The Russian-Ukrainian War Thread

[OPSSG]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1513243634702987272

1. In the interests of a better informed discussion, I provide a TDI link on the Russian concept of a Battalion Tactical Group (BTG) in this invasion of Ukraine. They provide a thread on the problems with the Russian army at a fundamentally organizational level.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1513385560055951363

2. In effect, the structure of a BTG isolates it from combined arms assistance — it turns out the a BTG from the 70th Motorized Rifle Regiment (42nd Motorized Rifle Division) cannot even communicate (via secure means), resulting in it being killed. It looks like the BTG CANNOT target and strike quickly and effectively at long range. The net result is that the BTGs lack the mass (i.e. sufficient infantry) necessary to take defended urban terrain by assault. At least, not at a reasonable cost in combat losses.

3. In any war, the signal to noise ratio is often high and there is a need to filter out unnecessary noise to fully understand both tactical and geopolitical developments. This Defencetalk thread exists to serve the larger community and to separate useless noise, and help readers of news with bias to understand real consequences of decisions at tactical, operational or strategic levels, when appropriately discussed.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1513205552700174340

4. I have seen many bad takes on the war in Ukraine and I expect more to come. As I see it, letting Russia decapitate Ukraine’s government cannot be the right call because “oil/gas must flow” and this is one of the worst takes thus far from certain types of Western pundits — who don’t appreciate deterrence. You don’t deter without capability. If you have NATO’s military capabilities, you can decide to escalate arms shipments, knowing that Russia will not be able to open another front to attack. Supporting American, British and Central European arms shipments (and the American DoD training Ukrainians to operate the Switchblade 600), is not the same as supporting a no fly zone. That stupid no fly zone idea was so hot in the media, for a while, until it was debunked.

5. To understand where the war in Ukraine is going, and military operations in the coming weeks, we need all your help to post quality information. The progress of war may set conditions for a negotiated settlement. A logical course of action, by the Kremlin, is of course necessary.

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(a) The Ukrainian concession of seeking a legally binding international security guarantee backed by the U.S. & major European powers to prevent future Russian aggression in lieu of NATO membership is one of the Kremlin’s many goals to meet.​

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(b) I do not see the Kremlin altering their war goals in Ukraine — specifically, the goal of “demilitarization” of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (25 March General Staff press conference). If anything, the defeat of the various Russian BTGs in Kyiv have caused Putin & his top advisors to see the fulfillment of their war aims as vital to the survival of their regime.​

 

[Capt. Ironpants]

My apologies for posting link to CNN reporter's story with incorrect info. I thought CNN was considered a legitimate source here, but admit I thought myself the story was odd. While I appreciate the corrections offered by knowledgeable members here, I will refrain in future from posting anything from CNN if it appears in any way incorrect.

 

[OPSSG]

My apologies for posting link to CNN reporter's story with incorrect info. I thought CNN was considered a legitimate source here, but admit I thought myself the story was odd.

No worries. All media stories come with ‘framing’ but not all ‘framing’ is fair, balanced or informed.

I think CNN is very spotty in its editing quality of the various war related info. I have seen CNN cite absolute rubbish (eg. nonsense from Global Firepower), as comparative data.

There are now parody threads in Twitter making fun of a logistics expert by other posters — it’s an insider joke. Unlike Twitter, we exist to serve the interested public, who are willing to read and think a lot more than many on social media. Thank you for being fair to the Moderators. Your kindness and many links provided in this thread is appreciated.

 

[Capt. Ironpants]

No worries. All media stories come with ‘framing’ but not all ‘framing’ is fair, balanced or informed.

I think CNN is very spotty in its editing quality of the various war related info. I have seen CNN cite absolute rubbish (eg. nonsense from Global Firepower), as comparative data.

There are now parody threads in Twitter making fun of a logistics expert by other posters — it’s an insider joke. Unlike Twitter, we exist to serve the interested public, who are willing to read and think a lot more than many on social media. Thank you for being fair to the Moderators. Your kindness and many links provided in this thread is appreciated.

Actually, I appreciate the mods here being vigilent. It's quite refreshing to see and why I am here. I myself question many CNN stories, which is why I posted that hoping for corrections. I won't do that again.

Global Firepower? Yikes! I never heard of them before, and just now googled. Oh my.

Thank you for your kind reply.

