My post is about your post. As usual, I am not sure if you are trying to not understand: you want me to answer a question that seems to be only in your mind.
All soldiers get some short of pay, what you should ask yourself is why there is an initial sign-up bonus that is different across regions in Ruzzia and is deliriously high. If you recall the communism, salaries were relatively low and the army had some kind of a "cause", like our vatnik here Branko. If you need to pay so much it means that Ruzzians and other in the orbit understand that there is little chance of coming back alive and plenty of chances of getting sent to die quickly. They perfectly understand that there is no "cause" here other than Putin's delirious ambitions.
Anyway, as most people have seen by now, a few f16 have been seen while Zelensky gave a speech. It is interesting that the wings were carefully covered by cammo nets = I would say this is not casual, that they do not want the Ruzzis to know what is in there - a short range AIM, a long range AIM or... a Meteor.
Anyway, there are just a few units, so I would consider this a test. Let's see how it goes.
Following your logic what can we conclude when Ukrainian males risk their lives trying to escape their country, or those military buses catching "new recruits" on the street? Let me make it even easier for you (not that you'll answer, but still).
Can a 30yr old male leave his country if he wishes in: Kiev? Moscow?
Can a 30yr old male living outside his country get a new passport/drivers license/consulate services from the embassy if he's a citizen of: Ukraine? Russia?
Can a 30yr old male who doesn't want to go to the front lines walk freely around without being kidnapped in: Kiev? Moscow?
How many males died in the last 2 year escaping through the border from: Ukraine? Russia?
After you answer those questions, you'll see why we're all laughing at your rhetorical question about military sign up bonuses in Russia.
Can't imagine Ukrainians being asked to suffer through the winter with power shortages, people will force Z to negotiate, so the hot stage of this conflict should finally be over before 2025.
Glad to know you keep your sense of humour, you are going to need it. BTW who is "we"? You troll farm inmates?
I guess you are also trying to ignore how many try not to get drafted in Ruzzia by paying doctors or faking being in uni? And these are not even the ones going to the front... well except those that are "convinced" to sign a contract later.. you know...
Ukrainians leaving the country may mean they value more their families than fighting, they do not want to live in a Ruzzian occupied territory or, simply, that not every Ukrainian in fighting age wishes to fight or be drafted. It is a though decision and the government has prioritised keeping the young rather than the old.
But the fact is that you cannot keep a whole army if there is not a will to fight - and that has been proven historically many times: soldiers will obey orders, but not at any cost nor at any price. If there was no will to fight in Ukraine, there would be no Ukraine. So if you point is that somehow the Ukrainian army is hostage, it simply does not make any sense - it is impossible. You do not believe me... ask the Ruzzians what happens when soldiers rebel, they know...
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/gvjh/vol7/iss1/1/All this money is not endless, the Russian economy is still cracking, sooner or later the money will run out and the soldiers will not go anywhere at all. Take away their money now, they will run away and the front will fall from the Russians. It would be nice
That mantra we listen from day 1...yet:
https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/opendata/world-bank-country-classifications-by-income-level-for-2024-2025"This year, three countries—Bulgaria, Palau, and Russia—moved from the upper-middle-income to the high-income category:"
"Economic activity in Russia was influenced by a large increase in military related activity in 2023, while growth was also boosted by a rebound in trade (+6.8%),
the financial sector (+8.7%), and construction (+6.6%). These factors led to increases in both real (3.6%) and nominal (10.9%) GDP, and Russia’s Atlas GNI per capita grew by 11.2%."
But Branko, the most interesting things are the ones you do not talk about.... you forgot to mention the interest rates.... Why are you not mentioning the interest rates? Let me help you: why do you need to raise the
interest rates to 16% for the rouble? Is it because
inflation is at 8.3%? Why is inflation at 8.3?... Could it be that you are
financing the war printing money like if it where monopoly notes??
These figures are exactly what you would expect when you are burning through the inventory. You can buy a new car, fancy clothes, keep the heating a 24, travel the world... all you have to do is sell the house. In Ruzzian terms, it means running through all the stored cold-war inventory of tanks, airframes that will not be replaced in many years (or ever), ships that will not be built again... and lately thanks to Ukraine, you refineries and oil storage (which take many years to re-build)...
Looks to me like a self-demilitarisation.
I am not as optimistic as those who say Ruzzia can keep this until mid 2025, but there is a point to it - Currently the war is 40% of the Ruzzian gdp, which is an astronomical figure for a war that is not economically "profitable".
You are not mentioning the increased rate of plane accidents (civilian), you are not mentioning the cut in subsidies recently announced... you are not mentioning the population decrease, the immigration,... well, too much lost in the picture.
