u/skillissuer

nObOdY hAs SeEn NoRtHkOrEaNs https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2399261/first-north-korean-troops-killed-in-russia-says-lithuanian-source https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/05/north-korea-troops-russia-ukraine-war-kim-jong-un-putin

mercenaries would be something like wagner. there are international volunteers within normal units of UAF, with normal pay and responsibilities just like any other unit. these chinese were promised unusually high salary and russian citizenship at the end of the contract. ukrainian foreign legion is entirely official, while this chinese recruitment seems to be covert or at least not very highly visibly public. ukrainian foreign legion also takes only people with former combat experience (iirc), it's unclear so far if chinese recruited have any, probably not considering that china has stayed out of any major war or deployment since forever. these are not the same things

there's technology transfer from koreans https://www.polska-zbrojna.pl/home/ArticleShow/42536

also not everything can be done with drones, for some time-sensitive targets you need speed that MLRS delivers

there's not that many of them and one Trident missile costs only $31M


i think there was an update or two since

also the minimum deterrence always kept up by brits is that there's at all times enough nukes in submarines to destroy moscow. french have some more fine-grained options

triple the defence budget

i'll have you know that social contract that formed in russia after 90s looks just like that: citizens fuck off from politics in return for some prosperity. every time when russian state expected that that won't last due to things like 2008 crisis or covid or what have you, they started a war as a distraction and to rally around the flag some nationalists. now they're on 4th attempt, this one was due to post-covid recession. difference is, this time they were high on their own supply of propaganda and planned accordingly. they also can't back down because they see it as a weakness, and that would mean a coup

I know that Abe was PM since always, but he's dead for almost three years now

remember, the entire time until bombs dropped Goldblum wasn't sure that if it was an elaborate bit

at least it's not telegram

"i just hate bailing out europe again"

Dense motherfucker doesn't know where his bread is buttered. Status of dollar as global reserve currency hinges on free maritime trade, on top of sheer amount of oil that passes through that place and american sensitivity to energy prices

Not to mention that they're cause of greater share of instability in the region

in europe egg cartons are metric (10 instead of 12)

inb4 due to disagreements on, or shitty enforcement of sanitary norms new and exciting chicken plague will develop

technically it was also not a "violation of ceasefire" because putin said any ceasefire can only happen only after all western military aid and intelligence sharing are stopped. all, not just american. clown shit

they specifically did target energy infrastructure so yes, they did https://kyivindependent.com/zelensky-trump-to-hold-a-conversation-on-march-19/

The French have been always pretty explicit about it:

>Within ten years, we shall have the means to kill 80 million Russians. I truly believe that one does not light-heartedly attack people who are able to kill 80 million Russians, even if one can kill 800 million French, that is if there were 800 million French.

(De Gaulle in 70s)

Nuke can be tactical or strategic regardless of yield. Suitcase nuke in capital of most probable adversary is strategic, 5Mt Spartan ABM is tactical. Here it comes down to it being a clearly announced capability that is hard to mistake for anything else and is one step before SLBMs

it might also have lower minimum yield

No https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air-sol_moyenne_port%C3%A9e

they always had these available