this post was submitted on 16 Oct 2024
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A battalion of 3,000 North Korean soldiers will shortly join Russian troops in fighting Ukraine, marking Pyongyang’s full entry into the war.

Intelligence sources said the unit has been secretly training in Russia’s Far East ahead of deployment as part of a Russian airborne regiment.

“They are called the Buryat Battalion,” a senior Ukrainian military source told Politico. Buryatia is a remote region of Russia bordering Mongolia that the Kremlin has targeted heavily for military recruitment.

The Kyiv Independent quoted another Western intelligence source claiming that North Korea had sent 10,000 soldiers to join the Russian army.

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[–] [email protected] 109 points 1 month ago (5 children)

Ok, it's only fair if Poland gets to join too.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Better give Poland some nukes for parity

[–] [email protected] 60 points 1 month ago (3 children)

If the invasion of Ukraine hasn't taught everyone that the only way to not get invaded is to have nukes I don't know what will.

[–] [email protected] 71 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Seriously - I’m genuinely baffled at the complete geopolitical ineptitude that occurred in 2014. It was a categorical abrogation of the Budapest Memorandum, which guaranteed Ukrainian territorial integrity and sovereignty in exchange for their surrender of old Soviet nukes based in their territory.

Nobody is going to make a deal like that going forward. The nuclear non-proliferation movement is entirely dead. Nukes are, categorically, the absolute final word in guaranteeing a country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. There is no substitute. Genuinely, the complete and total lack of meaningful action in the defense of Ukraine was the most apocalyptically stupid geopolitical move that Obama and Merkel made during their stints as leaders of the western world.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago

Yup. Going to hell in a hand basket.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Honestly, no it's also done the opposite. Ukraine has passed so many of Russia's "red lines" that it shows nukes are useless too. The only time a nuke is useful is when you've already lost. If you use one then you get a lot of other groups attacking you, and potentially you get nuked yourself. You can't actually really use one in defence.

The only way to not be invaded is to be stronger than your potential opponents. Si vis pacem, para bellum. (If you want peace, prepare for war.)

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago

It hasn't done the opposite. It has slowed response from the US and other countries significantly. For some things the US still doesn't want to give Ukraine permission. Sure, Poland was giving tanks almost immediately after the war started, showing the hole in logic. But a lot of other countries went for "non leathal aid" like body armor, helmets. They only sent more after a year or so. Truth is, if Russians got Kiev and got Ukraine to capitulate after like 6 months, they'd only gain on the landgrab, with no consequences other than sanctions (which we see how they don't really have the impact they should have and are skirted constantly). Decade or two in the future? Relations would probably be strained still, but returning to normal.

Appeasement is sadly the way of the world. That's why Hitler, Stalin and now Putin were so successful.

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[–] [email protected] 100 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Any North Korean soldiers captured should be held prisoner in some Scandinavian prison and fed nothing but the most decadent and tasty foods. Then when the war is over send them back to NK fatter than Kim Jon Un. That would be a real power play.

[–] [email protected] 64 points 1 month ago (5 children)

You can't serve Scandinavian food to prisonners it is forbidden by the Geneva convention.

[–] [email protected] 43 points 1 month ago (1 children)

If meatballs and mashed potatoes with lingonberry sauce are against the Geneva convention it's probably time we had on Oslo convention.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago

Smorgasbord all day every day would be Tortute!

[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Because it causes Stockholm syndrome?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago

I was kind of on board with that idea, but now i'm100% on board

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

You're thinking of Scandinavian regional delicacies and certain seasonal special dishes, none of which I've ever had the misfortune of smelling, and serving those to prisoners does sound pretty inhumane. All Scandinavian food outside of those that I've tried or heard of tasted or sounded delicious.

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[–] [email protected] 73 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Lmao, I just saw an article on here about NK soldiers abandoning the front lines. That didn't last long

[–] [email protected] 27 points 1 month ago (3 children)

Why fight die for some other country's pointless war? If I was there, I'd leave, too.

I'd also encourage any US troops who are sent off to fight for Israel in the future to do the same lol.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Because someone's watching you with a gun to your head. Deserting is hard

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago (6 children)

But also you're holding a gun.

