 So, tomorrow is one year since the war broke out on February 24th, 2022. I think to have many people surprised, certainly to my surprise, this is one I did not predict. I did not see coming. I definitely thought that there would not be a war. But on February 24th, 2022, to my surprise, and I think to many people surprised, Russia invaded Ukraine, invaded Ukraine from a number of different locations, invaded Ukraine from the south, invaded Ukraine dramatically from the east and northeast all the way to Kharkiv, north of Kharkiv and northwest of Kharkiv, and then down from Belarus, Russian troops staged in Belarus invaded Ukraine and made pretty strong progress in the first couple of days on their way to Kyiv. If you remember right off the bat, there were significant battles just outside of Kyiv at the airport there, where Russian special forces were flown in. The first real indications that Russia was going to have a hard time was how difficult it was and how quickly they had to retreat from that airport and how many casualties they took, and it seemed surprising to them. I think the Russians expected to be able to control the airport very quickly, then to fly in airplanes with troops and supplies and use it as a base of operations against Kyiv and basically to take care of within a week. I think generally the expectation of the Russian forces was that Kyiv would fall, that they would control Kyiv and that the rest would be irrelevant, that Ukraine would basically surrender at that point. Remind me to tell you why I don't like the term Putin's war. By the way, Super Chat is on. I would appreciate support over the Super Chat while I'm traveling. I know it's not as many people are listening, maybe not the same people are listening, people who don't have quite the means, but those of you are watching after the fact, you can still support the show by pressing like a donate button on YouTube after the fact. It doesn't have to be live and of course you can support the show on youronbookshow.com slash support on Patreon or subscribe star. But I would appreciate the support while I'm traveling. It's not like I don't have to bring an income while I'm on the road. It would be great and I am trying to do as many shows as I can. So in reflection of those shows, it would be great if we got some support realizing it's not going to be the normal levels. Let's see. So on that first week, I think almost all commentators out there, I saw a lot of former generals, a lot of military commentators basically tell everybody the same message. Russia is going to win this just a question of time. They might have said back here, said back there, but there's no question. This is going to be a Russian victory and it might take longer than people expect. It might take longer than the Russians expect. But Russian overwhelming force is going to win this. And I have to say, I was one of the few people who said, I think it was day two. Wait a minute, slow down. I'm not sure this is going to go that way. And my main point was that both the Russians had no motivation. Russia's soldiers had no motivation. Russian weapons systems were primitive and unsophisticated. And on the flip side, the Ukrainians were heavily, strongly motivated, right, strongly motivated. And they were using very advanced Western weapons systems, particularly anti-tank weapons and anti-aircraft weapons. And they were achieving massive success in the battlefield because of these things. And I think there were, and I said from personal experience, because I have personal experience, about T-72s and Russian weapon systems and how primitive and how behind they were as compared to the West. And I have to admit, I didn't even realize how behind they were relative to the West. And I think that has all played out during the war, the fact that the Russians are unmotivated and that their weapons systems suck. I think a third element, which I did not realize, but which has become real, very, very real, and is becoming real every single day, is just the, I don't know what the term, how to call it. I don't know, maybe strategic decadence. The fact that Russia has no strategy, the fact that Russians still fight wars like they do, like they did 80 years ago, the fact that Russia's way of fighting wars is just to throw troops and tanks and weapon systems at a problem and just frontal assault. And the way the Russians are fighting this war is just shocking and horrific and lacks any sense of strategy and certainly lacks any sense of caring about casualties and caring about how many people on your side are killed. A complete disregard for Russian soldiers' lives. I mean, I've always known the Russian weapons systems, at least Soviet weapons systems. There was no real concern about protecting your own soldiers. But I would have expected in the 21st century in Russia and no longer the Soviet Union that there be some concern and some rethinking of strategy and some thought about how to strategize here. Nothing. I mean, a complete ignorance of military strategy and a complete inability to adjust strategy based on what's happening on the battlefield. Basically, in Bakhmut right now, Russian soldiers are fighting trench warfare. World War I-style trench warfare to try to recapture town. They've been fighting for it for six months. They have lost thousands and thousands and thousands of troops killed and maimed on this one battlefield for this one little village or one little town. They made almost no progress. I mean, they've made some progress, but very little progress at the cost of thousands and thousands of lives and they just keep coming. No reconsideration, no change of strategy, no trying to find a weak, you know, weakness in the Ukrainian front line, no attempts to go around. Nothing. Just head on straight. Boom. And just complete and utter disaster consequences to the whole thing. So, you know, Russia here is losing tens of thousands of troops. By some estimates, in terms of killed and injured, the numbers of Russians is over well over 200,000. Remember that when the war started, Russia invaded with 200,000 troops. Today we can say there are 200,000 casualties. What Russia has been doing over the last few months is sending untrained young recruits who know very little about war and have very little training to the front lines. It's why so many Russians are dying and so little progress is being made. This is a barbaric way of fighting a war and this is a mentality of suffering, a mentality of uncaring about human life that is, I think, in the world in which we live right now, uniquely Russian. And, you know, maybe the Muslims, Islamists, the radical Islamists, share this attitude towards complete disregard for individual life. But it's truly rare in the modern world to see people just throw the lives of tens of thousands of people and not care. Just not care. And let me just say, this reminds me of this issue about Putin's war. This is not Putin's war. This is Russia's war. This is not one man launching a war just for his own ego. His own ego plays a big role in this. But this is a whole system, a whole system of government, a whole system, a whole regime. A whole regime that is basically being supported by the Russian people if only by their own acquaintances and the fact that they have not rebelled and not argued against it and not stood up against Putin over the last 20 years as he has solidified his power. You know, what has happened, what has happened in the consequence of the Putin regime is not new, it's not a surprise, it's not... And yet the Russian people have allowed it to happen. You know, this is a war of the entire Russian elite, the oligarchs, the generals, the Politburo members, the rest of the business and military class that allow Putin to do this. This is not, this is not... I don't care how scared they are. If they're scared, they deserve it, right? If they're paralyzed by fear, they deserve it. This is Russia's war, Russia is to blame, the Russian people are to blame. You know, 200,000 of them are dying and being maimed. They can't rise up against Putin, they can't destroy Putin, of course they can. They lack the will, they lack the will and many of them and maybe a majority of them buy into, you know, Putin's illusions. Thank you for listening or watching The Iran Book Show. If you'd like to support the show, we make it as easy as possible for you to trade with me. You get value from listening, you get value from watching, show your appreciation. You can do that by going to iranbrookshow.com slash support by going to Patreon, subscribe star locals and just making an appropriate contribution on any one of those channels. Also, if you'd like to see The Iran Book Show grow, please consider sharing our content and of course subscribe. Press that little bell button right down there on YouTube so that you get an announcement when we go live and for those of you who are already subscribers and those of you who are already supporters of the show, thank you. I very much appreciate it.