ikalugin

Links show: - contracts for maintaining the vehicles. - plan/timetable for sighing those contracts.

The room for diplomacy is open, it is just that the terms are mutually non acceptable and either side is really interested in upholding Minsk agreements.

He urges to give money to Ukraine, when EU is reluctant to support it's troubled members.

Is there a plan to provide such aid? You would also need to refinance the existing loans.

I doubt that the AM would happen, as it would require producing new tanks, not upgrading old tanks like with the B3s.

Well I haven't seen those aid efforts, especially not on the scale that Ukraine would need to rebuild the economy. P.s. I don't read everything in this thread anymore, so if you wish me to reply to something specific please message me about that directly.

Also one of the things Russia lacks I think is the new MANPADS set - Verba.

- there were contracts auctioned and then sighned/executed for maintenance of those vehicles. Sources: http://zakupki.gov.ru/epz/order/extendedsearch/search.html?sortDirection=false&sortBy=UPDATE_DATE&recordsPerPage=_10&pageNo=1&searchString=%D0%A2%D0%B5%D1%85%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BC%D1%83+%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%B4%D0%B7%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%83&placeOfSearch=FZ_44%2CFZ_223&searchType=ORDERS&morphology=false&strictEqual=false&orderPriceCurrencyId=-1&okdpWithSubElements=false&orderStages=AF%2CCA%2CPC%2CPA&headAgencyWithSubElements=false&smallBusinessSubject=I&rnpData=I&executionRequirement=I&penalSystemAdvantage=I&disabilityOrganizationsAdvantage=I&russianGoodsPreferences=I&orderPriceCurrencyId=-1&okvedWithSubElements=false&jointPurchase=false&byRepresentativeCreated=false&selectedMatchingWordPlace223=NOTICE_AND_DOCS&matchingWordPlace94=NOTIFICATIONS&matchingWordPlace44=NOTIFICATIONS&searchAttachedFile=false&changeParameters=true&showLotsInfo=false&customer.code=01731000045&customer.fz94id=727414&customer.title=%D0%9C%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%BE+%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%8B+%D0%A0%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9+%D0%A4%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B8&extendedAttributeSearchCriteria.searchByAttributes=NOTIFICATION&law44.okpd.withSubElements=false http://zakupki.gov.ru/pgz/public/action/planview/main?source=epz&activeTab=D&planGraphRevisionId=1848754

T90AM would not be adopted b/c our MoD wants Armatas and not T90AMs. It is not ordered, there are no proposals to order/adopt it.

Old news and 4 companies is not that much.

As I have said, at least 12 tnks and 12 ifvs already exist and would probably get transfered to the parade unit in feb. First public photos would probably come before 9th of May because of the rehearsals.

Steve, you pile up state and corporate numbers together, without knowing about corporate reserves for example. Morever you pile up the costs in rubles and in the USDs together, which again is faulty. However I think that I won't reply into this thread anymore, as it went down the political OT route, the one you have said it won't go. If you wish to continue this discussion then please split this OT stuff into a new thread or do so in private. P.s. actually what you could do is to brand this thread as political OT, then it would make sense.

Steve, how about I use statistical data? Which economical parameters do you wish to know? I have access to raw statistical data from Moscow State University database, it is at least on par with the Rosstat.

Using the able men from people who originate from Donbas. Considering the number of refugees that went to Russia in summer it is not impossible for Russia and pro Russian forces to rise sufficient numbers of pro Russian volunteers. Well what kind of finances are we talking about?

As to the strategic options, there are two of those around: - waiting for Ukrainian economy to collapse before the Russian one while maintaining military status quo. - invading. A hybrid scenario of using Donbas population for military victory is also possible.

Modern smoke agents are also nasty, even the non WP ones.

The reason why you can't predict what Putin would do next is not because he is mad/unpredictable, but because your descriptive theory is faulty in the first place.

So Russia has been corrupting and meddling in the affairs of others but US was not? Glorious! It would be interesting if you could provide evidence towards your statements that Russia could not afford this or that.