 

[OPSSG]

Actually, I appreciate the mods here being vigilent. It's quite refreshing to see and why I am here. I myself question many CNN stories, which is why I posted that hoping for corrections. I won't do that again.

Global Firepower? Yikes! I never heard of them before, and just now googled. Oh my.

Thank you for your kind reply.

1. As you know, we cater to mainly to members who have a real interest in learning more about the war in Ukraine. To get new members/newbies started, in 2013 (after months/years of intermittent discussion with other moderators), I wrote a reference thread, called 'Air Power 101 for New Members'.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1513444998552993798

2. There are now parody threads in Twitter making fun of a logistics expert by other posters — it’s an insider joke — he is wrong to suggest that Patriot SAMs, old M1A1s and older F-16s with AMRAAM can be transferred to Ukraine.

3. While we cannot be experts in every area, most Defencetalk members are aware that in the real world, no Russian Su-series fighter or T-series tank, fights on its own. We have had so many cycles of correcting newbies that the senior members of the forum are bored with dealing with people with little or no interest in having a real discussion on wars, including specialist subjects like:

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(a) SEAD, and what it aims to suppress (SAM systems); or​

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(b) ISR, for sense and strike and it’s associated ROEs in managing collateral damage; or​

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(c) methods of employment of an ATGM team in a delay battle; or​

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(d) the problems with T-72/T-80 series tank designs and their ERA blocks; or​

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(e) infantry TTP basics of lack thereof observed in some urban warfare videos shared.​

4. The Moderators at Defencetalk have observed that when discussing war, the transfer of weapons to Ukraine, or related discussions on the axis of advance by the Russians, many are greatly influenced by examples they can remember. In the post above, I shared information on the Russian concept of a Battalion Tactical Group (BTG).

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(a) When trying to understand unfolding events many cannot understand the concept of relative combat power (RCP). The RCP required for a Russian BTG for offensive action is different for Ukrainian defensive actions in an urban area. This means that many will want to cling to examples, regardless of how irrelevant the example — like idiots from the start of the war that said how paintball guns can neutralize Russian T-series tanks. ​

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(b) Barring a few exceptions, mainstream media reporting on war, the transfer of weapons to Ukraine, or in deterrence as a theory, leaves much to be desired. There is no shortage of articles predicting <insert unlikely scenario> or that the sky is falling in these articles or blogs. Mistaking misinformation as fact is common for the disinterested general audience of mainstream media.​

5. This forum is moderated and the following are a few survival tips for new members:

(a) do not post one-liners;​

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(b) do not convert discussion threads into news ribbons;​

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(c) do not make multiple sequential posts in the same thread with the sole objective of increasing post count;​

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(d) when posting facts to support your comment/opinion, cite your source(s) (by typing the article title, publication, author and page number), if you want to avoid a source challenge; and​

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(e) we encourage fact based professional discussions and members are free to express their disagreement on the progress of war in Ukraine; but there is little tolerance for unthinking nationalistic trolls.​

CREF what has been said by all the others.

in addition the other reason why we have an aversion to x vs y threads is because platform vs platform discussions are fundamentally useless.

platforms act within the construct of a system event, they don't operate in absentia of a whole pile of other multipliers such as awacs, sat feeds, a broader operating picture etc... even when air forces do an assessment against other competitors they run those comparisons against combat vignettes where other force contributors are in play.

if you look at threads where there are platforms under discussion its always around system events.

a platform vs platform discussion is basically meaningless and disingenuous as its ignoring the real constraints.

about the only thing that can be measured are physical dimensions as even the platforms real performance stats are not published.

I can tell you from first hand exp that performance data for in service combat aircraft are derated when published. physical dimensions are accurate, but even data such as fuel capacity and range is deliberately inaccurate. that includes weapons systems etc.....

6. This post is not directed at anyone in particular. We strongly encourage new members to take a look there before jumping in to the various discussion threads.

 

[Rock the kasbah]

Actually, I appreciate the mods here being vigilent. It's quite refreshing to see and why I am here. I myself question many CNN stories, which is why I posted that hoping for corrections. I won't do that again.

Global Firepower? Yikes! I never heard of them before, and just now googled. Oh my.

Thank you for your kind reply.

