The fact that Putin has to request both men and materiel from North Korea of all countries shows how utterly his dreams of cementing Russia’s position as a Great Power, even a superpower, have failed, and how unrealistic they always were.
Mick Ryan argues that the number of North Korean soldiers is too small for Putin to be employing them out of desperation. They are, he says, coming for other reasons.
The North Korean deployment might be indicative of Russian manpower challenges. However, ten thousand North Koreans represents less than ten days combat losses for Russia at current rates. If Russia is having manpower issues, it will require far more North Koreans to address these challenges.
I feel like… lately… the entire fucking planet is not thinking through the possible (and not entirely hard to see) consequences of particular actions.
Just lately… I know what you mean, but I feel like it’s slipping into stop the train I want to get off territory lately. I’m having to really focus on things I can affect in some way otherwise it’s all too much.
