- Ukraine downed a Russian Su-34 fighter jet over Kursk amid an ongoing territorial push.
- The Su-34, worth around $36 million, is Russia’s most efficient fighter bomber with advanced tech.
- Ukraine has previously held long kill streaks with Russian Su-34s.
one of several reasons why looting is banned in all sensible armies is that looting slows advance
If you have a proper supply chain and logistics you don’t need to rely on taking civilians stuff. The russian military and the members who loot the villages are just despicable
Ukrainian soldiers are leaving Google reviews on local shops as they travel through. I don’t think they are looting, but they are definitely stopping for snacks.
not only that, they’re delivering humanitarian aid to civilians https://news.sky.com/video/ukrainian-military-have-been-delivering-humanitarian-aid-to-those-who-were-reportedly-abandoned-in-the-kursk-region-13197067
if i’ve seen this headline two weeks ago i’d think that i’ve gone crazy
Why would you think you’d gone crazy? Ukraine’s troops have conducted themselves very well throughout the whole thing haven’t they?
“we’re three years into three-day special operation. NATO equipped forces are distributing humanitarian aid in Russia” sounds like ncd shitpost if you had no idea that Ukrainians were able to pull off Kursk incursion. like, they lost so badly that they’re taking aid from most probable adversary. this is desert storm levels of losing
you need proper supply chain anyway, the only thing civilians can provide you with is at most food, fuel, and maybe some vehicles. civilians don’t have any ammo, radios or any practical communications equipment in general, firearms, mines, grenades, bulk explosives, fuzes, drones, medical supplies, spare parts, and fuckton of other things that you have to supply either way. this is not napoleonic era warfare
Looting happens because people like to steal unusual or valuable stuff. For example, when wristwatches were popular, they were a common item to be looted, because they had a lot of value for their size and weight. It’s not about being supplied with necessities.
looting happens when your army consists of undisciplined cavemen. it further strains logistics, that has to run both ways now; takes valuable time that could be used doing literally anything else; sets local civilians against you - maybe there are spotters or informants or insurgents now that weren’t there before; makes unit in question vulnerable to some of these civilians’ antics - there were multiple reports of poisoned food being served to russian soldiers by now and i think it could be over 50 fatalities total; not to mention that it’s a war crime
It’s all tied to the old military thinking.
Russian soldiers are not fighting for Russia. Russian soldiers are fighting for their generals. Similar to how Roman armies worked, or… well, really like any army worked until we got to the nationalism level that eventually lead to WWI. One of the most effective ways the generals got their troops to follow them was allowing them the “spoils of war”. Good ol’ raping and pillaging.
By comparison the Ukrainian army is unified in their fight for Ukraine. They’re not fighting for a person, they’re fighting for their people. All the fighting happening inside Russian borders isn’t to secure loot, it’s to end the war so they can go home.
Do they, though…? Or is it still the classic Russian “wait until the guy in front of you is killed and then pick up his rifle” sort of thing…?
russians are at very least supplied with small arms ammo
With proper supply chains you can loot more efficiently. Care packages sent back home from the front lines fit nicely on empty supply trucks heading back to restock.