Well captain iron pants
Green and red
You have been naughty

@Rock the kasbah
It's not really nice to poke fun at a relatively new member who is just still learning the ropes.
So play nice and you won't get grumped at either.
Just some green and red so that you can keep @Capt. Ironpants company.

Ngatimozart.

 

[Sandhi Yudha]

Someone commented here about the text "for the children" written on a Tochka missile, that it was possible that it had the meaning that it was fired in the name of the fallen children on their side (of the people who fired it), not to kill/attack children from the opponent.

Well, this theory can be true.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1513405308957298699

 

[vonnoobie]

Someone commented here about the text "for the children" written on a Tochka missile, that it was possible that it had the meaning that it was fired in the name of the fallen children on their side (of the people who fired it), not to kill/attack children from the opponent.

Well, this theory can be true.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1513405308957298699

Really not that much of a theory. The two most logical schools of thought for the Tochka strike is it was either A. A Ukranian misshap (Either poor targeting or the alleged engagement of the missiles by Ukranian AA bought them down on a bad spot, Not sure if last one is technically possible but have seen it speculated in here if not m istaken) or B. Russian (more likely Rebel if the case) was targeting railway infrastructure but the missile type in question is terribly inaccurate (or again the Ukrainian alleged AA engagement caused it to come down on wrong location if that is techically possible).

In regards to the writing, Well people have been writing messages on bombs for a LONG time, In actual fact it goes back centuries apperantly with Roman's carving messages into the stones launched by the stone throwers. For the message written it could be from either side of children both in Ukrainian controlled territories (And those capture/occupied this year) along with children in rebel territories have died. Hell if social media to be believed (I think their is a picture floating around) a dud Russian missile that landed in Ukraine had a message written on it after it landed "Return to sender", Even in war you need to get a laugh where you can.

 

[OPSSG]

Post 1 of 2: Changing the resource equation to ensure Ukraine’s survival

1. In a move likely to anger Putin, Rheinmetall could deliver the 1st of 50 Leopard 1A5 tanks in 6 weeks and the rest of the 50 tanks over the following 3 months, if the German government approves the transfer. This follows the announcement that Lithuania will train Ukraine instructors on Western weapons use in a near future. The tap of NATO arms supply to Ukraine has the potential to go to full open mode. We need to observe this development closely.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1513500947183554564

(a) Just before the war began, Foreign Minister Baerbock said Germany couldn't deliver weapons to Ukraine because of German history. Now she's pushing for Germany to deliver tanks, which is all the more remarkable because the Greens have a long tradition of pacifism.​

(b) But hard to be optimistic while Bild reports that Scholz and his SPD are now even blocking visits to Kyiv of ministers and MPs. According to people familiar with the deliberations, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is delaying a final decision over whether to give Ukraine tanks to fight Russia, despite pressure from several other top officials.
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2. Support for NATO membership in Finland has grown from 54% to 68% in two and half weeks. I predict that if Finland joins NATO, it’s arms supply to Ukraine will go up.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1513481095823736839

3. Facts are hard to find in any war but BBC was able to verify identities of the 1,083 Russian servicemen killed in Ukraine (they were reported by local officials or media in Russia), which makes the tally of the KIA very low compared to actual operations. Open Source effort from @OryxSpioenkop has tallied a total of 467 Russian tanks have been visual confirmed lost since 24 Feb 2022 — the number of Russian tanks lost in Ukraine exceeds the tank inventories of the UK (227) and Germany (236), combined at 463 tanks. BBC notes that it takes at least 2 weeks for bodies to be delivered back to Russia. Sometimes it takes more than a month. Some bodies even require a DNA test to establish an identity, which delays announcements or KIA numbers released. There are 5 more points of note.

One, 217 out of 1083 confirmed losses - ie over 20% - are officers. This includes 10 colonels, 20 lieutenant colonels, 31 majors and 155 junior officers.​

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Two, about 15% of all confirmed losses are paratroopers from units, which are considered elite of the Russian army. And preparation of a paratrooper in Russia demands more money and time compared to an infantryman.​

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https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1513458968953344002

Three, Russian MoD last updated their figures on 25 Mar 2022, 4 days after first BBC publication about Russian losses (they were silent for 23 days before). Russian MoD states there are 1,351 Russian servicemen killed in Ukraine.​

