Is systemic corruption a significant reason why the Russian armed forces are performing so poorly?

[KrakenAttackin]

This is a pretty striking video.

[MCheetah]

Damn... I'm not watching an hour with an accent that annoying.

Systemic corruption may have something to do with it, but people are overlooking the more obvious and STRONGEST reason for military might: morale. If you live in a dictatorships or authoritarian country, few people are going to want to risk their lives for the people in charge. Soldiers also don't want to risk their lives, and die, in pointless wars, either.

Almost NO ONE in Russia actually wanted this war, and plenty has come out about the Russian soldiers not wanting to be there, and pretty much telling Ukraine they're "just taking orders" and if they didn't, they would be executed.

That's why the US doesn't get into every conflict as well, and why ultimately, the Afghanistan conflict failed. It was STRONG after 9/11, but then, once they killed Bin Laden, all that steam died out.

To put it simply, if you are sending actual men into F*CKING war, you had better give them a DAMN F*CKING GOOD REASON to fight!

And if you don't have one and your army isn't the United States military, don't expect to win. You can't force or threaten morale or enthusiasm out of soldiers. None of these Russian soldiers want to be in Ukraine right now. And Russia treats its people (relatively speaking) WAAAAAAAAAAY better than the CCP does.

If China DOES ever threaten war with Taiwan, expect the Chinese military (with less experience, equipment that was "Made in China," and no actual real nukes, whatsoever), to be even less excited to be there than Russia is. Oh, and Russia didn't force a "one child per family" and "no girls" policy on its citizens either, like China did. Oh, and Russia actually makes better military vehicles and equipment than China does (still garbage, but better than China).

So no. I don't think "systemic corruption" has much to do with it, as much as morale and Putin sending men off to their potential deaths for some pointless stupid bullsh*t not worth dying over. (You can argue if Ukraine joining NATO is "stupid" or not, from the Russian point of view, but if they weren't in NATO at this point, they probably were never going to be, so all Putin did was ensure they now WILL be, after this war is over.)

[Fuentes]

Russia has never been tough lol they just looked tough cause they fucked up Germany in WW2 on the eastern front but it was the winter, that gave that advantage. Russia was afraid to fight us in the Korean war so China stepped up.

Russia supplied the NVA against us but was to afraid to come to there aide.

Russia would not act during the cold War

Russia got fucked up by the Mujahideen and they had a messy battle in other eastern European countries.

Russia has never been tough they just used the size of their mostly rural country & the fact Europe was fully energy dependant on them & their ties with China.

The only reason they attacked Ukraine was cause it's the cold hard Truth if Ukraine becomes NATO it's a threat as we would have Moscow surrounded. When Russia tried that decades ago In Central & South America the US did everything in their power to abolish that influence & help destabilize most of those countries who planned to work with Russia.

[PetiteBabe64]

That’s a long Video if I wanna Watch this movie you got Here I will have to order some food.
People are corrupted by Murdering others.


The first kill would be the hardest, but the next would be easier, and the one after that easier still, because it’s true: Even the most sensitive person can get used to even the most insensitive thing.

The first kill would be the hardest, but the next would be easier, and the one after that easier still, because it’s true: Even the most sensitive person can get used to even the most insensitive thing.

Cruelty isn’t a personality trait. Cruelty is a habit.

He pushed that thought away. To call what he was doing cruel implied he had a choice. Choosing between your kind and another species wasn’t cruel. It was necessary. Not easy, especially when you’ve lived the last four years of your life pretending to be no different from them, but necessary.

[Anonymous]

Do you want them to be up and running properly. Ready to attack even though sad they won’t be defended

[OlderAndWiser]

I’m sure that is a problem but I also think that Putin does not have the support of most Russians.

[hahahmm]

He's probably in a deep underground bunker deciding if he would rather launch nukes or get put on trial... Russians should have stopped him long before now

[CALIGVLA]

From what I know about the Russians, you're wrong and couldn't be any more wromg than that. They despise pro-Western/liberals leaders because those kinds almost destroyed Russia for a decade after the fall of the USSR. Living standards have been raised considerably since Putin got in charge of the country.

[CALIGVLA]

Instead of hating the leadership of a country which is several thousand miles away from us, it'd be much more useful if citizens like you start holding Sleepy Joe accountable for all his crimes and incompetence. It'd actually make our lives better. But y'all chose the path of virtue signaling.

[OlderAndWiser]

@CALIGVLA Who in the hell are you talking to, slick? You don't know me and you don't know anything about me! You're talking nonsense.

[CALIGVLA]

Do I need to? It doesn't matter if you see yourself as a Republican/Democrat/Conservative/Liberal/Progressive because at the end of the day you're all arm in arm saying,

"War is good!"
"We need to show strength!"
"Our values, blah, blah, blah,"

Meanwhile, almost everyone in this country is seeing their standard of living sink like the Titanic, the war goes bad to worse and our politicians get away with everything.

[OlderAndWiser]

@CALIGVLA How in the world did you manage to become so damned smart at only the age of 23? It's amazng!

