I'm always cautious to take Ukranian proclamations with a pinch of salt, on the basis that they're generally what I want to hear and that makes me credulous, but that's entertaining if true.cashead wrote:The NACP, Ukraine's anti-corruption watchdog has thanked the Russian Minister of Defence, Sergei Shoygu for his corruption. According to them, they've found that the protective barriers on the Russian T-72 and T-80 tanks are made from cardboard egg trays, and the Russian bullet-proof vests that they've found in captured APCs are made of cardboard.
While a grain of salt is needed, it's also entirely plausible under Shoygu's command, when he's been busy with opening up the military to influence from various lobby groups and grifters - something which his predecessor, Anatoly Serdyukov, was deposed for fighting and reducing.
Russia has also lost nine colonels and generals in the two weeks since this war has started, and it's safe to assume a proportional number of NCOs are being killed each week as well.
It would explain why they still haven't taken Kharkiv, despite it being, like, 50 feet from the border.
The EU have also just basically kicked the doors open and have loudly announced they're organising a welcoming party for the Ukrainians, so, uh, good going there, Vladimir.
There's no way the EU will let Ukraine in any time this decade though. They are so far away on so many economic, corruption, democratic, and legal metrics for EU accession that not even a very creative interpretation of very liberally bent rules would allow them access. Even with all the sympathy in the world, there's no legal route that could let them in, especially while simultaneously denying Montenegro, Albania, Macedonia, and Serbia, which are all far closer (and have been in the queue since 2008!). Plus, it requires every EU country to vote to accept them, and there'll be a few that are too worried about the backsliding on rights and democracy of the likes of Poland and Hungary to be waving in another Eastern European country. Not to mention that the EU has a mutual defence clause and there's bound to be a few that don't fancy having a war with Russia (Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia for a start!).
Puja