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Four, from tank crew losses alone, I suspect 1,868 Russian servicemen have been killed. Given the above, the tally of Russian KIA should easily exceed 3,219 at this point. Ukraine claims to have thousands of KIA bodies, they intend to return to Russia but those figures, will take some verification. Please take my discussed Russian KIA numbers with a pinch of salt. I threw them in, to show the scale of under-counting at this stage by both BBC & Russian MOD.​

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Five, the number of Russian BTGs (about 800 Russian soldiers each) rendered combat ineffective in the Ukraine war so far has been reassessed at 37-38 according to a western official, leaving 90 operational. Western official said: Russia has "just over 90 BTGs now available—not all in Ukraine, some en route”. That 90 figure means that the non-combat-effective number of BTGs has gone up. It was assessed at 29 last week. That suggests heavier losses than previously thought.​

 

[vonnoobie]

Four, from tank crew losses alone, I suspect 1,868 Russian servicemen have been killed. Given the above, the tally of Russian KIA should easily exceed 3,219 at this point. Ukraine claims to have thousands of KIA bodies, they intend to return to Russia but those figures, will take some verification. Please take my discussed Russian KIA numbers with a pinch of salt. I threw them in, to show the scale of under-counting at this stage by both BBC & Russian MOD.

I would say far exceeds that rather then easily. For vehicles destroyed especially most done so apperantly with ATGM's I IMO doubt there would be much chance of crew escaping alive... Even if you gave each each of the MBT's IFV's, APC, SPG's etc (basically all armored and armed combat vehicles) which is 978 in total destroyed when I checked a minute ago on Onyx a loss rate of 5 personnel per a vehicle (Some may be less, But APC's, IFV's etc could be many more if troops located in the vehicles at time of destruction) that is almost 4,900 right there not counting every other vehicle, let alone losses on foot infantry etc

 

[OPSSG]

Post 2 of 2: Changing the resource equation to ensure Ukraine’s survival

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1513445398945406977

4. Keep in mind that this is day 47 of Ukraine resistance — they need all the help they can get, even from Korea — some of South Korea's weapons systems are Russian-made, such as T-80 MBTs, & BMP-3, which the Ukrainians can more easily learn how to operate. Speaking to South Korea's National Assembly by video link, Zelenskyy said "the Russians completely destroyed Mariupol and burned it to ashes. At least tens of thousands of Mariupol citizens must have been killed. But for Russia, Mariupol is just an example..."

5. Unsurprising Zelenskyy’s request for weapons was turned down — South Korea under President Moon has an official policy against lethal arms deliveries. For the average South Korean, access to sea delicacies from Russia has absolute priority over a war in Ukraine.

6. Russian officials say peace talks with Ukraine are not progressing as rapidly as they would like, and have accused the West of trying to derail negotiations by raising war crimes allegations against Russian troops in Ukraine, which Moscow denies.

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(a) Speaking in an interview with Russian state television, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said he saw no reason not to continue talks with Ukraine but insisted Moscow would not halt its military operation when the sides convene again.​

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(b) Lavrov said that President Vladimir Putin had ordered to suspend military action during the first round of talks between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in late February but that Moscow's position had changed since.​

 

[Feanor]

Two, about 15% of all confirmed losses are paratroopers from units, which are considered elite of the Russian army. And preparation of a paratrooper in Russia demands more money and time compared to an infantryman.

There's a geography aspect at play here too. The VDV was heavily involved in the push on Kiev, and the subsequent withdrawal. Kiev is also the site of some of the most determined resistance. This might explain the disproportionate casualties. Another possible explanation is that a disproportionate number of VDV units are involved overall, as they have much higher numbers of contract soldiers.

Unsurprising Zelenskyy’s request for weapons was turned down — South Korea under President Moon has an official policy against lethal arms deliveries. For the average South Korean, access to sea delicacies from Russia has absolute priority over a war in Ukraine.

I don't think this is a fair criticism. I suspect the real issue is that South Korea has its own set of special arrangements with Russia, and like Israel doesn't want to sour that relationship.

 

[STURM]

In regards to the writing, Well people have been writing messages on bombs for a LONG time,

Indeed; in more recent times we saw them in WW2 [drawings of Adolf and inscriptions like "revenge for Coventry"] the Gulf War [messages for Saddam.and drawings of him].-This however is different; if indeed it's what most would have initially.assumed: intended for Ukrainian children; it's highly disturbing. On the other hand; as Ironpants pointed out it could have been in reference to children killed in the Donbass.