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[–] [email protected] 50 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Ukraine's about to get a lot of defectors...

[–] [email protected] 38 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Unfortunately many North Koreans already leave the country to work as slaves for construction companies, factories, etc (including in Europe). Generally they only allow people out who have families back home to be tortured/killed in case they defect.

They will probably get some, but less than you might expect.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 month ago (1 children)

There's a pretty big difference between construction work and human wave tactics in a warzone. Different levels of motivation to defect.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 month ago

And different opportunities, going MIA on a construction site is suspicious, but during war? Who can tell whether they defected or died?

[–] [email protected] 46 points 1 month ago

What Russia likes about North Korean Soldiers in Ukraine: Manpower!

What North Korea likes about North Korean Soldiers in Ukraine: Money!

What North Korean Soldiers like about North Korean Soldiers in Ukraine: Freedom!

[–] [email protected] 41 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I mean why wouldn't they?

Koreans have no beef with Ukraine. They're fighting in a war for a paycheck.

But they're probably seeing wartorn Ukraine, with bombed out buildings and roads, and going, "Well shit this place looks better than home" and leaving.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

Fighting in war for paycheck

Kim doesn't operate that way, he's got of a 'don't die or I'll kill your family and put the relatives in jail' energy

[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 month ago (3 children)

The great Russian army. The great russian army with the best weapons and tanks and soldiers.

What a paper tiger.

BTW it's rumored that they are running out of both tanks and bmps. If trump doesn't win (if he does, it will just take longer) the whole russia will collapse like the soviet union did in 1991. The ruble is already in free fall, inflation at 20%, the economy is overheating and fewer and fewer young people left to work or be killed.

I just hope it crumbles as soon as possible but I guess this insane war has to drag on for some 6 months to a year.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I mean you list all of that and ignore the biggest elephant in the room. 40% GDP spent on the war.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

Or more.

Just to be clear, the war economy will hasten the downfall of Russia (they no longer publish inflation numbers, rumours are they are way over 20% maybe even at 40%. The central bank is already lending at 19% which is crazy) but it won't help much with tanks and btrs, as the vast majority of the "new" ones are refurbished ones pulled out from long time storage, and even the "bad" ones are drying up, it's impossible to know but it could be the end of both tanks & btrs this month or next month or so.

Russia builds just a handfull (less than 10) every month, they almost lose that many every day.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 month ago (2 children)

BTW it’s rumored that they are running out of both tanks and bmps.

I feel like people have been saying this for about 2 years. We should believe it when we see it.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 month ago

We do see it lol. There are people who get satellite photos of tankyards in Russia. They pay Google to take a new photo over a specific base, count the tanks, armored vehicles and trucks, and make a youtube video about it. Russia is losing an enormous amounts of tanks. They can't retrofit enough of the old stock to keep up with the losses, let alone produce new tanks.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Look Up covert cabal on YouTube. He works together with a guy called himarsed to painstakingly count tanks, bumps and other stuff on commercial satellite imagery and regularly posts updates on the Russian arsenals. And they are pretty empty now

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Dictatorships can take a lot of abuse before falling apart. Look at North Korea. People are starving and still that fuckers in power.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Dictatorships only stand because of the military. The military which is currently being slaughtered en masse in a war they didn't need. We are one week "where decades happen" away from Russia colapsing. Shit like Prigozin, like Kadyrov launching a blood feud, etc.

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[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 month ago

With the current attrition rate of Russian forces, these 3K troops will likely be expended in ~2.3 days..

[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Hopefully this isn't the stsrt of turning this into a larger conflict that spills into other countries.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago

This is exactly that

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Wait for US fighting Iran and these two wars merging.

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 month ago

What a great opportunity for those north Koreans to defect to Europe

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 month ago (6 children)

Soooo… is it a world war yet?

[–] [email protected] 34 points 1 month ago

World special military operation

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[–] [email protected] 24 points 1 month ago

You can tell Russia's desperate because they've got the North Koreans involved.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I wonder how many of them are going to just defect?

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 month ago

So far 18 of the advance party. Unverified by Russia and North Korea though.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago

Translation: Putin needs more people for the meat grinder without making his people madder at him.

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