Russian losses and other news

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Since Russia has held back in recent days regarding massive terror attacks, Ukraine has also refrained from attacking targets inside Russia. Zelenskyy warns Russia that if they resume their attacks, Ukraine will do the same. read more at Kyiv Independent.

Russian losses in Ukraine

KWIA is admittedly under a thousand but otherwise high losses. Although there has been a kind of ceasefire regarding long-range attacks, the war at the fronts has not stopped.

  • 920 KWIA
  • 4 Tanks
  • 7 AFVs
  • 76 Artillery
  • 1 MLRS
  • 1,557 UAVs
  • 9 UGVs
  • 231 Vehicles and Fuel tanks
  • 2 Special equipment

Russian activities

Here too, one can see that the Russians, for the second day in a row, do not seem to have used any KAB but the number of drones is high and regarding the artillery, we have not been at this level since August 2025. The last two days it was instead below 2,000. One possible conclusion is that they are short of shells. After holding back for two days, they can thus increase the number. Of course, it could also be a sign that they have generally increased the intensity. We will see in the coming days if it continues to be this high or if it falls back.

  • 180 combat clashes
  • 8,037 kamikaze drones
  • 6,380 shelling (25 from MLRS)

SLAVA UKRAINI

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131 thoughts on “Russian losses and other news”

  1. MXT

    As Johan usually writes, the war will end with a loss or with too great concessions for Ukraine, there is a risk that it will not only be weapons but also dissatisfied soldiers that will make Europe unsafe.

    “There is a great risk of extensive arms smuggling from Ukraine to the rest of Europe if the war with Russia ends. This says the European border agency Frontex’s deputy chief Lars Gerdes to Die Welt.

    The assessment is based on a fairly simple analysis. If the war ends with an agreement, Ukraine will have plenty of weapons, ammunition, explosives – and people who are short of money.

    – It could become a security problem for Europe.”
    https://omni.se/varnar-ukrainas-vapen-kan-smugglas-till-eu-vid-fred/a/16qVkq

    1. iamwhoiam

      In that matter, one can hope that what Zelensky talked about the other day regarding allowing Ukrainian PMCs could provide a certain safety valve on the somewhat more controlled side of the spectrum. So maybe a large part of them can spend a few years tracking down Russian war criminals around the world, and taking out Russian PMCs if/when they show up in Africa, etc.

      1. MXT

        Yes, it is not a bad idea regardless of how the war ends. Even if it becomes a total victory for Ukraine, there will probably be many who find it difficult to return to civilian life.

  2. MXT

    One can guess who is behind it. 

    “Germany has been hit by a wave of sabotage against the country’s infrastructure, writes TT.

    The loosely organized left-wing extremist network Vulkangruppe has claimed several of the acts, and the police have announced a reward of one million euros for information about the suspected perpetrators.

    – You don’t really know who they are exactly, but they are likely a small group of very experienced individuals, says Simon Teune, PhD in political sociology at Freie Universität Berlin.

    In January, the network cut power to about 45,000 households and 2,000 businesses in Berlin, described as the city’s largest blackout since World War II.”
    https://omni.se/polisen-i-tyskland-jagar-extremt-vansternatverk/a/6qoBmz

    1. iamwhoiam

      This happened before DenGamle left the thread, right?
      Otherwise, it would be awkward if he thought he was going to Russia to sabotage infrastructure but in reality, the neighbor lady was a honeytrap who lured him into the arms of Russian saboteurs in Germany…

  3. MXT

    Off-Topic, Iran and the oil

    According to an article in The Economist, it is the European oil companies that have benefited the most. Sounds a bit strange.
    Unfortunately, I do not have access to read the entire article, but maybe someone else here has a subscription?

    “The Iran war has driven up oil prices sharply and benefited European oil giants like BP and Total Energies. But the US oil giants have not had the same success, writes The Economist..

    Not all oil giants are prospering from the Iran war
    Exxon and Chevron have benefited less than their European rivals”

    https://www.economist.com/business/2026/05/06/not-all-oil-giants-are-prospering-from-the-iran-war

    1. MXT

      ** Europe should behave more like China does if it wants to survive this age of chaos

      The US and Israel may have started the war in Iran, but – apart from the belligerents themselves – it is China and Europe that stand to lose the most from it. Yet while European leaders watch like rabbits caught in the headlights as energy prices shoot through the roof, China has responded to the crisis with remarkable equanimity. It is striking how self-confident Beijing is ahead of this week’s Trump-Xi summit.