About the inevitable global conflict and Russian role in it. The following factors would lead to it: - increasing population and expected standards of living for Asian states. - limited resources which are required to achieve those standards of living and which are currently owned by western parties. - disproportionate trade (in goods and services) between the two. - conservatism vs post modernistic revolution. The current conflict has pushed Russia into the eastern camp (Russia has been trying to sit that war out, but events shaped our destiny), and thus Russia would have to support whatever endeavour PRC or other Asian state would go for.

Steve, The conflict was initiated by the West, via sponsoring a take over in power by western/central areas of Ukraine, which could not out vote the eastern/southern areas of Ukraine. Same thing happened in 2004, as it did in 2014. Previously, since before 2013 there has been an active ongoing public campaign to isolate Russia politically (by boycotting the Olympics, the Magnitsky process and so on). Hence Russia has been reacting to the western attacks, not attacking Ukraine as it may appear to you. The roots of this conflict are within the resolution of the cold, where West assumed that Russia had no rights for national and security interests and thus ignored those. If not the actions by Yeltsin or the first maidan, the 2007 speech or the Georgian war were the waking calls that there is a need to respect Russian national and security interests. However instead of seeking a good compromise, by providing the security guarantees to Russia, everything was done to threaten Russian security, including the expansion of NATO eastwards. You could of course go and talk about the need to isolate evil Russia from the rest of the world, but the you have a right to express that view if you wish. Note, Russia is not actually fighting a Cold war with the West at the moment, as we are free to acquire the critical consumer and industrial goods (and other things). It is a false sense that we are isolated economically and politically, an example of hybris on part of anyone who thinks so. Now, onto the budget. The reason why we don't get a budget deficit due to falling oil prices is: - because ruble also fell, which meant that we got the similar level of ruble budget income. - the share of oil incomes is not as major as it is assumed. Stuff about the budget deficit being shifted onto the large state owned corporations is simply not true - my father runs one (Rostelecom to be specific) and does not have any such issues. So, to sum up, the sanctions and falling oil prices are not a good thing, but they are not doing critical damage to Russian economy as some appear to think.

The issue with frontal engine placement is that: - it disbalances the tank, makes it front heavy (and thus leads either to suspension issues or reduction in the mass of the frontal armour array). - it makes the required length of the high end side armour array greater, as to provide the same level of protection for crew and ammo in the safe angles in manuever. Basically frontal engine placement is not a good idea for the modern tanks which is why only Israel uses it.

Was the Russian economy hit badly by sanctions, or the changing oil prices? Not really. Budget deficit is under 0.5 percent (from the budget size) and is around 4? percent? of our reserve funds? Sure we are now in stagnation/recession, but that was coming before the Ukrainian crisis and again this is not a major stagnation/recession. The reasons for it are due to the old (oil/gas based) growth model reaching it's limits. If one has even a basic grasp of economics one would know that the economy works in cycles, and should the reforms (promised by Putin during the address to the Federal Council) happen, then we would be back to growth in mid-long term. Thus this whole misplaced euphoria about Russia going into some sort of unsolvable and fatal economic crisis is completely stupid and unseemly for any rational man. However those events will now define position of Russia in the inevitable future global conflict, which is a sad thing really (it is always better to have a room for manuever).

As far as Russia stays nuclear that won't happen. Russia does not isolate itself from the rest of the world, a part of the world tries to isolate itself from Russia. Currently the sanctions regime does not preclude Russia from buing any critical consumer or industrial goods, as equivalents of those goods are freely available in Asia. Do the aforementioned western countries end importing the normal Russian exports? Again, no, as EU still buys Russian gas, US still buys Russian rocket engines (the RD181 contract recently sighed despite the sanctions). The only important (and somewhat damaging) sanctions that were levelled against Russia were the limitations on accessing the financial markets, but even then Russian state owned companies still get western financial products.

Well if this is to continue - what is happening at the Airport?