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Warfare Russia/Ukraine War
- Thread starter morris
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Call up the class of '27!
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They probably have no choice but to call up more people if they wish to continue with this madness.
Russian investigative portal 'Important Stories' reports that the Russian Defence Ministry's recruitment efforts have reached an all-time low. In the second quarter of 2025, "only" 37,900 people voluntarily joined the army—two and a half times fewer than in the same quarter of 2024. (Source) Against this backdrop, all levels of the Russian government are stepping up their financial recruitment efforts.
For example, Voronezh's Governor Alexander Gusev announced on Telegram that recruitment bonuses paid out by his oblast—in addition to all other benefits at the federal and municipal levels—will be quadrupled to ₽2.1 million. (Source) For comparison: The average household in this region had an annual income of ₽0.53 million in 2023. (Source) Gusev emphasized that the bonus will even go to those who travel to Voronezh from other regions of Russia to sign their commitment contract there.
And here is what Milblogger Vault8, a reservist called up in late 2022 (and still deployed), had to say about the quality of new Russian recruits:
"My first personal encounter with [new contract soldiers] occurred in January/February 2024, when our regiment was deployed to the rear as part of a rotation (only for 20 days, but that's beside the point) at a military training area. There, I met new contract soldiers who had just been sent to the regiment. […] [At that time], they were ordinary men aged 40 to 60, with the occasional young man (19 to 25) who hadn't yet completed his mandatory service.
And almost all men hadn't been in the army before either. Most were ordinary working-class people (including from rural areas), but in terms of their level of information, they were like children. They hadn't learned anything about the realities of the Special Military Operation, be it from online sources or from relatives of mobilized soldiers from their own communities. They believed the TV programs and signed contracts without reading the fine print.
The next batch I encountered in August or September 2024. I was passing by a penal camp for detained men from second-rate assault companies and saw a new type of contract soldier … A frightening sight, to be frank with you.
Imagine a pirate like artists depict them today: gray-haired, unkempt, toothless, with expressions ranging from hatred to mild madness, and malnourished. Add to that a few professional soldiers from the regular army—with normal muscles, neat haircuts, and the eyes of people who live their lives a bit too casually. An unforgettable contrast. They were criminals who had got tired of serving (yet another) long prison sentence, all of them serious criminals: murderers, robbers, drug dealers.
And then, in January 2025, came the third rotation of preparing new contract soldiers. I was sent back into the hinterland again. And saw people who were worse off than the prisoners described above: the homeless and veteran alcoholics. Back then, soldiers from this reserve force perished every other week, simply due to physical exertion. They hadn't done physical labour for ages, like shovelling or carrying heavy objects such as body armour, machine guns and ammunition." (Source)
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""only" 37,900 people voluntarily joined the army"
And that is probably also people who are completely desperate for money, unemployed being pressured to serve and with no perspectiv.
But to be fair, Ukraine situation is probably not that far, from recruiting point of view.
Footage of a Russian Ka-52 helicopter using an X-39 LMUR guided missile in combat in Ukraine. The video shows a Russian X-39 missile striking a temporary deployment point for the 63rd Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Army, located in a building. The video was filmed in the village of Kirovsk in the Krasnolimansk direction
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Russia has a desertion problem!
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"Ukraine hit Russia's Oil and Gas pretty hard. I will explain the details. " - Professor Gerdes.
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"The war that Vladimir Putin started in Ukraine is now coming home - to Russia itself. Thousands of soldiers returning from the front are bringing chaos, violence and trauma with them. Over the past three years, nearly 1,000 servicemen have been charged with murder of brutal assault, turning Russian cities into reflections of the very battlefields they once fought. Fueled by alcohol, PTSD and total impunity, these men now treat civilian life like another front line, where every argument ends with gunfire, and every family dispute can turn deadly. In a new episode of Break The Fake, Jonasz Rewiński shows you the real consequence of Putin's war: a country slowly destroying itself from the inside. " -
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Putin didn't have normal childhood or life. He wouldn't know reality of peaceful family.
Born in 1952 Leningrad, Putin was a street kid in a city devastated by a horrific, three-year siege by the Nazis during WWII, a genocide described as the world’s most destructive siege of a city. Most of the population of three million people died, one million starving to death.
Putin’s father was badly injured in the war, his mother nearly died of starvation. Living in a rat-infested apartment with two other families, the family had no hot water, no bathtub, a broken-down toilet, little or no heat. His father worked in a factory; his mother did odd jobs she could find. A small child, whose two older siblings are believed to have been lost to war and disease, Putin was left to fend for himself, severely bullied by other children.
His own family dissjointed. Illigitimate kids. The richest man in the world according to Musk without actually being in any business? This is the resume of normal for his Z supporters.
Born in 1952 Leningrad, Putin was a street kid in a city devastated by a horrific, three-year siege by the Nazis during WWII, a genocide described as the world’s most destructive siege of a city. Most of the population of three million people died, one million starving to death.
Putin’s father was badly injured in the war, his mother nearly died of starvation. Living in a rat-infested apartment with two other families, the family had no hot water, no bathtub, a broken-down toilet, little or no heat. His father worked in a factory; his mother did odd jobs she could find. A small child, whose two older siblings are believed to have been lost to war and disease, Putin was left to fend for himself, severely bullied by other children.
His own family dissjointed. Illigitimate kids. The richest man in the world according to Musk without actually being in any business? This is the resume of normal for his Z supporters.
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Russia's own 'Kommersant' reports (with horror) that Kazakhstan is now cooperating with the West to stop sanctioned goods from reaching Russia. Some 7,500 trucks are stuck at border crossings, causing huge traffic jams, as Kazakh officials attempt to control nearly every vehicle crossing the border. The waiting time at the border is between 3 and 5 days, depending on the crossing point. (Source)
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Putin admits Russia shot down Azerbaijani passenger jet, killing 38
The Russian president said missiles fired by Russian air defences to target a Ukrainian drone detonated near the Azerbaijan Airlines plane on 25 December last year.
Nice try there Vlad.
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Death by thousand cuts for them and not Ukraine as they tried to do it...it seems...
Russian aircraft struck an underground temporary Ukrainian army base with a FAB-3000 aerial bomb. The FAB-3000 bomb, equipped with a UMPK module, was dropped by a Su-34 fighter-bomber. The video was filmed in an industrial zone near Kupyansk.
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"Putin is working hard to get back into Trump's Good Graces in order to manipulate the situation. THIS is what he just did to achieve that." - Professor Gerdes.
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