 

[cdxbow]

For what it's worth, there are reports circulating on telegram of chemical weapons used in Mariupol. This came first from Azov's telegram channel but now appearing on "Mariupol Now". It would be a terrible escalation if true.

Added - reports appearing in mainstream press but appear all based on the same single Telegram post. Time will tell.

 

[T.C.P]

For what it's worth, there are reports circulating on telegram of chemical weapons used in Mariupol. This came first from Azov's telegram channel but now appearing on "Mariupol Now". It would be a terrible escalation if true.

Added - reports appearing in mainstream press but appear all based on the same single Telegram post. Time will tell.

What is the process of verifying a chemical attack? On another forum, a person mentioned that a reliable way to do so, is to medical tests on the refugees from that area to check for evidence of chemical attacks.

Recently a bunch of marines surrendered to the Russians, of course third parties cannot get access to them, but is there any way for International parties to test some of the civillians refugees from the area?

 

[cdxbow]

What is the process of verifying a chemical attack? On another forum, a person mentioned that a reliable way to do so, is to medical tests on the refugees from that area to check for evidence of chemical attacks.

Recently a bunch of marines surrendered to the Russians, of course third parties cannot get access to them, but is there any way for International parties to test some of the civillians refugees from the area?

Poisoning with 'nerve gas' agents (organophosphates) can be detected by a number of tests, red blood cell (RBC) cholinesterase test and plasma cholinesterase (pseudocholinesterase) can be measured which tell you they have organophosphate poisoning. These are routinely available tests. There are specific tests, including some rapid test kits designed for suspected CW exposure which identify the specific agents. I have no experience with them, other posters may have.

 

[koxinga]

Task & Purpose had an interesting video that discusses the prospects and objectives of the conflict in the South and East.

Beyond just a land bridge between the Crimea and Donetsk Oblast, there are significant energy reserves in the form of gas fields in the region. These energy reserves has the potential to offer an alternative/threat to Russia gas supplies to Europe. Capturing them would significantly damage Ukrainian economy and would have an impact to the energy situation in Europe.

The Forgotten Potential of Ukraine’s Energy Reserves

A resolute development of Ukraine’s untapped reserves in the production, export and storage of energy would be in the interest of all sides involved.

hir.harvard.edu

Ukraine today holds the second biggest known gas reserves in Europe. As of late 2019, known Ukrainian reserves amounted to 1.09 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, second only to Norway’s known resources of 1.53 trillion cubic meters. Yet, these enormous reserves of energy remain largely untapped. Today, Ukraine has a low annual reserve usage rate of about 2 percent. Moreover, more active exploration may yield previously undiscovered gas fields, which would further increase the overall volume of Ukraine’s deposits.

 

[OPSSG]

Post 1 of 2: Details on Alexander Dvornikov, weapons supplied and on the failed Korean calculus under Moon

1. In the meanwhile, Southern Military District Commander Alexander Dvornikov, is the new overall commander of Russian forces in Ukraine.

• From 2000 to 2003, during which period Dvornikov participated in the Second Chechen War. Dvornikov’s promotion path from regimental command to Military District Commander was typical. Russian officers usually change military districts with each promotion, as Dvornikov did—moving through the contemporary equivalents of the Southern, Eastern, and Central military districts until taking command of the Southern Military District.
• Dvornikov established Russia’s initial command structure in Syria from the beginning of the Russian intervention in Sep 2015. Dvornikov has written extensively on the experience of standing up Russian operations in Syria, including a March 2016 retrospective published while he was still serving in Syria and several articles following his return to Russia. He stressed the importance of establishing a unified command and control structure for Russian advisers, the Russian Air Force, and various conventional and unconventional pro-Assad forces.

I don't think this is a fair criticism. I suspect the real issue is that South Korea has its own set of special arrangements with Russia, and like Israel doesn't want to sour that relationship.