      That’s because China is better prepared for what I call an age of “un-order”. This is not the same as disorder, where rules exist but are broken. Un-order is a world where the rules themselves have simply ceased to matter. While European governments have been obsessed with preserving order, China has been working out how to survive chaos.

      China saw this moment coming a decade and a half ago as Europeans outsourced their security to Nato, their trade rules to the World Trade Organisation, and their energy supplies to Russia and the Gulf. At the same time, Beijing was quietly stockpiling oil, food and semiconductors on a massive scale, cornering the global market in rare earths, critical minerals and the technologies of the future.
      … **

      https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/11/europe-should-behave-more-like-china-does-if-it-wants-to-survive-this-age-of-chaos

    2. Proxima

      A bit unfair that BP benefits. When the democratically elected Iranian leader Mossadeq wanted to nationalize the country’s oil resources in 1951 (he had the support of a unanimous parliament and the majority of the Iranian people), it caused hell, especially for Anglo-Iranian Oil Co, now known as BP. Today, almost all of the world’s oil resources are nationalized, but back then it was seen as an extreme action. The British started with blockade and boycott. GB (Churchill) received support from the USA (Truman). Mossadeq was overthrown and the inexperienced Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi came to power. His rule resulted in today’s mullahs, and that is where we are now. GB/USA bear a heavy responsibility for what is happening in Iran now. Not least BP. Therefore, I think it is unfair if BP benefits.

      1. MXT

        Thank you for the history lesson, and after reading that I agree.

        On the other hand, maybe it wouldn’t be better if other American companies profited from it either. Even though it was BP involved back then, it was probably GB and USA actions that caused the trouble if I understood correctly?

          1. Proxima

            Yes, that’s correct. At the core was the fear of communism. Nothing was allowed to be nationalized. But it was so bad that the people in the oil regions did not receive many pennies from the extraction.

            1. MXT

              Unfortunately, it probably still happens in many places.

              Local leaders are bribed and foreign companies exploit natural resources for a pittance while the people receive no share of it.

              If the companies behaved fairly, nationalization would not have been necessary.

  5. MXT

    ** 🇺🇦The atmosphere in the Russian-occupied areas is completely different: no parades, no music, but very loud salutes right on the landing strips. Another ammunition depot of the occupiers decided to go out in style, putting on a fireworks show without rehearsals and without a second chance.

    The detonations kept coming one after another — it was clear that they had stored a large amount of ammunition there, and after the arrival, real hell broke loose. The landing strips, where the occupiers were trying to stockpile ammunition and hide logistics, turned into a continuous fire show.

    🇺🇦The unit 🇺🇦 RUBAKA traditionally sent their greetings as accurately as possible. While in the rear, the propaganda is painting a picture of greatness, on the frontline, their army continues to burn along with their own supplies. And this is much more real for them now than any festive speeches. 🇺🇦Muchnoy Jugend **

    https://bsky.app/profile/babayagafella.bsky.social/post/3mlk4ren6d22e

  6. 205

    N Slobozhansky-Kursk 9💥↗️
    S Slobozhansky 15💥↗️
    Kupyansk 3
    Lyman 13💥↗️
    Slovyansk 5↗️
    Kramatorsk 3
    Kostjantynivka 12💥
    Pokrovsk 37💥💥↗️
    Oleksandrivskij 2↘️
    Huliaipole 18💥↘️
    Orikhivsk 3↗️
    Prydniprovskij/ 0

    Localized 120↗️
    Unlocalized 60↗️
    Total 180↗️
    Ratio unloc/loc 0.5↘️

     

    1. Lynx

      F-l-a-m-i-n-g-o 😍.

      It is probably very interesting for the entire European NATO. Not nearly as expensive as Scalp/Stormshadow or Taurus because it is not built to hit with meter precision.

      But with 1 ton of bang, you almost always hit the target anyway, despite the 14-meter precision. 3000 km and 14 meters is good enough, and Ukraine is currently able to produce 200 per month. Scale this up at the European level and we will have both quantity and precision to bring.

  11. MXT

    Off-Topic, the meeting between Trump and Xi

    “The Taiwanese government is not worried about US President Donald Trump meeting China’s President Xi Jinping this week. The US and Taiwan have ongoing contact with each other, according to Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung.

