The Coming Warriors of Ukraine
Science fiction fans of Frank Herbert’s Dune will remember the renowned warriors from Salusa Secundus, the feared Sardaukar. In all the known universe only the Fremen on Arrakis possessed the skills and mindset to defeat the Sardaukar.
The abilities of the Sardaukar were largely attributed to the harsh environment and brutal discipline they were exposed to on planet Salusa Secundus, the Corrino prison planet. Only the Fremen, raised in the fanatical warrior culture and merciless desert environment of Arrakis, were capable of matching the Sardaukar. Fremen typically scorned Harkonnen soldiers as cowardly and weak, but judged that the Sardaukar fought well, and even respected them to some degree.
The Environment Makes the Man
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is turning the formerly fertile sovereign nation into a hellscape of devastation and death. Civilian dwellings and infrastructure are being pounded to dust by a fiery flood of indifferent Russian artillery, rockets, and bombs.
You might expect modern Ukrainian men — European men after all — to flee the brutal fires in a unanimous attempt to escape death and torture from the vicious hordes to the East. Instead we see Ukrainian men, women, and boys rushing to join the fight against the now-hated invader.
Mothers and the very young they care for, have largely fled the battlefield — for now. But new generations of warriors are growing up, and they are motivated every night by scenes of hellish battle, to acquire the skills they need to defeat and repel the outsider who has inexplicably chosen to ravage their sacred homeland.
Defenders Have Natural Reason to Fight
From the beginning it has been clear that the advantage of motivation has rested with the Ukrainians. This advantage can only grow, as the home defenders witness the depravity of the foreign invaders on a daily basis. Meanwhile, the invaders still have no rational explanation for why their country has sent them to this foreign land to fight, rape, torture, and kill people who look and talk a lot like themselves.
This same motivation to toughen and train for a deadly battle against Russia pervades all of the countries in the region. They believe that in order to keep the Russian marauder out of their own countries, they should help Ukraine to stop and repel Russia before its conquests can grow.
Most of Russia’s attention is currently focused on its ruthless war in Ukraine, but Putin has not lost sight of the bigger objectives. In fact, in Russia’s view, success in Ukraine serves as a major stepping stone for reaching further goals.
Russia’s long-term strategic aims remain unchanged: to dissolve the rules-based world order. Putin has written and talked about this for the past 15 years, and Russia’s actions have brutally proved it. Re-establishing spheres of influence in Eastern Europe and recreating buffer zones are the key steps in turning the current international order around for Russia. This is the most important reason why Russian tanks rolled over the Ukrainian border on February 24, 2022, and why similar scenarios have unfolded
A View from Nearby
Russia’s War in Ukraine: Full Paper (PDF)
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment 21Feb2023
Is Russia the unhealthiest country on Earth? No, that would be China. But fewer nations have tried so hard to pollute their air, water, soil, and countryside like the Russians have done, over the past century or more. Whether from industrial waste, from biowarfare and nuclear labs, leaky nuclear reactors, or other sources of dangerous toxins, Russia is a global center of pollution — just like China.
But there are parts of Russia well East of the Urals that are still relatively pristine. That is why China has its greedy eyes on Siberia. And the way Putin is pissing away the wealth and blood of Russia in Ukraine, it may not be long before China can make its move.
You might think that all the deadly poisons permeating the environment of Russia should turn Russian boys into Sardaukar, but unfortunately it is only weakening them and making them unfit for work, combat, or any productive endeavor beyond perhaps drug addiction and alcoholism.
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