[MrOracle]

Actually, @OlderAndWiser he does have support from most Russians. In part because of the constant propaganda they are given (with limited if any access to alternative news), and in part because they have been raised to be numb and apathetic and to support the government. The rewards are usually meager, to be sure, but opposition has severe consequences. It's easier just to agree with Putin.

That mostly only changes when you are ordered to war, and even then, you are bombarded with patriotism in order to manipulate you into compliance long enough to reach the front lines...

[LuvLuv89]

No, and the Russians aren't performing poorly. This is a war, not a game of sport where you start to get upset at any moment your team loses momentum and concedes points. The political outcome is the no. 1 goal, and the use of military is a means to achieve this end. Therefore, the military is employed strategically for political purposes. This is far more complex than "send in the full forces to blow them apart". Most USers will never know this... couldn't beat the Taliban... there's a reason for that. US goals were to occupy the country and line peoples pockets... not to defeat the Taliban. Putin has stated his political goals very clearly, and you need to research them yourself and swallow a red pill while you're away from Western propaganda. Recent territorial losses aren't good for Russia, but they don't contradict their primary goals. Given the withdrawals were voluntary this is actually consistent with their narrative... meaning, the Russians are doing what they say.

[hahahmm]

From what I've heard experts say it's just one reason. The other is that the Russian military has a structure that's poorly suited for fighting a war with NATO and Ukraine was trained to fight NATO style. Plus he was careful to only promote/keep military leaders who say, "yes" to whatever he wants and tell him only what he wants to hear.

We have the same problem brewing in the U. S. as far as the "yes" stuff. Any commander with the "wrong" ideas is weeded out. That's why the US military followed Biden's orders to leave all of that equipment in Afghanistan and not to do an orderly withdraw. If they did things right they would have refused privately and forced him to go with a better plan.

[RonStone45]

Maybe cause of all of the sanctions that are on Russia, 8 years of U. S and Nato training the Ukrainian military received, the billions in dollars of support from the U. S and other western countries, strategic intelligence received from the U. S and other western countries and all of the weapons and ammo supplied to the Ukrainian army from western countries. Also, the entire Ukrainian military is fighting, on top of all the civilians that joined the Ukrainian forces and foreign fighters, while not all of the Russian army is fighting.

[Sixgunsound]

It certainly seems to play a role in why the United States is doing so badly

[KrakenAttackin]

@Sixgunsound We certainly have corruption and undue influence, but we do manage to field powerful weapons and trained personnel (mostly). The worst type of corruption I see is what "wokeness" has done. Check out this report about the U. S. surface fleet not being ready for war due to more "diversity and inclusion" training than combat training. This will really make you want to puke.

militaryveteransofdisqus.org/.../

[Sixgunsound]

I’ll pass I know what you are talking about it began when I was getting out. I remember Obama’s Stalinist purges if officers that were worth a damn, and it has only continued down the chain into the ranks with woke indoctrination of the ranks.

[CALIGVLA]

The reason why the Russian armed forces are facing so much hardship in Ukraine is mathematical. They've put far less boots on the ground than they needed to. You can't destroy an enemy country ir conquer it without sending infantry in adequate numbers.

[ChefPapiChulo]

lmao this guy is an internet general. we should listen to him xD.

[Anonymous]

I'm sure that's part of it, but i think the biggest issue for the Russian army is that most of the soldiers don't support the war and they resent Putin for putting them in harm's way for an unjust cause.

[Avicenna]

Not having good noncommissioned officers also is a big factor

[Lliam]

The "western" narrative about Russia-Ukraine is hilarious.

[Agagagagaga]

Is it ever. The propaganda is astonishing. If you read Western news you’d think the Russians couldn’t find their own ass with both hands and that the Ukrainians are all highly trained, competent, and deadly effective. It’s like the Russians can’t win a firefight let alone a skirmish or battle—but this definitely isn’t propaganda to gin up support for the war. 🙄

[Lliam]

@Agagagagaga. Right?
From what I've seen and read, Russia never intended to blitzkrieg across Ukraine. It went in with a limited mission.
It has dedicated about 2% of it's military capability. But its arms capabilities have destroyed most of Ukraine's military infrastructure, including arms sent by the west, and have killed thousands of Ukrainian military personnel.

Russia has suffered its losses because it does everything possible not to damage civilian areas or harm civilians. Taking cities is dangerous when you try to avoid civilian casualties. Unlike Ukraine, which deliberately targets civilians and has been doing so for years, even before Russia stepped in.

[Agagagagaga]

@Lliam I think also that the corporate media kept telling everyone that Ukraine would be conquered in a matter of days? The Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff was saying that Kiev would fall in like three days.

THREE DAYS!

It was absolutely ridiculous and I knew it then. I’ve been in the military and I also study military history. The same people that held out against the Nazis during Hitler’s invasion of Russia, who maybe had family who served, and who may have later served in Soviet times. It’s not like they are a people who can’t say “Remember the Siege of Stalingrad grandpa fought in against the Nazis? Now the Russians are invading. We can hold them off!”

