ballpoint

I think he over did it with that last piece.

This is a good explanation of what's happening, and what it will lead to. Not only is Russia losing hundreds of thousands of young men to the fighting, production for the war machine is using up a huge chunk of the working population, meaning large shortages to do the normal, everyday work, meaning pay must go up to attract workers - by 8% last year and a further 9% this year, meaning prices must go up to counter that, meaning an inflation spiral that's rapidly getting out of control. And, as we know, they've announced that they will be spending a third of their budget on the military, but they're already spending an estimated 6% of it on compensation to families of those injured or killed in the fighting. Couple that to the plunging rouble, falling exports and economic sanctions, and something will give sooner rather than later.

First they brought in criminals from the prisons, then the North Koreans, now it's Dad's army. A video showing some "new" Russian recruits receiving basic training. The youngest is 46, the oldest 63 - though that's still younger than many of the tanks Russia is using. And some still try to tell us that Russia isn't running out of fighting men.

There seems to be a pattern emerging. Yesterday I posted a video of the recent fuel train attack in occupied Ukraine, where it was suggested that partisans had been the ones who placed explosives on the line so as to derail the train prior to it coming under HIMARS and drone attack. Other recent events include: Mon, December 9: "The former head of a notorious prison in Russian-occupied Ukraine has reportedly been killed in a car blast in Donetsk, in what is being seen as the latest in a series of attacks on pro-Kremlin figures in occupied land. Ukrainian media say that Sergei Yevsyukov, 49, was killed in a blast from an explosive device planted under his car, with one outlet reporting that the bomb was equivalent to about 100g of TNT". Russian prison boss killed in car blast in occupied Ukraine Fri, December 13: "A senior Russian official who worked at a company that designs drones and missiles was killed in a Ukrainian operation near Moscow, according to reports. A source in Ukraine's security services told Ukrainian outlet Pravda that Mikhail Shatsky was assassinated in a special operation by Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, the country's military intelligence service". A Russian missile and drone developer was assassinated in a Ukrainian hit: reports Tuesday, December 17: "Russian pilot Dmitry Golenkov, who participated in Moscow's full-scale war against Ukraine, was found dead in the town of Suponevo in Bryansk Oblast on Oct. 20, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) reported. According to the agency, Golenkov suffered multiple head injuries, probably caused by a hammer". This man piloted a bomber which intentionally targeted a row of residential apartments and restaurants. Russian high-ranking pilot found dead in Bryansk Oblast, military intelligence says As the BBC story says "... the latest in a series of attacks on pro-Kremlin figures in occupied land", these are becoming regular events, with the bombing of this general being the first, and hopefully not the last, to occur in Moscow. It's getting to be like an advent calendar. Open another window to see which Russian butcher was killed today. Russia's war criminal pigeons are coming home to roost.

The video suggests that, in his role of chief of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, Igor was also likely to have been the person who authorised the Salisbury nerve agent operation in 2018, so no tears outside Russia, and its lacky shills, will be shed. And further reporting: "A top Russian general accused by Ukraine of being responsible for the use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops was assassinated in Moscow by Ukraine's SBU intelligence service on Tuesday morning in the most high-profile killing of its kind. Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, who was chief of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, was killed outside an apartment building along with his assistant when a bomb hidden in an electric scooter went off, Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes, said". Ukraine kills top Russian general in Moscow it accuses of chemical weapons crimes | Reuters