Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-23 and Invasion

[jimmy olsen]

Fighting has been heavy these last few days. Some absolutely wild videos on r/ukraine and r/combatfootage. Looks like several BTGs have been eviscerated.

[Tamas]

Fighting has been heavy these last few days. Some absolutely wild videos on r/ukraine and r/combatfootage. Looks like several BTGs have been eviscerated.

I wish they'd leave out the shitty Balkans techno though.

[Legbiter]

Fighting has been heavy these last few days. Some absolutely wild videos on r/ukraine and r/combatfootage. Looks like several BTGs have been eviscerated.

Sending in tanks without first doing mine clearance...

[Razgovory]

https://www.pcgamer.com/bizarre-propaganda-stunt-sees-teenager-stream-russia-vs-nato-grand-strategy-game-from-notorious-mercenary-groups-hq/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR0Bp4k63mwYkCjmJmnEvMLwnJqEwBvC_ptSLHY_ddeja9a2ZuXaL7bG9qM

The Wagner mercenary group(opens in new tab), a kind of Russian Blackwater(opens in new tab), is notorious. Founded by catering magnate, oligarch, and Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin, the merc outfit has plugged a hole in Russia's war machine by making up for a deficit in recruits for the country's regular military. It operates in Syria, Africa, and Ukraine (where many of its fighters are drawn from Russian prisons, a practice whose end the group only announced today(opens in new tab)), and has been accused of war crimes(opens in new tab) by multiple international organisations. In short, it's not the kind of institution you'd expect to host a videogame stream, yet here we are.

In a stream on VKontakte from last weekend(opens in new tab), a Russian streamer going by GrishaPutin appeared to play a four-hour, multiplayer match of Hearts of Iron 4 from the Wagner Group's building in St. Petersburg. Dressed in full military gear in a curiously empty Wagner office, the streamer—who says he's 16 years old—joined over 20 other online players in acting out what was, essentially, World War 3. The game had been modded to take place in the modern era, with leaders like, yes, Vladimir Putin standing in for HoI4's traditional roster of Axis and Allied heads of state.

It was a baffling sight, and after first seeing the tale on Reddit(opens in new tab), I was convinced that GrishaPutin must have rigged up some kind of greenscreen to emulate the appearance of Wagner's HQ behind him. But no, it seems to be real: On multiple occasions, the streamer picks up his webcam and shows off other parts of the office, moves to the background to hang up his army uniform at the end, and is reflected in the glass behind him throughout.

In the parts of the stream I've seen, GrishaPutin didn't talk much about how on Earth he came to be streaming a grand strategy game from the headquarters of one of the most infamous paramilitary organisations in the world, but it's not too hard to piece together. He specifically shouts out Wagner's "curator for work with the media and bloggers," Anna Zamaraeva, at one point, and a Russian news organisation called Ostorozhno, Novosti reported(opens in new tab) that GrishaPutin's mother said he had decided to go himself, and was told "Cool! Let's do it!"

That wouldn't be too surprising. GrishaPutin, who has played alongside some fairly popular western streamers before Russia's invasion of Ukraine (they've since disavowed him(opens in new tab)), claims to be a member of United Russia's (the country's governing party) youth wing. And his previous streams and videos have form for spectacular displays of patriotism.

His past videos include several of him in period-appropriate Soviet military uniform, commemorating the anniversaries of significant events in Russian history, as well as older HoI4 videos where he cosplays as whatever side he's playing in-game. I've got no real interest in dismantling the patchwork ideology of a teenager, but I am a bit confused by the video celebrating the 152nd birthday of Vladimir Lenin, whom Vladimir Putin accused(opens in new tab) of "separating, severing what is historically Russian land" and creating an independent Ukraine. If nothing else his online persona reflects the incredibly confused ideological medley that comes from the population of a very right-wing, reactionary state being simultaneously nostalgic for an international communist project.

Upon learning about the stream, some Paradox staff attempted to figure out(opens in new tab) where the stream was being hosted, most likely in an attempt to get it shut down. But GrishaPutin had already been banned from Twitch and was streaming on Russian social network VKontakte, making them powerless to do anything about it.

I've reached out to Paradox to ask for comment on this event, and will update this piece if I hear back.

As for the stream, the whole thing quickly came to nuclear blows and eventually ended with peace talks between the Russian side and "Donald Trump," played by a member of the other team. Somehow, though, I don't think the point of the exercise was to show the destructive futility of war, which always has to end in negotiation. Instead, the whole thing was conducted in a borderline-nihilistic spirit of defiance, a kind of 'we don't care what you think of us' sardonicism that's meant to reinforce unity at home rather than win over observers abroad.

The stream didn't really do incredible numbers (a mere 12K views at time of writing), so I'd be surprised if Wagner Group seized on GrishaPutin as a new tool in its propaganda arsenal for the war in Ukraine. Still, it's a perverse showcase of modern warfare in the 21st century, the kind of thing that'll end up clipped and showcased in a future Adam Curtis documentary. When you consider that the military-industrial complex in the west already has its tendrils in games like Call of Duty(opens in new tab) and is making plans for streaming(opens in new tab), videos such as this feel like a harbinger of things to come.

[jimmy olsen]

Fighting has been heavy these last few days. Some absolutely wild videos on r/ukraine and r/combatfootage. Looks like several BTGs have been eviscerated.

Sending in tanks without first doing mine clearance...

Apparently they did clear the mines, however the Ukrainians knew they did that and scattered more mines with artillery after the clearers finished.

[Iormlund]

Sending in tanks without first doing mine clearance...

It's a like a World of Tanks lemming train.

[Legbiter]

Apparently they did clear the mines, however the Ukrainians knew they did that and scattered more mines with artillery after the clearers finished.

I'm sure it was meticulously reported up the chain of command that mine clearing had been done, great success...

[Solmyr]

Paradox has been having a couple of Russia-related PR challenges lately.

https://www.gamepressure.com/newsroom/eu4-will-improve-russias-conquests-in-patch-135/zc50af

[Legbiter]

Sending in tanks without first doing mine clearance...

It's a like a World of Tanks lemming train.

It's a very difficult task at the best of times. 

[Sheilbh]

Latest MoD update noted Ukrainian General Staff assessments of Russian casualties - it flags that they've no way of validating the actual numbers or how they're collected. But they think the trend is accurate, even if they can't verify the underlying numbers. And on that, Ukrainian General Staff are saying this is the period of highest Russian casualties since the start of the war:

[Tamas]

Could it be the Big Push failing right at the start?

[Josquius]

The "the boss demanded victory within a yea... Oh shit is it February already? Send in the meat!" effect.

[Legbiter]

Latest MoD update noted Ukrainian General Staff assessments of Russian casualties - it flags that they've no way of validating the actual numbers or how they're collected. But they think the trend is accurate, even if they can't verify the underlying numbers. And on that, Ukrainian General Staff are saying this is the period of highest Russian casualties since the start of the war:

Russians are losing about a battalions' worth of manpower and vehicles a day...

I believe it, the footage coming out of these weekend Russian attacks around Avdiivka is just unbelievable. The Russian infestation problem should solve itself rapidly this year.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

Better not be complacent, the Russians have a lot of meat to throw away, and our western politicians have soft and wobbly knees.

[Josquius]

The concern is that the Russians are doing just that and throwing raw meat at the Ukrainians, orks vs space marines style. 100 dead Russians for one dead Ukrainian is a good pay off for the Russians - they're keeping their competent soldiers behind the front lines.