    – We are convinced that the relations between Taiwan and the US will continue to develop steadily, he says according to Reuters.

    Lin adds that the Trump administration will not change its policy towards Taiwan.

    China considers Taiwan its territory and has not ruled out taking control of the island by force. The issue is expected to be raised at the meeting between Trump and Xi.”
    https://omni.se/taiwan-oroas-inte-over-usa-s-nya-toppmote-med-kina/a/6qoB2e

    1. Lynx

      If one is to be picky, “everyone” currently considers Taiwan to be a part of China, the one-China doctrine. What is increasingly being questioned is that Taiwan has a different form of government than mainland China. But it was the tolerance for this arrangement that underpinned the West’s acceptance of the idea that there is only one China (albeit with two systems of government).

      So we may be approaching a collapse of the one-China doctrine and instead recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign state. Mainland China obviously understands this but continues to push the development in that direction nonetheless.

        1. Lynx

          I don’t f*cking know, actually, because this arrangement has made things relatively calm in Asia. Suppose we get an open conflict, who would then take Taiwan’s side..? The USA would have done so for both principled and pragmatic reasons, but with the current kakistocrat, it could result in a transaction where he feels that the USA makes a profit by letting China have its way.

          He does like the idea of dividing the world into spheres of interest.

          1. MXT

            Well, I am also afraid that it could end up like that. If Trump feels that he can make a good deal with China, I don’t know if he is not prepared to sacrifice Taiwan.

            Then, of course, it must be part of that deal that China does not stop the US trade with the Taiwanese companies they depend on.

            Trump might think that it would be good for the US, that they can bring back some jobs that way, but it will surely take decades before they can build up a corresponding industry in the US.

    2. MXT

      “Ahead of the meeting between the USA’s Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping this week, smaller countries are less worried that Trump will give up security guarantees in exchange for better trade terms with Beijing. This is written by New York Times’ Damien Cave in an analysis.

      To protect themselves, many countries have in recent weeks, somewhat quietly, concluded trade and security agreements with each other, he points out. But everything must be done discreetly, so as not to provoke the two giants.

      “No one wants to be the one stepping outside the lines,” he writes.

      Yvonne Murray, global security reporter at the Irish public service channel RTE, writes that the meeting between Trump and Xi could have major global consequences. She points out that there has been speculation that the USA and China will conclude an agreement securing trade between themselves at the expense of all others, a G2.

      At the same time, she notes that this week’s meeting is the first of two planned during the year, which may indicate that any agreements will be delayed.

      “It can give other countries at least a little more time to decide what role they want to play in this century’s great power game,” she writes.”
      https://omni.se/analyser-motet-mellan-trump-och-xi-kan-paverka-oss-alla/a/BxGb9w

      1. Lynx

        “Ex-acta-mundo” to travesty Pulp Fiction (Samuel L Jackson).

        A new disorder signed by the kakistocracy in Washington is unfortunately a possible outcome.

    1. alfaomega

      I really hope that Hungary under the new leadership becomes a “normal” EU country and stops all the pro-Russian schemes. So far, it seems to be going in the right direction.

  17. MXT

    😂😂😂

    ** So easy to mess with these dopes paid to support Russia in Europe 😂 “It wasn’t just a joke”: In Augsburg, participants of the “Immortal Regiment” marched with portraits of Bandera, Khvylovy, and Malyuk

    Ukrainians conducted a “special operation” at the propaganda event “Immortal Regiment” organized by Russians in Augsburg, Germany.

    Thanks to the ingenuity of three of our compatriots, Russian admirers of the USSR, Russia, and Putin marched through the entire city with portraits of the OUN leader Stepan Bandera, Ukrainian writer Nikolay Khvylovy, and the former head of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasily Malyuk.

    The perpetrators of the “operation” gave these well-known Ukrainians different names and Soviet “regalia” – and this was enough to prove that both the Second World War and its participants are nothing more than a decoration for the fictional Russian “greatness” for Russians.

    Fucking idiots 🤣 **

    https://bsky.app/profile/beefeaterfella.bsky.social/post/3mlks26zf7c2y

    https://t.me/Crimeanwind/98892

    2. MacMelmac

      So they are so damn stupid that I think the netted boat further up is actually a Russian fishing trawler that had a bit of bad luck when they were trawling!

  18. Lasse W

    No KAB today. That is to say, heavy glide bombs. Perhaps the Ukrainian attacks on the units inside Russia that manufacture KAB have had an effect. Let’s hope so.

