I’ve responded by adding to original post so visible to others reading it.
Will post about other CONOPS later.
Or at ending the war by ending the Russian fascist regime…
Those ARE the options.
Most urgent defence of Taiwan is rapid and total victory for Ukraine with end of Russian fascist regime to discourage Chinese fascists following Russian example.
L8R gone
2 Likes
Beyond indirect sanctions on products, there is the capacity of China to catch up on hi tech, its capacity to develop expertise in basic research and development that underpins the domestic manufacture of military grade hi tech goods.
In the Soviet era, Russia controlled tertiary level education in science, students in the Warsaw Pact countries could not choose their disciplines, they were allocated places according to perceived needs based on equipping the military with equipment and skills.
This was the case in the Soviet Union and East Germany, but didn’t really occur elsewhere in the Warsaw Pact.
Ukrainian pilots proficiency for fighter training #F16 rated as exceptional at #USA based on Arizona National Guard Air Force Base The 162nd Fighter Wing, which flies F-16 fighter jets, is based at #Tucson International Airport and trains international flight crews on the fourth-generation aircraft One of the officials said that another 10 pilots could come to the United States for the same evaluation.
3 Likes
Oh yes it did. I had a colleague, a Russian migrant who had married a Hungarian during the Soviet era. He was a top tertiary qualified nuclear scientist who was being head hunted for his expertise here.
Instead, she was supporting him to do undergraduate studies at the ANU in another discipline. She said in Hungary you didn’t get to choose your tertiary studies - so many allocated to nuclear science. It was a Warsaw Pact thing.
From 10-13 min in
1 Like
3 Likes
“Here is your condolence gift basket Ma’am: two sausages, a tin of out-of-date “fish” pate, three potatoes and a block of soap. Compliments of the state!”
2 Likes
Not just the wealth underground, also the hundreds of billions of rubles worth of Industrial Infrastructure, mines, powerplants, factories etc… on annexed land. This idea is also supported by the fact that russian war plans included to take control all of Ukraine’s Nuclear power plants (They only got Zaporizhzhia NPP) and hook them up to the russian grid to start stealing power.
2 Likes
Grossi was re-elected head of IAEA. He hasn’t succeeded in getting ZNPP a DMZ, but, with Russian agreement, he has IAEA experts at the plant and in securing 10 days diesel supplies at the plant when it goes off the electricity grid. It only took a day or so for the plant to be reconnected to the grid after the recent damage to the network. He maintains that the the safety of the ZNPP - the largest nuclear plant in Europe- is on a knife edge.
Grossi probably had his head in his hands at the last big meeting of IAEA, when Ukraine failed in its call for Russia to be expelled from the IAEA.
ADD
IIRC, Russia connected the ZNPP to the Russian grid at one time.
Won’t get into a long discussion as we’ll just have to agree to disagree anyway but a very strong case could be put that the second gulf war was about oil.
Iraq invasion was about oil | Environment | The Guardian
Oil and the Decision to Invade Iraq (gsu.edu)
Why the war in Iraq was fought for Big Oil | CNN
Proponents of this view also highlight the extensive planning that went into securing the oil fields and oil infrastructure and that one of the first buildings that the US Military secured when they entered Baghdad, and one of the very few that wasn’t comprehensively looted because of a very strong US Military presence, was the Iraqi Oil Ministry.
Oil ministry an untouched building in ravaged Baghdad (smh.com.au)
How does the “total blockade of Taiwan” scenario play out when multiple nations regularly run freedom of navigation exercises through the Taiwan strait?
Wouldn’t the real ramification of a blockade be that China places itself in direct conflict with and opposition to the world’s biggest navies?
So a blockade would be an act of aggression against western allied nations regardless of their stance on supporting Taiwan.
It will be easier for China to expand economically by picking up the pieces of a broken Russia.
3 Likes
2 Likes
3 Likes
5 Likes
There have been reports of some Russian military and equipment (fighter planes and long range missiles) transferred from the Syrian front to Ukraine.
However, as skilled Russian troops in Syria are estimated at around 5k, commentators don’t see troop numbers as much in replenishing skilled troops.
Similarly, Russian attempts to get Iran to duplicate basic vehicles captured from Ukraine have been deemed a flop.
There are proposals to alter the Russian conscription age which, during the transitional stage , would involve a higher call up.
Would love to see the American Pickers guys go down to the Russian sheds and make them some offers on their old machines. Might make a few bucks to buy some new gear
6 Likes