Ukrainians Capture, Kill Russian Marines Who Executed Surrendering UKR Soldiers

Zero sympathy for the dead and captured Russians. JL

Militarnyi reports:

The Russians had shot dead two members of the Territorial Defense Forces whom they had captured a few days ago in one of the frontline areas. The captured Russians are marines from the 40th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade. All the Russians were contract soldiers who had been serving in the Russian army for only a month and a half. They admitted they had captured two servicemen of the Territorial Defense Forces and reported to their company commander who ordered them to execute the Ukrainian soldiers on the radio. Several of the Russians were killed by the Ukrainian Special Forces which planned and carried out the raid on their unit. Others of the Russians were taken into captivity. 

At Current Casualty Rate, All 12,000 North Koreans Will Be Dead or Wounded By April

A combination of poor North Korean training, lack of adequate fire and armor support and mass infantry attack tactics versus theUkrainians' technological, tactical and logistical superiority is leading to such high casualty figures, that at current rates, the entire 12.000 man North Korean military contingent in Kursk will be dead or wounded within 12 weeks. JL

Zoria reports in Euromaidan Press:

The entire North Korean contingent of 12,000 troops currently deployed in Russia’s Kursk Oblast “may be killed or wounded in action by mid-April 2025 should North Korean forces continue to suffer from their current high loss rate in the future.”  North Korean forces have sustained approximately 92 casualties per day since beginning significant combat operations in early December 2024. At this rate, the entire contingent of roughly 12,000 North Korean personnel in Kursk Oblast could be killed or wounded within about 12 weeks. The high casualties among North Korean troops highlight the unsustainable nature of their deployment, plagued by inadequate fire support and poor coordination, while underscoring the Ukrainian military’s ability to exploit enemy weaknesses.

Disaster Economics Suggests California's Fires Will Lead To More Gentrification

Hurricanes, tornados, wildfires, earthquakes, the four horsemen of America's climate apocalypse all appear to have one thing in common: after they end the price of housing in affected neighborhoods almost always goes up.

Reasons include the rising expense of rebuilding, the shortage of available housing in desired areas, insurance company delays in paying victims and desperate landowners selling to investors who work to sell at a higher price. In addition, insurance - required for mortgages - becomes more expensive and harder to attain. The result is that rebuilding crowds out all but the most economically well-off. JL 

Abdallah Fayyad reports in Vox:

When a natural disaster strikes, housing prices almost always rise. Apartments and houses have been damaged or destroyed, so there are fewer of them, and that causes rents to spike. As rebuilding efforts drag on, many middle- and low-income people never return because they can’t afford to. “Gentrification happens because everything becomes more expensive.” One reason is the high cost of building, others include landlords taking advantage of demand to raise rents and real-estate investors buying properties to convert to short-term rentals. In 2018, a wildfire leveled Paradise, California, burning 95% of its building. Five years later, only 33% of the town’s pre-fire population of 27,000 had returned, and the median home price skyrocketed from $236,000 to $440,000. 

Russia's Ukraine Losses Add To Population Collapse By Half In Future

Life expectancy for a young man in Russia is about the same as it is in Haiti.

Even before it invaded Ukraine and suffered staggering casualties, Russia was facing a demographic timebomb. Poverty, lack of opportunity and despair had already led to a severe decline in the birthrate. But combined with the losses in Ukraine, it is now statistically possible that Russia's population could be cut in half in a generation or so. JL

Chris York reports in the Kyiv Independent:

Russian losses in Ukraine are helping fuel a demographic timebomb that could see the country’s population reduced by half by the end of the century. Compounding the staggering losses sustained during the invasion of Ukraine is the fact Russia was already facing severe demographic issues before it launched the war. "Life expectancy at age 15 for a Russian man even before the pandemic was the same as in Haiti. Russian people are not anxious to have more children,” From Russia's perspective, (winning the war in Ukraine) is the smaller problem. The bigger issue is, is it going to be a viable country afterward?”

North Koreans' Kursk "Operational Disaster" Exposes Axis Autocracies' Weakness

North Korean troops deployed to assist Russia in Kursk have now lost over one-third of their force while proving incapable of taking any meaningful objectives against undermanned and underarmed Ukrainians, a failure so severe it is being called an 'operational disaster.'

Combined with Russia's and Iran's collapse in Syria, Lebanon and Gaza, the Chinese-Russian-Iranian-North Korean axis of evil appears to not have the military skill to back up its aggressive rhetoric. JL

Seth Jones and Benjamin Jensen report in the Wall Street Journal:

North Korea’s deployment of soldiers to the battlefield in Ukraine has been an operational disaster. Their troops have performed poorly in combat, failed to integrate with the Russian military, and suffered significant casualties - a quarter of the fighting force. The combined North Korean-Russian forces have failed to take back significant territory in the face of Ukrainian defense and the Ukrainian military has even seized additional territory in Russia.The debacle calls attention to a larger trend: the critical weaknesses of the axis of autocracies consisting of Russia, North Korea, China and Iran. The North Korean failure in Russia, combined with the fall of Iran’s proxies in Syria, Lebanon and Gaza, points to the axis’ weakness.

Russia Was Forced To Deplete 'Strategic Reserve' In Kurakhove Attack

Russian forces attempting to advance in Donetsk against Kurakhove, Pokrovsk and other Ukrainian held sectors have been so depleted by casualties that the Russian command was forced to deploy strategic reserves intended for other operations. 

As a result, those reserves have now been degraded as well, which has derailed Russia's goal of seizing multiple objectives in time for Trump's inauguration, which is now just days away - with the Russians still far from their strategic plan. JL

Espreso Ukraine reports:

During the offensive on Kurakhove, Russian forces deployed strategic reserves that were intended for use after capturing the city. These reserves were depleted. They had hoped to reach Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad by the New Year, or early January. These strategic reserves are now depleted, meaning the task set before Ukrainian troops — the maximum attrition of Russian resources — is being achieved. There are currently no signs that the Russian army will encircle or partially encircle Pokrovsk now or in the near future.

Putin's Hungarian, Slovakian Allies Face Growing Resistance To Pro-Moscow Stance

Moscow's two allies in NATO, Robert Fico of Slovakia and Viktor Orban in Hungary face growing opposition to their pro-Putin stances. 

The reason, ironically, may be that the election of Donald Trump in the US is seen as emboldening Russia, making it more than just a theoretical threat to the liberties enjoyed by citizens of NATO countries. While the two might have received some leeway for playing both sides against each other under Biden, with the authoritarian threat from the east rising, all of those citizens, at least some of whom remember the horrors of Russian occupation, want governments more inclined to protect them. JL 

Isabel Van Brugen reports in Newsweek:

Vladimir Putin's allies in Hungary and Slovakia are increasingly facing backlash for their pro-Moscow stance. The political turmoil they now face highlights the isolation of leaders who remain friendly toward Moscow. Slovakia's Fico this week faced sharp criticism from his political rivals over a trip to Moscow in December to meet Putin. It was branded a "disgrace" and triggered opposition parties to initiate a no-confidence vote against his government. In Hungary, Euroskeptic Orbán is losing ground to pro-West, pro-Ukraine, conservative Péter Magyar, who has been touted as the country's next leader.