Ukrainian mobilisation & force generation - Featuring General Ben Hodges (Ret.)
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- čas přidán 1. 05. 2024
- Last week we talked about Russian mobilisation and what it might mean for Russian force generation this year and next - and in particular, I noted the fact that it was possible that the problems were resolved and new combat power was generated.
In order to assess what impact that may have on the course of the war though Winter and into 2023, it's important to consider the Ukrainian side of the equation. The Ukrainians have been clear on their ambitions for next year, and set out what they believe their force requirements to be.
So the question becomes - what are those requirements and can they meet them.
In this episode, I explore that question, augmented by excerpts from an interview with the former commander of the US Army in Europe - LTG Ben Hodges (Ret.)
Patreon:
/ perunau
Caveats & Corrections:
As stated in the video - I cannot thank Ben Hodges enough for agreeing to participate in this video. He has not reviewed the content of the episode and all views expressed by me remain mine and mine alone.
At one point during this video I say that the US conducted a market survey of firms that could produce 16,000 shells per month - the correct figure is 12,000.
I also refer to the supply of aircraft by Bulgaria. that supply was reportedly of aircraft parts. bulgaria has denied supplying full aircraft from inventory and given it continues to fly its aircraft I have good reason to believe that statement
Sources:
Article by Valery Zaluzhnyi & Mykhailo Zabrodskyi
www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-ato/3...
US market survey of potential artillery producers:
sam.gov/opp/90113cce8c9a452a9...
Credit to the regular OSINT channels who collect video and visual evidence of weapon systems, ammunition, and losses in Ukraine:
Oryx - / oryxspioenkop
Ukraine Weapons Tracker- UAWeapons?ref_src...
1995 artillery shell inventory - intended to illustrate the fact that the USSR was not the only power to stock up on shells
www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/G...
CSIS piece on US weapons supply bottlenecks to Ukraine
www.csis.org/analysis/united-...
Timestamps:
00:00:00 - Opening Words
00:01:40 - What Am I Covering?
00:03:14 - LTG Ben Hodges (Ret.)
00:04:16 - Ukraine Pre-February
00:05:29 - Wartime Evolution
00:07:28 - Force '23 - Ukraine's Military Objectives
00:08:37 - The Force Requirement
00:09:37 - Manpower vs Metal
00:10:46 - Interview pt.I: Ukrn Force Generation
00:11:34 - Interview pt.I: Answer
00:13:23 - Can It Be Done?
00:14:02 - Heavy Weapons
00:14:10 - Warsaw Standard
00:15:47 - Interview pt.II: Equipment
00:16:16 - Interview pt.II: Answer
00:18:51 - Nato Armour?
00:20:56 - Interview pt.III - Nato Armour?
00:21:20 - Interview pt.III - Answer
00:22:33 - Maintenance and Sustainment
00:23:33 - Russia's Own Advantages
00:24:28 - Interview pt.IV: Overcoming Maintenance and Sustainment Challenges
00:24:59 - Interview pt.IV: Answer
00:29:36 - Long Range Capabilities
00:32:12 - Munition & Shell Crisis
00:33:11 - Sustaining the Soviet(+) Systems
00:35:12 - Unconventional Sources
00:35:54 - Iran's Contribution?
00:37:20 - Nato Standard in Quantity
00:38:51 - Feeding The Guns
00:39:32 - Interview pt.V: Feeding The Guns
00:40:16 - Interview pt.V: Answer
00:44:02 - Case Study: US Industry Response
00:45:54 - Case Study: US Ammo Production
00:47:40 - Is Production up to the Task?
00:49:48 - Interview pt.VI: Is the West capable of sustaining Ukraine?
00:50:22 - Interview pt.VI: Answer
00:51:36 - The Force Generation Race
00:52:03 - What About the Russian Effort?
00:52:46 - Interview pt.VII: Russian and Ukrainian Mobilisation Assessment
00:53:10 - Interview pt.VII: Answer
00:54:17 - What About The Russian Effort? - Cont.
00:55:02 - Interview pt.VIII: Likely Failure Point for the Russian Military?
00:55:33 - Interview pt.VIII: Answer
00:59:57 - Who wins the Force Generation Race?
01:00:54 - Interview pt.IX: Final Reflections and Predictions
01:01:21 - Interview pt.IX: Answer
01:04:28 - Conclusions
01:06:42 - Channel Update
Three quick points on this one:
Firstly - my YT issues appear resolved for now. I believe this is not the case with all creators at time of writing, but everything is operating correctly for me now.
Secondly - To clarify, when I refer to the supply of aircraft from Bulgaria, I refer to the (likely limited) supply of parts and components (though even that is difficult to confirm). I am not referring to media reports that Bulgaria handed over all it's SU-25s. It clearly hasn't, we can still see them and unfortunately one crashed recently.
