Biden reverses course

[Jasmine]

What do you think of President Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to launch U.S. long-range missiles at Russia? Is this a good or bad move?

Also, why do you think Biden changed his mind?

[O Really]

What do you think of President Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to launch U.S. long-range missiles at Russia? Is this a good or bad move?

Also, why do you think Biden changed his mind?

I'm rarely fond of any escalation of war or participation in other people's wars. But - Russia's aggression in invading Ukraine pretty much makes it everybody's war. Biden probably thinks that Trump and his choir are going to drop Ukraine support so he's giving them what he can while he can.

[Jasmine]

What do you think of President Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to launch U.S. long-range missiles at Russia? Is this a good or bad move?

Also, why do you think Biden changed his mind?

I'm rarely fond of any escalation of war or participation in other people's wars. But - Russia's aggression in invading Ukraine pretty much makes it everybody's war. Biden probably thinks that Trump and his choir are going to drop Ukraine support so he's giving them what he can while he can.

I think you may be right.

[GoCubsGo]

Mostly that but also to make it even more costly for Russia with the idea that he might think twice before any other expansion when offensive weapons are used against him.

[Vrede too]

I'm rarely fond of any escalation of war or participation in other people's wars. But - Russia's aggression in invading Ukraine pretty much makes it everybody's war. Biden probably thinks that Trump and his choir are going to drop Ukraine support so he's giving them what he can while he can.

I think you may be right.

I also agree with O Really.

As for the tactic itself, Idk. The cowboy in me says, "Hell yeah, deliver to Russia what it's been doing to Ukraine for nearly 3 years." I appreciate that Ukraine's targets have been mostly military or oil facilities and hope that continues. The peacenik in me worries about unintended consequences. I'm glad I'm not deciding.

[GoCubsGo]

Maybe Biden?

[GoCubsGo]

[Vrede too]

https://x.com/nytimes/status/1859116991446938099

As published by Ukrayinska Pravda, no pay wall:

Russia suffers huge losses in Ukraine but continues to mobilise hundreds daily – NYT

Russia continues to endure heavy losses in its war of aggression against Ukraine, with October recording the highest number of casualties since the full-scale invasion began. However, the Russian army is far from exhausted. In the first half of 2024, Russia managed to mobilise approximately 900 recruits per day.

Quote from the NYT: "... The arrival of thousands of North Korean troops in Russia is also raising questions about whether the Kremlin has enough soldiers to make up for its losses."

Details: ... Experts suggest that Russia has suffered more military losses in this war than any industrialised nation in a conflict since World War II....

Summing up the estimated number of deaths and severe injuries, Meduza calculated that by the end of October, Russian forces had sustained a total of 405,000 irrecoverable losses (killed and severely wounded soldiers who will never be able to fight again). Using a similar method, Olga Ivshina of the BBC estimated 484,000 irrecoverable losses for the same period.

Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), along with that of several NATO countries, provides its own estimates of Russian casualties, all of which claim that by October, Russia had lost between 600,000 and 700,000 soldiers, both killed and wounded....

Quote:"... In June, Russia’s Defence Ministry counted 33 million men eligible for military service, according to a government database obtained by Meduza. This compares with 6 million potential soldiers who lived in Ukraine before Russia’s invasion in 2022."

... The Kremlin is also looking for fighters beyond its borders, attracting volunteers from dozens of developing countries and even military personnel from its ally, North Korea.

"This rate of recruitment has allowed the Russian military not only to replenish losses, but also to create new units. This month, the Pentagon said the Kremlin had amassed a combined force of 50,000 Russian and North Korean troops to expel Ukrainian forces from Kursk Oblast of Russia."