war in the meantime. figures.
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C’mon lads. Now’s your chance to make serious headway.
You say they are....monitoring the situation
Wasn't he crying about not having enough supplies for his troops in the UA just a few weeks ago? How exactly would he get any of those supplies without the help of the MOD there now?
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Thats the airborn forces or the VDV as they are called. Before the war they where seen as an elite force in the Russian armed forces and they where the ones who where supposed to capture the Hostomel airport outside Kiev in the first days of the war.
Yes he was, but it was still enough to take Bakhmut, although at higher losses than necessary.
But we just don't know now what he needs for the coup, how many ressources he has and most importantly how much support he has in the regular army. That could give him the supplies he needs.
Ah thanks for clarifying!
I meant if his insurrection is was successful and he really replaces Putin. If he's more ruthless and unpredictable than him, that's not really something desirable. Right now it is pretty clear that Putin never wanted to use nukes and face the West's response but if Prigozhin is that reckless..
You mean Robotyne?
If the NYT or CNN had cited a similar small win in favour of Russia as evidence of the counter offensive failing, you would have called that Russian propaganda, right?
The worst that can happen, is that Putin turns on his own military leadership (he can't possibly be happy with them anyway), and let Prigozhin lead the war against Ukraine. Maybe not so likely anyway, after hearing Prigozhin questioning the war itself.
Yeah. There are so many questions that we don't have answers for now. As I said earlier, this looks like an insane move from a mad guy.
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Considering how hostile Prgozhin has been for months and he's still alive, could this be a plan from Russia to get out of the war pretending it's to do with internal politics rather than their army being slowly defeated?
The Russian invasion of Russia has started..
I wouldn't go that far but I'm not convinced this isn't Kremlin staged bullshit.
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From Kyiv in 3 days to Moscow in 1 night.
Implosion..
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Still, he DID say that the war is pretty pointless and unjustified, and if he really means it, this could instead end the war. Wagner was first and foremost a business idea, wasn't it, now, thousands of his men are being slaughtered.
Prigozhin has 20-30K loyal fighters around him, thats why he has been able to say what he's been saying for so long. It's not easy to get to a man that has that amount of loyal troops around him.
That is insane! Even if the mercenary forces somehow make it to Moscow, can people within the administration not relocate to somewhere else in Russia?
Until the bullets start flying out of the APCs in Russian streets, I feel this is all becoming a bit Erdogan blagging a coup levels of bullshit.
One thing that is mental though: employing and sending 25k rapists and murderers to the harshest trench warfare imaginable and then releasing the ones that survived back into general population loyal to the commander that got them out of jail. What a fecking cracking policy that is.
Regardless of what happens, Russian politics is on a whole another level of theatrics. Prigozhin's videos are basically Russian PMQs.
One thing that is mental though: employing and sending 25k rapists and murderers to the harshest trench warfare imaginable and then releasing the ones that survived back into general population loyal to the commander that got them out of jail. What a fecking cracking policy that is.
Regardless of what happens, Russian politics is on a whole another level of theatrics. Prigozhin's videos are basically Russian PMQs.
Interesting if true.
I wonder what not "being able to reach Putin" implies - I mean it is 2am in Moscow, he's probably asleep?
The best for Ukrainians is to wait and see what happens. Of course, if they have any agents inside Russia they should try to add to the havoc!
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...tack-and-says-evil-leadership-must-be-stopped
In a virtual declaration of war against his rivals in the Russian military, Prigozhin said he controlled 25,000 fighters and that together “we are going to figure out why the chaos is happening in the country”.
“Anyone who wants should join. We need to end this mess,” he said.
“Everyone who will try to resist, we will consider them a danger and destroy them immediately, including any checkpoints on our way. And any aviation that we see above our heads,” he added.
“I’m asking everyone to remain calm, do not succumb to provocations, and remain in their houses. Ideally, those along our way, do not go outside. After we finished what we started, we will return to the frontline to protect our motherland,” Prigozhin said.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...tack-and-says-evil-leadership-must-be-stopped
In a virtual declaration of war against his rivals in the Russian military, Prigozhin said he controlled 25,000 fighters and that together “we are going to figure out why the chaos is happening in the country”.
“Anyone who wants should join. We need to end this mess,” he said.
“Everyone who will try to resist, we will consider them a danger and destroy them immediately, including any checkpoints on our way. And any aviation that we see above our heads,” he added.
“I’m asking everyone to remain calm, do not succumb to provocations, and remain in their houses. Ideally, those along our way, do not go outside. After we finished what we started, we will return to the frontline to protect our motherland,” Prigozhin said.
I think the last time I was constantly scrambling for updates on a news story like this was probably the January 6th riots. But the Americans at least had the decency to live stream it.
Could be escaping to his Black Sea underground bunker
Not the actual day of invasion, 24 February?
Considering what we've heard and seen about the army around him, I have zero doubts that the Kremlin could have killed him before today. It's different now, but if they really do want him gone he will be within the next week or two.