    1. MXT

      Unfortunately, I think that is part of the “ceasefire” and that we will see them again soon, but like you, I hope it is because of Ukraine.

    1. Jan W

      17 thousand rubles sounds cheap. 1 USD is about 75 rubles. That comes to around 227 USD per ticket!? (Can’t read the post on bsky without some sort of login.)

  20. MXT

    “The two men who are detained on suspicion of serious sanctions violations are believed to have sold advanced technology to Russia, confirms the Security Service.

    In its first statement since the case was uncovered a week ago, the authority states that the suspected criminal activity has been stopped but that they continue to investigate whether what has occurred is a violation of sanctions legislation.

    – Sweden should not be a platform that can be exploited by a foreign power, says Christoffer Wedelin, Deputy Operational Chief at the Security Service.

    – Ultimately, it is about ensuring that Swedish products and Swedish technology do not end up in the hands of the Russian military. ”
    https://omni.se/sapo-vi-har-avbrutit-misstankt-allvarlig-brottslighet/a/2p9mgv

  23. MXT

    ** There are more and more robots on the battlefield today. It’s a war of new technologies, precise solutions and advantages of those who adapt faster.

    Cold calculation, joystick in hand and remote controlled steel machine gun.
    The operator operates the NRC from cover, remaining safe while the machine carries out combat missions where the lives of the fighters had previously been put at risk. **

    https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua

     
  24. MXT

    Off-Topic, Iran

    “Iran’s latest peace proposal to the USA was both generous and legitimate, says a spokesperson for the country’s foreign ministry according to Reuters.

    – We demanded no concessions. The only thing we requested were Iran’s legitimate rights.

    The USA has rejected the proposal, which among other things entailed lifting the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian ports and releasing frozen Iranian assets.

    Donald Trump wrote last night on Truth Social that the proposal was “completely unacceptable”.
    https://omni.se/iran-vart-fredsforslag-var-legitimt-och-generost/a/V6QGrr

  25. MXT

    ** The EU and Kyiv on May 11 dismissed Moscow’s suggestion that former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder could serve as a European mediator in peace talks to end the war.

    “First, if we give the right to Russia to appoint a negotiator on our behalf, that would not be very wise,” Kaja Kallas, the EU’s top diplomat, told journalists in Brussels ahead of a foreign ministers’ meeting.

    Kallas hinted that Schroeder would not be an impartial negotiator due to having worked as a “high-level lobbyist for Russian state-owned companies.” **

    https://kyivindependent.com/eu-ukraine-reject-germanys-ex-chancellor-schroeder-as-peace-talks-mediator/

    1. CB500four

      Kallas is probably right there. If Russia rejects Schröder, it is because he is totally unsuitable. After all, he has worked for both Rosneft and Gazprom.

  26. MXT

    ** ‘We Pushed Him a Little’:

    Zelensky Says Putin Now Ready for Real Negotiations
    President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine “pushed” Vladimir Putin toward readiness for negotiations, though Russia continues intense frontline attacks. Kyiv is seeking a concrete format for talks while preparing a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange with US mediation. Zelensky warned that if Moscow resumes large-scale strikes, Ukraine will respond immediately, saying that any negotiations must deliver lasting security guarantees. **

    https://www.kyivpost.com/post/75836

  27. johan No.1

    Now that UA is not capturing any prisoners, RU has quietly finished moving its units, and later this week will carry out the war’s largest missile strike – it’s fortunate that Zelensky is sitting safely.

    Everything is psychological warfare and RU is shameless.

    Still upset about this

    1. MXT

      👍 

      Maybe I’ll double post out of pure mischief anyway. 😂

      Jokes aside, I started a post with a pure statistical review of Russian losses, but I intended to make it a separate standalone post, regardless of whether you or I have already started today’s thread.

      There are so many images that it just becomes tedious to scroll through for those who are not interested; better that it lives its own life.

      Then whether it gets published today, tomorrow, or some other day, I don’t know.

       

    2. MXT

      Agree, I wouldn’t trust that pro-Russian account for a second without getting it confirmed from other more serious sources. 

      There were reports a while ago that the plane is now being used in Ukraine, and yesterday Russian accounts started appearing claiming that it was shot down (with Swedish personnel according to some posts). 

      Don’t know how many hundreds of F-16s the Russians claimed to have shot down when they arrived. Same thing every time something new comes up.

