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The average annual salary in Ukraine is less than 7,000 USD according to google. I do not know how much soldiers are paid but I do not see why they should need to be paid 7 times the average salary to motivate them to defend their country. However... if Europe + Canada want Ukraine to survive...

Oil and gas exports have been a mainstay of Russian government revenue for a long time. It seems that customers are hesitant to place orders for crude subsequent to the recent sanctions against Rosneft and Ukoil. Jo Blogs (link below) observes that to maintain production of crude Russia has...

People in Ukraine who want Ukraine to survive should be able to appreciate that if an insufficient number of people to sustain Ukraine's continuing existence fail to join the armed forces, Ukraine will disappear. If Russia occupies Ukraine the freedoms lost by all citizens will be vastly greater...

Are you sure about that?

I don't know what Ukraine should do. I am under the impression that Ukrainian troops receive little leave. If true, perhaps conscripting men at 21 would be a good move to allow an increase of leave for existing troops while also satisfying Ukraine's backers.

https://www.rigzone.com/news/eia_raises_oil_price_forecasts_but_still_sees_drop_in_2026-13-nov-2025-182311-article/ In its 2025 budget Russia predicted that it would sell its crude at an average price of around 69 USD per barrel. That has not proved to be the case. The predicted price was...

In the sense that if Russia gains control of Ukraine, democracy and the rule of law will disappear and Ukraine will become thoroughly corrupt like Russia is.

Yes, it sounds like Ukraine has a corruption problem. Does this date back to when Ukraine was under Russian influence? To me Russia seems to be entirely corrupt. Top (Putin et al) to bottom (useless alcoholic Ivan. Yuri, whoever).

Without Japan I do not think the UK would continue. I think the go/no go for commitment to GCAP is scheduled for the end of this year (I am not 100% sure). Again, I guess that the contract between Japan, the UK and Italy will have very strict terms whereby pulling out will cost the partner...

With Typhoons in the TuAF, some of the 24 annual production of KAAN could be diverted to exports when the indigenous engine is installed. France even diverted all Rafale production to export for a time. I think Sweden is going to do the same to supply Colombia with Gripen E.

Did anybody think KF-21 could be sold to a country the US did not like? I imagine that KAAN will suffer the same problem until a Turkish engine is installed.

KF-21 ground attack capability , scheduled for 2028, may be introduced in 2026. https://www.janes.com/osint-insights/defence-news/defence/south-korea-moves-to-speed-up-kf-21-block-2-maritime-helicopter-acquisitions

I think that Indonesia agreed to the establishment and maintenance of infrastructure for production and final assembly of KF-21 many years ago. It did not do it. What value would there be in Indonesia again agreeing to the establishment and maintenance of infrastructure for production and final...

Turkiye reducing purchases of Russian crude and oil products

Without checking which, Rosstat (or other official sources) have a tendency to stop publishing some economic data when the numbers look bad. Some cannot easily be hidden - bank base rate, MOEX share prices etc. PS Falsifying numbers connected to economic performance might make Putin look...

A BBC report on Russia's economic outlook based to some extent on expert opinions expressed earlier this year. Report is dated June 23rd 2025. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpqnj17vryjo I think that data released so far this year show that the forecasts of Russian and western experts...

Ukraine is making quite a few long range Flamingo cruise missiles. With a 1150kg warhead, should one or two get through Russian air defences to attack an oil refinery (for example), damage is likely to be very severe. Not stealthy. Apparently not very accurate. Many times the cost of an...

Indeed. If Russia exported 5 million bpd at a $30 discount to the world crude price instead of perhaps at a $10 discount (I guess) on sales to China, India, Turkiye etc - Russian revenue from exports would drop by over $70 billion a year. $70 billion a year is nearly half of what the Russian...

EU is trying to persuade Hungary to stop buying Russian oil but Hungary is resisting. https://www.politico.eu/article/hungary-foot-dragging-russian-oil-crashes-reality-croatia-sanction/ Up to 30 USD per barrel discount would make the stuff from Russia immensely attractive. At that price I...

As predicted, Russian GDP growth continues to head down towards 0% https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/10/30/russias-economic-growth-slows-for-third-straight-quarter-ministry-data-a90994