I'm going to assume that by MBT, you mean Main Battle Tank. I took a look at your links. They have no "main battle tank" listing, it simply has a listing for tanks lost. For Ukraine, it says that they lost 370 tanks, while Russia's says they lost 1,503 tanks. Perhaps they've lost some more since last you looked at the links, or perhaps not all of those are "main" battle tanks. Regardless, the most important number there is not how many tanks they lost, but how many they have left in reserve, fully fueled and ready to go. I don't see that number in either case. Are they there somewhere? I strongly suspect that Russia still has a lot more left in reserve than Ukraine does, and that's despite all the military aid Ukraine's been receiving from NATO.
Yes, MBT is Main Battle Tanks.
Sorry - I thought that was obvious.
My mistake.
And Russia's tank reserves are inferior to the tanks they already lost.
America and Germany alone have 3,450 M1's and 2,500 Leopard 2's, respectively, in storage.
Almost all of which are FAR superior to the semi-garbage T-62's, 7,000 lousy/decent-at-best T-72's and 3,000 okay-at-best T-80's the Russians have in reserve.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_equipment_of_the_Russian_Ground_Forces
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_equipment_of_the_United_States_Army#cite_note-:1-52
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_modern_equipment_of_the_German_Army
Plus, Russia is losing MBT's at a present rate of approximately 2,000/year.
https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/02/attack-on-europe-documenting-equipment.html
That is NOT sustainable, long term.
And with a crumbling economy - they cannot afford to build many more.
Whereas almost all the tanks Ukraine lost were of Russian origin - i.e. not very good.
And they were only losing those at a 1:4 rate to Russian losses as is.
Almost anything the West could provide would be an upgrade.
And the western economy - even at present - is MILES better and larger than Russia's.
They can out build Russia by HUGE amounts.
In addition, the West is giving Ukraine, INCREDIBLE intelligence data.
'But in addition to the weapons comes the intelligence and western control of the skies.
NATO spy planes they fly over the Black Sea continuously. There they have access to electronic and magnetic data of the Russian forces. These data, together with those obtained from Western surveillance satellites, are made available to the Ukrainians so they can see what is happening on the ground in almost real time.'
https://yokad.com/war-in-ukraine-we...ce-the-reasons-behind-the-russian-withdrawal/
I just grabbed the above link. Not sure of it's bias.
But it is common knowledge that NATO knows every movement Russia makes.
Yet, Russia is largely blind to the reverse.
Apparently, their spy satellites over Ukraine are being jammed/degraded (though I cannot prove this).
But, I believe it is also common knowledge that the West is far superior technologically than Russia is.
Russia alone CANNOT win a war of attrition so long as the West is 'all in' to help Ukraine.
It is statistically impossible.
First of all, it appears that this amount is more like promised aid, not aid that has been fully delivered yet.
You are guessing. Please post data/facts from unbiased sources as anything else means little to me.
Second of all, ev en if it were all allegedly delivered, you may be aware that CBS did a story documentary wherein they found that only around 30% of weapons aid makes it to front Ukrainian front lines. The powers that be quashed the story, but it's still available on Bitchute. News Punch did a story on it:
CBS Quietly Deletes Own Film Exposing How Only 30% of U.S. Weapons Aid for Ukraine Makes It to Front Lines | News Punch
This would slash that $96 billion in aid to less than $30 billion. The second important thing is, is that equipment being used wisely or is it being used recklessly? Based on what Mr. Ritter has said about much of it being burned up already, I'm guessing it's being used recklessly. Furthermore, only listing Russia's military budget for 2021 is misleading- I'm fairly sure they're using a lot more equipment than was paid for in 2021.
I am not REMOTELY interested in any guesses or opinions...especially from the staggeringly biased, western MSM.
Whether the report was quashed or not.
I am ONLY INTERESTED IN FACTS/DATA from unbiased sources.
I think we can agree that what's most important is not what a country spends on its military, but how much military equipment they currently have at hand, and perhaps most important, how wisely they are using it.
Again...you are guessing. Where is the hard data, please?
From your own link: 'Russia's economy is expected to shrink 8.5% in 2022, with a further decline of 2.3% in 2023, the International Monetary Fund projected in an April report. That would be the economy's largest decline since the years following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.'
A GDP drop of 8.5% is HUGE.
That is almost - be definition - a depression.
Not a 'recession'.
A 'depression'.
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/depression.asp
The Russian economy is suffering MASSIVELY with a recession, FAR larger than the Great Recession was.
That bit about "things going as they are" is important. I don't think that'll be the case. Furthermore, Ukraine needs more than military aid to keep going. Here's a problem it currently has:
Russia has crippled half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and this winter ‘will be about survival,’ top WHO official says | Business Insider
Are you seriously suggesting that Ukraine will surrender out of economic hardship?
Never in military history has that EVER happened (to my knowledge).
All hardship does is make the masses hate the enemy more.
And make them just that much more determined to keep going.
On the other hand, how long do you think the Russian people will put up with massive, economic retraction and (eventually - standard of living)?
Let alone the tens of thousands of their soldiers dying per year?
For territories (Kherson and Zaporizhzhia) that I bet - though cannot prove - most Russians don't give a shit about?
(note - this is not a guess...it is a question)
As I imagine you know, Russia left Kherson city and evacuated a good portion of its population as well. This doesn't mean they won't come back for it in the not too distant future, perhaps in the spring, but I think that Russia knows that it can play the long game here, and that Ukraine is running out of time. To quote a saying from the Game of Thrones TV series, "Winter is coming."
You are guessing again.
Without any hard facts or data to back it up.
And I heard nothing about much of the population leaving Kherson. Just the Russian troops.
Why would Kherson residents leave their own homes to live as nomads with retreating, Russian troops?
Yes, but please remember that Russia now considers the 4 regions it annexed as part of Russia.
Again...you are guessing. All we know for certain is Putin
says they are now part of Russia. Until you can find respected polling services, confirming that the vast majority of Russians feel that way...what Putin says means little.
You're welcome
. I fully admit that I'm not completely sure how this war will turn out, but I seriously doubt that Russia will be relenquishing any more of the land its has required, barring a massive Ukrainian offensive with corresponding massive Ukrainian losses, a nuclear war, or a negotiated settlement wherein Russia agrees to give up a token amount in exchange for an end to the war.
You seem a decent fellow.
And quite, well read.
But you seem to - imo - put too much stock in opinions.
And not enough in hard evidence.
And please, confine your arguments with me on this to facts and data from unbiased sources.
Otherwise I won't continue with this discussion.
No offense intended.
I want data/facts that I can learn from.
Not running around and around with you saying your opinion and me saying mine.
That is almost pointless, to me.