      Then of course there’s a small possibility that it actually happened. They did manage to “capture” a CV-90 in the end, for example.

       

  30. johan No.1

    Exciting that we are in focus, RU probably doesn’t like us.

    Archer, CV90, Arthur, grg, gripen, awacs

    no other country has done so much for Ukraine in terms of quality.

    We also gave from our emergency stocks.

    Yes, the Danish bastards emptied their supplies but with worse equipment.

  31. 205

    Regarding my attack on DenGamle yesterday and his equating of the relationship between Biden and Trump and Ukraine, with the relationship between Chamberlain and Hitler, and the Second World War.

    Biden and Trump share the premise that the war is primarily a European responsibility. It was Trump who in 2019 delivered Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine — Obama had refused lethal weapons. Biden then temporarily bore the main burden but with constant delays (ATACMS late, F-16 even later) and restrictions on deep strikes into Russia; Trump now wants to immediately force the burden over.

    Measured as a share of GDP, several European countries already contribute more than the USA (Estonia, Denmark, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Finland), and the EU collectively exceeds American financial support. But the USA still dominates on technical depth: Patriot air defense, ATACMS and long-range precision weapons, satellite intelligence, signals intelligence, Starlink communication and real-time targeting — capabilities Europe lacks on a sufficient scale.

    That Europe now shoulders more of the economic burden is a result in line with a steady American position that has run over decades:

    • Eisenhower frustrated already in the 1950s,
    • Kennedy pressing for burden sharing in the early 1960s,
    • The Mansfield resolutions in the 60s and 70s,
    • The Nixon doctrine,
    • Gates’ farewell speech in 2011 about NATO’s “collective military irrelevance”,
    • Obama’s “free riders” criticism in 2016.

    Trump’s contribution was to present the same analysis without diplomatic moderation.

    In 2014, 3 of 28 NATO members reached the 2% target; in 2024 it was 23 of 32. Germany’s Zeitenwende, Sweden’s NATO accession and doubled defense budget are late acknowledgments of a criticism that has long been justified.

    The US operation against Iran in 2026 also indirectly benefits Europe, security-wise: a weakened Iran means a disrupted Iran–Russia axis, reduced ballistic missile support, pressure on Moscow’s regional alliances and a weakened Iranian position in Syria and at the Strait of Hormuz — security gains with long-term effects on Russia’s strategic room for maneuver. Europe gains these benefits without bearing military or political costs, which in practice offsets a significant part of the economic burden transfer that has occurred around Ukraine.

    The difference between the administrations is tempo and method, not strategic direction — and the American basic position that Europe must pay for its own security is 70 years old, not a Trumpist deviation.

    If we are to call Trump Hitler, then in the name of justice we must also call Biden, Obama, yes all the way back to Kennedy, Hitlerwannabes.

    And child murderers.

    3. CB500four

      It is probably crazy if they have been complaining since the 1950s and nothing has happened. Low-affect response does not work in Europe either.

      Germany may have had some anxiety since the 1940s, but the others should have had the opportunity to increase the appropriations earlier.

      However, it seems that there really hasn’t been any emergency in the USA anyway; I suppose they could have used pressure tactics already in the 1950s if there had been a bigger problem. Since some of the European countries lacked their own defense, the USA had no problem controlling them if it had been necessary.

      After the Cold War, of course, it became different, when the main enemy in the East collapsed, and the USA began to focus elsewhere. Then not so much personnel was needed in Europe, but mostly airfields and logistics for operations in the Middle East.

      I wonder if a large part of the complaining is about their desire for European countries to buy more weapons from the USA.

      Trump, of course, has his America First principle, and would probably gladly pull out the troops and force Europe to buy more weapons from the USA. Moreover, he also has the habit of equating the country with its leader, so if he does not feel sufficiently respected by the country’s leader, he punishes the whole country, as he is now doing with Germany and Italy, because their leaders have said something inappropriate.

       

  36. johan No.1

    Trump – Xi is unfortunately important.

    If they agree to divide the world between themselves, we have a problem.

    Let’s see what the meeting brings.

    2. MacMelmac

      It is not impossible since RU is actually totally uninteresting to both except as a raw material colony. It might end with China taking its piece of RU that they lost and continuing to keep Taiwan in an iron grip, as long as the USA can play superhero in the ME.

      1. johan No.1

        Something like that,

        The USA gets South America, Europe is kept safe by RU, China gets Asia.

