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Ukraine and the Russian invasion, 2022-24

They lost some territory during a troop rotation a few days ago which was a fuck up, so probably related to that, a similar thing happened a few months back which gave Russia the initiative for a bit.
 
A reminder to the UK / US that not every state has drunk the pro-NATO west is best koolaid

Yep, I think Vietnam is exactly where it wants to be - it's had the leaders of the US, China, and Russia visit in the space of about 9 months and they all have their own reasons for keeping it friendly.

I can't see Vietnam turning its back on Russia but neither can I see it doing much to support the country in its war in Ukraine, Vietnam's trade ties with Russia are insignificant compared to its trade with the US, which it is also seeking to keep on side as a balance to China's territorial claims in the South China Sea.

I think looking at Vietnam's relations with the West through the prism of the Vietnam War is a mistake - the war ended 50 years ago and only old people remember it, there's also been a war with China fought in the meantime. The Vietnamese population is relatively youthful so the war is probably even less relevant for people in Vietnam dealing with America today than the Second World War was for people in Britain dealing with Germany in the 1990s.
 
Yep, I think Vietnam is exactly where it wants to be - it's had the leaders of the US, China, and Russia visit in the space of about 9 months and they all have their own reasons for keeping it friendly.

I can't see Vietnam turning its back on Russia but neither can I see it doing much to support the country in its war in Ukraine, Vietnam's trade ties with Russia are insignificant compared to its trade with the US, which it is also seeking to keep on side as a balance to China's territorial claims in the South China Sea.

I think looking at Vietnam's relations with the West through the prism of the Vietnam War is a mistake - the war ended 50 years ago and only old people remember it, there's also been a war with China fought in the meantime. The Vietnamese population is relatively youthful so the war is probably even less relevant for people in Vietnam dealing with America today than the Second World War was for people in Britain dealing with Germany in the 1990s.
Yeah when I visited Vietnam I got the impression the war was very much seen as ancient history, and only of interest for the tourists. There was a very good museum in Ho Chi Minh City which covered the various US (and other states, South Korea was particularly culpable IIRC) atrocities
 
North Korean troops to be posted in occupied Ukraine within a month. Hopefully this will incentivise Ukraine’s supporters to do more to compensate for Russian manpower. But it’s definitely perturbing.
 
Be fascinating to have some properly aggregated data and research regarding numbers and origins of foreign fighters in Ukraine , both mercenaries and those enrolled in state armies . The Georgian Legion for example created a lot of coverage and money but they’ve suffered a large number of casualties.

There were some really good in-depth studies of foreign combatants in the 2014 war.
 
How one Nepali man - who says he was falsely told he wouldn't be sent to the frontline - escaped from the Russian army

They constantly abused the Nepalis, he said, slapping them in the helmet, jabbing them with gunbutts and screaming at them in Russian. Mr. Shahi said he learned only a few words, including right and left, but sometimes, during the chaos of combat, he got those confused.

After an artillery barrage in December wiped out three of his friends, he decided to make a break for it. His wife, Alisha, back in Kathmandu, spoke to a Nepali living in Moscow who connected Mr. Shahi to traffickers working inside Russia. They put together a plan: He’d pay 4,000 euros, in installments, and the traffickers would arrange for a car to take him from Donetsk to Mariupol, and then to Moscow.

....They were arrested and beaten, he said. Mr. Shahi begged for mercy, saying they were just Nepali students trying to get to Europe. But while they were waiting in a Mariupol jail, the police received an electronic bulletin from the Russian army that they were looking for some Nepali deserters. The game was up.

Russian soldiers hauled them back to a frontline position in Donetsk, this time a bunker filled with snow


 
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