09-22-2022, 10:19 PM
I couldn't see a thread anywhere, so please feel free to merge if there is one.
Russia is mobilising an additional 300,000 reservist (or press ganged) troops for the front in Ukraine. I had a look at a couple of sites online, and it appears the cost of a HiMars system (mobile rocket system) used against Russian forces in the Ukraine is around $78 million USD per system fully loaded. These have been very effective thus far against the invading forces.
I was thinking that assuming the 16 supplied are being increased to around 20, that is around $1.5 billion of investment in that equipment alone. Add in the costs of the latest pledges and the numbers are huge. Considering how unhappy Russian forces are in this campaign, would it not be better to offer them an opportunity to flee Russia and get something out of it? Imagine if let's say around $1.5 billion was put into developing educational offerings and accommodation in the EU for surrendering Russian soldiers, would we start to see whole units just turn up and surrender?
It wouldn't take long before people with few opportunities in Russia (and there are many), would find out about the programme, and head to the front knowing full well they could get out of fighting an unpopular war, and get something for themselves in the future.
$1.5 billion is a lot of investment into educational offerings, and it has the ongoing effect of the participants being anti-Putin, advertising this widely to their populous back home, and they are one day returning home (or migrating) with skills they can use to help their economic situation.
Another 20 HiMars, or many hundreds of thousands of new recruits against both Putin and his cronies forever?
Russia is mobilising an additional 300,000 reservist (or press ganged) troops for the front in Ukraine. I had a look at a couple of sites online, and it appears the cost of a HiMars system (mobile rocket system) used against Russian forces in the Ukraine is around $78 million USD per system fully loaded. These have been very effective thus far against the invading forces.
I was thinking that assuming the 16 supplied are being increased to around 20, that is around $1.5 billion of investment in that equipment alone. Add in the costs of the latest pledges and the numbers are huge. Considering how unhappy Russian forces are in this campaign, would it not be better to offer them an opportunity to flee Russia and get something out of it? Imagine if let's say around $1.5 billion was put into developing educational offerings and accommodation in the EU for surrendering Russian soldiers, would we start to see whole units just turn up and surrender?
It wouldn't take long before people with few opportunities in Russia (and there are many), would find out about the programme, and head to the front knowing full well they could get out of fighting an unpopular war, and get something for themselves in the future.
$1.5 billion is a lot of investment into educational offerings, and it has the ongoing effect of the participants being anti-Putin, advertising this widely to their populous back home, and they are one day returning home (or migrating) with skills they can use to help their economic situation.
Another 20 HiMars, or many hundreds of thousands of new recruits against both Putin and his cronies forever?