        Well, if the USA gets MENA, China probably wants something more?

        Africa becomes somewhat of the open arena.

        No one touches the other’s core areas.

        Some areas become proxy – may the best man win.

        Everyone agrees that Europe must be kept weak.

        Like the Cold War but now also with China.

    3. CB500four

      It is probably a bit exciting. Trump is surely a bit impressed by Xi, who is an authoritarian leader of a large country, somewhat like Trump would like to be.

      I am probably a bit afraid that Trump is willing to make concessions to Xi in exchange for their trade balancing out. If China leaves South and Central America to the US, then the US leaves East Asia to China.

      I wonder what India thinks about that then? 

  38. MXT

    ** Ukraine Says Battlefield Stabilized as Drone Interceptions Surge to 90%
    Ukraine has stabilized its front lines and is now intercepting up to 90% of Russian drones, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said in Brussels. He also pointed to increased pressure on Moscow through long-range sanctions and stressed continued cooperation with the US and Europe on peace efforts and security. **

    https://www.kyivpost.com/post/75853

  39. johan No.1

    We have the thread’s geniuses on oil and economics (no, it wasn’t me as you directly guessed, and MXT has really burned himself on oil futures now that he jumped off the losing train in Bitcoin).

    The US has had problems with its government debt auctions if I understand this correctly, and then some larger players sell.

    At the same time, the UA ruined the party in MENA by protecting the countries there so they dared to toughen up against the US. Trump had probably coldly calculated that the war would make them terrified so they would buy government debt in pure panic?

    The UK has soaring long-term interest rates.

    How does it look in other countries in Europe/EU?

    China’s housing bubble is probably deflating, and they were desperate for a trade deal with us – we can give up electric cars more easily than they can give up selling to us.

    China apparently has quite a bit of oil production themselves – how much?

    Somewhere, some group will gradually start having financial problems, interest rates go up, banks get scared, and then all the bad debts quickly come to the surface followed by a “wave of layoffs.”

    I can’t predict whether it will be the US, China, or Europe (Russia is already out and running on fumes).

    Historically, the US has been too strong to be brought down, and in 2008 the EU broke, but we are stronger today.

    China is a bit tricky because they lie until they turn blue in the face about everything – if you guess, it’s worse than they let on.

    2. Jan W

      IEA’s latest freely available Oil Market Report appears to be the April report. This is a bit mysterious since they usually keep the full report confidential for three months. Table 1 in the report indicates China’s demand in 2026 (must be an estimate) at 17.0 million barrels per day. Supply is stated as 4.4 million barrels per day. The latter is certainly quite a lot, but relatively little compared to demand. Back about 12.6 million barrels per day.

      I have heard claims that they have built up large “strategic” reserves.

      1. CB500four

        Read somewhere that they have significantly increased their stocks over the past decade, so that before the Iran crisis they had stored about 1.4 billion barrels of crude oil, which is more than 3 times the US stocks.

        1. Jan W

          If we say China loses a quarter of its external supply and round that to 3 million barrels per day. In that case, the reserves will last just over 450 days. A long time, but not forever.

  40. johan No.1

    Seen from MXT above that Trump – Xi are supposed to meet twice this year, bad.

    If there is a ceasefire in Ukraine and China-USA come to an agreement, it is probably game over for this time.

    Europe can of course choose war, but then we have the USA, Russia, and China against us + a financial crisis that will wash over us.

    Considering that the USA has abandoned Taiwan and asked Japan to sit down, the risk is unfortunately not nonexistent.

  42. johan No.1

    The post tomorrow you will like and MXT has promised not to double post – get ready to have your socks blown off 💥💥✊✊😡

  43. johan No.1

    Now I have finished arguing about the travel expenses – got every peso.

    But as a punishment, there will only be two vacations this year instead of the planned three, Sweden at Christmas. The contract was loosely written and my questions before I came here were answered with “we’ll sort it out.” If you want to be picky, they have sorted it out but not in the way I imagined.

    The boss who threw me under the bus, when we went back to the office and I said that I would visit him on Friday to pay his triple rent for the apartment I rent from him (which is supposed to be for the protection I never got from that bastard) just said “on vacation next week” without blushing.

    At the meeting he said “no one else has three vacations per year” but the General Manager spends one month here and one month in Italy. The colleague down at work is going on vacation tomorrow, all the Italians on the project have 6 weeks work – 2 weeks off.