And General Milley said THREE DAYS. 🙄

This sets the story that the Russians should just run right over the Ukrainians like a goddamn freight train in a matter of days. After all, the highest military commander in the USA couldn’t be wrong in his estimation. 🙄

It was propaganda. Designed to get politicians to pass legislation to start the money flowing to Ukraine and military contractors, and when Ukraine doesn’t fold and surrender as we all knew they wouldn’t, they can say, “Look at these bumbling Russians! Look at the myth of the mighty Russian military!”

And people think, “MAYBE the Ukrainians can win! We gotta support Ukraine! They can beat those Russkies, look at all the wins on the battlefield and advances they’ve made!”

And the war machine keeps churning, and more and more money gets siphoned away to arms dealers, weapons suppliers, military contractors, and oh of course a few palms get greased along the way.

This is manufactured consent. And when you see someone with a stupid little Ukraine flag on their profile or Twitter page, you know you’re dealing with someone who has been bamboozled. Hoodwinked. Propagandized. Indoctrinated.

[Lliam]

@Agagagagaga. I totally agree.

[goaded]

"Russia never intended to blitzkrieg across Ukraine. It went in with a limited mission."
What was that limited mission?

[Lliam]

@goaded. To protect it's assets in Crimea and to protect Russians and Russian speaking people in the Donbas region. Also to prevent NATO from gaining another foothold right on its border. After all, the entire reason for NATO is to destroy Russia.

NATO on its border would be far more dangerous to Russia than missiles in Cuba were to the U. S. during the Cuban missile crisis. The U. S. is ruthless when it comes to defending itself. It destroys entire countries that it considers "unfriendly". That's what it wants to do to Russia, not because Russia is a threat but because it resists U. S. hegemonic ambitions.

[goaded]

So much wrong to unpack. Russia had already effectively stolen Crimea in 2014, attacking the rest of Ukraine had nothing to do with that. "protect Russians and Russian speaking people in the Donbas region" was literally Hitler's excuse for invading the Sudetenland and Poland.

"After all, the entire reason for NATO is to destroy Russia."
No. Never was. The entire reason for NATO was to stop the Soviet Union from expanding west. A peaceful Russia was not a threat.

Why do you think Ukraine wanted to join NATO (and Finland and Sweden have both decided it's a really good idea)? It's because they don't want to be invaded by Russia.

[Lliam]

@goaded. LOL Okay.

[goaded]

You think Ukraine wanted to go back under the control of Russia? Or any other democratic former Soviet states want to? Why are you ignoring those country's wishes?

[Lliam]

@goaded. Ukraine didn't. But why was it bombarding and slaughtering its own citizens for the past 8 years? Why did it ban the speaking of Russian? And do you seriously think Russia was going to give up its naval base in Sevastopol?
Why did Russia attempt to negotiate a peaceful settlement with Ukraine for 8 years, only to have the Minsk Agreement broken and hostilities continued. Why would Ukraine want hostility with Russia if the U. S. wasn't pulling the strings?

What would the U. S. do if China or Russia engineered a coupe in some country that had a U. S. naval or military base?

[goaded]

Why was Ukraine fighting a war within its borders for the last 8 years? Because Russian forces supported an uprising before invading Crimea.

" (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said Russian forces had been active in Crimea in order to support local defence forces, the first time he has admitted deployment of Russian troops on the Black Sea peninsula.

"We had to take unavoidable steps so that events did not develop as they are currently developing in southeast Ukraine," Putin said in a televised call-in with the nation. "Of course our troops stood behind Crimea's self-defence forces.""
web.archive.org/.../russia-putin-crimea-idUKL6N0N921H20140417

Why would Russia have had to give up its naval base in Sevastopol? It could have simply continued paying to have it there. Even if Ukraine was a member of NATO (and all the democratically elected government wanted to do was have closer trading ties with the EU, nothing to do with NATO).

[Lliam]

@goaded. I get it. Russia bad. Putin bad. LOL Just like WWI started because Germany was bad.
The official narrative is sooo convenient. And false.

[goaded]

Of course, you know better. Next, you'll be saying Ukraine is run by Nazis.

[Lliam]

@goaded. Keep trusting the U. S. government and mainstream media. They'll tell you everything you need to know. ROFL

[goaded]

Do you think Ukraine is ruled by Nazis? I'm just wondering how far down the rabbit hole you are.

[Lliam]

@goaded. I'm not the least bit interested in discussing it with people who have zero clue.

[goaded]

That's something someone with zero clue would say. Ukraine is not run by Nazis.

[TroyDT2]

My first thought is "inept Brass" who are clueless about basic tactics and strategy, but undoubtedly corruption is a factor.

[anylolone]

It's a reason why ukraine army hasn't performed better, why romania and poland can't donate more, why germany was dependent on russia gas, etc...

[007kingifrit]

i also enjoy this youtube channel, and yes of course it is. putin wanted to keep the military weak to prevent them from usurping him, but now that is biting him.

[CaptainSmartass]

Because they suck. They're only good at marching in parades and looking powerful. Their hardware is all from the USSR and, therefore, is massively outdated.

Simples...

[CALIGVLA]

Then there's no reason for us to pour 100 billion dollars into Ukraine, genius.

[Anonymous]

No but systemic corruption and racism is what plagues the US government and the republican party.

[msc545]

Very possible!