2. It’s fair and mild, given that both President Moon Jae-in and Prime Minister Kim Bu-gyeom are in a fantasy world. Let me explain:

(a) South Korea is trying to have its cake and eat it, too. President Moon said Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected. But his government has so far done nothing to substantially oppose Russian aggression beyond symbolic sanctions. No one expects the cancellation of ice-breaking LNG carriers to be built by Korean shipyards for Russia’s use.​

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(b) South Korean Prime Minister Kim Bu-gyeom said that even with everything going on in Europe, Seoul will keep pushing for "the South-North-Russian (aka Trans-Korean) gas pipeline project."The Trans-Korean gas pipeline is a fantasy that cannot take off as long as economic sanctions on North Korea remain in place, which will not be lifted as long as North Korea doesn't relinquish its nuclear weapons, which it won't.​

​

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1513200177007497223

(c) When foreign media and the international community criticized the South Korean government’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Moon administration seemed baffled. The above article explains President Moon’s the middle-of-the-road approach, at the tail end of his term in office. The problem with middle-of-the-road approaches is that it while Korea doesn't gain enemies, it doesn't win friends in both America, and Central Europe either.​

 

[Feanor]

2. It’s fair and mild, given that both President Moon Jae-in and Prime Minister Kim Bu-gyeom are in a fantasy world. Let me explain:

(a) South Korea is trying to have its cake and eat it, too. President Moon said Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected. But his government has so far done nothing to substantially oppose Russian aggression beyond symbolic sanctions. No one expects the cancellation of ice-breaking LNG carriers to be built by Korean shipyards for Russia’s use.

(b) South Korean Prime Minister Kim Bu-gyeom said that even with everything going on in Europe, Seoul will keep pushing for "the South-North-Russian (aka Trans-Korean) gas pipeline project."The Trans-Korean gas pipeline is a fantasy that cannot take off as long as economic sanctions on North Korea remain in place, which will not be lifted as long as North Korea doesn't relinquish its nuclear weapons, which it won't.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1513200177007497223

(c) When foreign media and the international community criticized the South Korean government’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Moon administration seemed baffled. The above article explains President Moon’s the middle-of-the-road approach, at the tail end of his term in office. The problem with middle-of-the-road approaches is that it while Korea doesn't gain enemies, it doesn't win friends in both America, and Central Europe either.

What does any of this have to do with Russian seafood? You've just explained in detail the same thing I've said. South Korea does not want to ruin relations with Russia. The reasoning for this is not related to the preferences of South Korean consumers, but to certain relationships between the RoK and Russia. It's certainly possible that the average Korean doesn't care about the war in Ukraine, but it certainly doesn't explain why they should. More importantly, there are a number of countries that are uncomfortable with being made to toe the line or pick sides in the evolving confrontation. The RoK is one of them. They don't want to eat their cake and have it too. They simply don't want to be involved in the current confrontation.

 

[OPSSG]

Post 2 of 2: Details on Alexander Dvornikov, weapons supplied and on the failed Korean calculus under Moon

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1513588038353530880

3. Joost Oliemans and Stijn Mitzer have produced a list that attempts to keep track of heavy military equipment delivered or pledged to Ukraine during the 2022 Russian of invasion of Ukraine.

What does any of this have to do with Russian seafood?

4. Asked and answered below, instead of just a one-liner passing comment earlier. In late 2020, Russia’s trade relationship with China became strained as China tightened its inspections and controls on imported seafood, after it claimed traces of COVID-19 had been found on the packing of imported seafood products. The result was dramatic. In the first half of 2021, Russian seafood shipments to China decreased 83% by volume compared to 2020, and nearly half in value.

5. South Korea has claimed the top spot, as its Russian seafood imports have increased by 48% to 459,200 MT thus far in 2021 – although some of that total likely entered China. Significantly, China is no longer the top export destination for Russian seafood.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1513657911058354183

6. Glad you made President Moon’s policies on Ukraine look like a failure by asking for clarification. In view of the incredibly grim report from Bucha and Zelenskyy’s address to South Korea's National Assembly, we should also keep in mind that South Korea is not a non-aligned state — it is a US ally and a partner with NATO. President Moon tries to forget that many countries (within NATO) sent troops to fight under the UN flag for the 1953 Korean War — these Europeans, Canadians, Brits and Americans bled for Korea, and the Korean Govt’s answer is to help Russia by being a replacement export destination for Russian seafood?

7. I have also just explained that South Korea does not have anything to gain in its current relations with Russia — "the South-North-Russian (aka Trans-Korean) gas pipeline project," will die a natural death under president elect-Yoon.