    This is pure Robinson Crusoe.

    Not entirely risk-free right now if you have stood your ground – plane tickets are skyrocketing, some concern about broader shutdowns and I am here on a tourist visa so there is always anxiety about not being allowed back into the country, I chose not to argue because if I get any problem I own it afterward. Ridiculously expensive to fly back, +80,000 SEK for the three of us so I can’t exactly bear that cost myself even if midsummer in Sweden is hard to beat.

    The positive thing is that by Christmas when my contract expires and the heavy work I am the specialist for here has just started – then there will be a discussion about a new contract. My willingness to argue will probably be directly correlated to how deep we are in the financial crisis during the autumn – I remember 2008 and then COVID when exactly everything went to zero, also recently the project in Kuwait that went from “come in a month” to “we have dropped the project” a couple of Iranian missiles later. It usually happens lightning fast when the crisis hits is my experience and this project is already financed and the Chinese are about to mobilize – two years guaranteed work but with too little vacation.

    Experience two is that if you were sought after before the crisis, during crises you are one CV among two thousand fighting for the same job where everyone hiring knows someone they urgently need to help.

    In 2009 a job popped up in St Helena which I ultimately never took because the salary was low. The two who mobilized there with their spouses and children were laid off after three months because the project was put on hold – then it took them another three months before the boat came so they could travel home to unemployment in the middle of that crisis.

    1. Jan W

      Sounds a bit like the game Afrikas stjärna that you played as a child. It still seems to be popular in the board game genre. Although I guess no new games like that are being released anymore. The demand for new games is probably low today!?

      Anyway, it wasn’t fun to get robbed on St Helena. Then you were left without money for a boat or plane. Although the rules apparently had some kind of backup exit, but we probably didn’t apply it.

      1. CB500four

        My daughter used to like that game when she was younger, but only wanted to play with me, because mom usually has too much luck and gets too happy when she wins. I usually find all the robbers and my daughter all the jewels 😀

        If I remember correctly, it was so that you could cross the sea without money, I think it was so that you could move a maximum of two steps on each roll.

    2. Proxima

      St Helena would have been fun to visit. But even better is Tristan da Cunha. 250 nautical miles south of St Helena. You are needed there. There is no harbor there, you see.
      The island got some column space when “Hondius” with your Hantavirus visited the island a week ago. There is no airport either, so when medical personnel from Cape Town were to help the infected, they had to parachute in. Tough healthcare workers, you might say. The mail boat used to go with mail and supplies every 14 days. Today, you probably pre-order the connection. 80 families live there and you only need to learn 8 last names. The capital, or rather the main village, is Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, which is the community in the world that is farthest away from any other inhabited place. The stamps have been engraved by the fine archipelago painter Roland Svensson. He fell in love with the island and its inhabitants in the 70s and accompanied us from Cape Town to Hamburg. One evening he gathered the entire crew and told the island’s history. Everyone got a small drawing from him. I have a charming albatross drawing as a nice memory from this wonderful illustrator and storyteller. So: Take the job if you get the chance!

        1. Proxima

          Actually resembles my eldest granddaughter’s boy who was a steward on the “Dristigheten”. Unfortunately, he got water lily malaria (sailed too long in brackish water) and had to leave the navy. He was cured by signing on ships in North Sea shipping and had a long career in the Never come back line.
          🛳️🌊🏝️😉

  44. Pehr

    ”Supreme Commander Michael Claesson believes that Russia may be willing to test NATO cooperation earlier than the alliance has anticipated. To SVT Nyheter, he says that the Kremlin may want to see if an attacked NATO country receives help from other member states, and that Russia wants to “exploit vulnerabilities,” aware that they cannot defeat NATO militarily.
    When asked when he thinks the Kremlin might be ready to test the defense alliance, he answers:
    – Now. They know that the entire Western world is arming itself. Then I ask myself, why would one wait to exploit perceived vulnerabilities?”
    https://omni.se/a/q6JQWo

        1. Proxima

          NATO solves it elegantly. First a meeting in Brussels, then a meeting in Ramstein, then a meeting in Washington, then a meeting in Paris, then a meeting in London… etc… etc. We bore the Russians, in other words. Forgot the meeting in Helsingborg next week.

    1. Proxima

      Max Fenders and Gnäggers were my favorites. Unfortunately, I was never asked to dance. Two left feet with arch supports upside down. The girls didn’t like that.

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