iirc they have mobilized and built a reserve but mostly that's so they can rotate forces off the front which are so badly mauled by the kinds of tactics they are using so they need to reconstitute while the reserve is used
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This means that they can't great like a massive new army for operations elsewhere, though they have expanded to allow operations in Sumy and Kharkhiv, but it does mean they can consistently maintain pressure on the front and not allow the Ukrainians to build reserves either
sep 1, 2025, 3:29 pm • 3 0 • view
Right, that reserve is not meant to - and cannot - deploy whole hog as a unified operational element.
sep 1, 2025, 3:30 pm • 2 0 • view
they could generate enough new forces to do that if they wanted using the same wasteful but effective strategy they are now but they're carefully balancing industry needs, political costs, deficit spending, and regime survivability. They have enough for what they think they need
sep 1, 2025, 3:34 pm • 1 0 • view
They could do that in the sense that the resources do exist in-country to do that, but they cannot do it in the sense that it is seen as too large a political risk bsky.app/profile/opul...
sep 1, 2025, 3:39 pm • 3 0 • view
That and they're very budget cautious, this is the first time they've significantly deviated spending from state revenues in 20 years and they're starting to really get into finance danger zones that they stayed ahead of for the first 3 years.
sep 1, 2025, 3:43 pm • 1 0 • view