A further correction, as opposed to clarification - I refer to Czech 152 and 155mm systems - the 152mm systems in question are indeed Czech, the 155mm Zusana is from Slovakia.
Thirdly - thank you all for our patience in waiting for the upload of this video.
I’ve just been making the rounds to see what was happening with everyone, and it’s great you just provided an update! Even better that it’s a positive one!!
This situation with CZcams (like basically all their decisions) is downright disgusting...
Good to see CZcams got their stuff together for your videos. Kinda ridiculous that they took the "nuke everything" approach. CZcams's moderation is certainly... questionable.. at times. Either way, glad to see this come out! Was looking forward to it when I heard the short description :D
What Yt issues is he talking about?
Yeah man, wtf are you talking. How the hell we are suppling airplanes now. We hardly have a dozen active ones and looking to replace them in Bulgaria. The amount said Bulgaria. Somebody get idea we are supporting the war. Our politician haven t come with united or major statement where we stand. But good to hear someone is doing right thing even if its in Bulgarian way :)
Glad to hear that. I consider your content the absolute best quality.
Perun at the beginning of 2022: video game playthroughs and guides
Perun at the end of 2022: Collab with retired US General to make an analysis of an ongoing military conflict
Life is getting weird
Just wait for when the Vatican calls upon Markiplier to fight a horde of Demons.
And not just any retired US general. Wow, I'm impressed.
Totally weird. Almost surreal
Man did a full drift out his lane
Previous Supreme commander of US army Europe!
All hail the PowerPointer in Chief
I feel torture by PowerPoint is truly a fate worse than death.
The PowerPoint army shall grow stronger!
And he posted even though he couldn't get monetized.
@@adingo8mybaby oh, a masochist, I see.
@@pinkypink5161 I use to be. Back when I was corporal in a training cell of a cav regiment I took great pride in turning young leaders into monsters capable of making a boring PowerPoint at the rate of one per hour.
Russia: We have endless stockpiles of ammo
General Hodges: Ammo has a shelf life
Russia: That's why we don't use shelves
Thank you for the big laugh I got from that .
From what I have seen of the Russian army, that convo seems about right. LOL
Brilliant! 😂
KABOOOM!
🤣
The fact that General Hodges is willing to appear on your show is a great testament to the quality of your channel. It's like the official stamp of approval for your analytical skills.
First Major Nicolas Moran and now General Ben Hodges. A pro channel.
It certainly is, although I think I should point out that Ben goes on all sorts of very small channels/shows (like 5k subs small), especially so in the Baltic region of the NATO alliance.
No, its honestly not. EX-general Hodges is retired and gets his money from tingling through all channels whether TV, print or youtube that want to have him.
I agree. Excellent data quality, very well presented, the object of the lecture and subjects that are to be covered are clearly stated, the conclusion ties everything up nicely.
The questions put to General Ben Hodges were well thought out. He even said so, a couple of times.
Thank you for another high quality, interesting and informative video.
@@SergeantAradir What a ridiculously cynical and quite frankly ignorant interpretation of Ben's actions. You know nothing of this man and what drives him.
As an university professor, the quality of your lectures is consistently admirably high. To get an expert speaker to enjoy your questions and respond favorably to them is also very impressive. I hope that whatever you do for your day job recognizes your skills and talents
Edit: I have watched this expert being interviewed on other shows and this is the first time that I noticed that he complimented the question... And I think this is the most open I've seen him answer as well. It was an excellent interview.
What I noticed too, was how Perun effectively packaged his use of the interview with the long format. Lots of background discussion leading up to targeted Q & A, very well done. Other media types could learn a thing or two from this.
A compliment from Ben Hodges - high praise indeed!!
Hear, hear. Just think how much time Perun put into the preparation prior to the interview and then the follow up. When do you do your day job🤔
HEAR, HEAR! 👍👍 PERUN IS THE MAN TO TUNE INTO!
Two adverbs in a row, university professor. Sarcasm aside, I agree.
So, let me see if I can get this straight: you started out putting up gaming videos on CZcams, and then, Russia suddenly invades Ukraine, and you switch to doing what is arguably one of the most comprehensive set of PowerPoint, one-hour presentations on the war. Out of nowhere, you bring on LTG Hodges and he does an interview into a blurry logo monitor. You get him really engaged with your questions, he basically congratulates you on the format of the interview and in less than 24 hours there are over 322 k views of this video. I gotta hand it to you man, you’re doing a hell of a job. Kudos on all fronts: you’ve got me waiting, on a Saturday night, for the next video (I live in the Americas). Keep them videos coming !!
It's very cool to see someone like General Hodges, and other subject matter experts of a certain generation, start to realise that CZcams isn't just cat-videos and annoying vlogger drama any more. There's a pretty large community of very talented content-creators like Perun and others like him that have been working very hard on creating some seriously impressive documentaries on a whole range of subjects. Like history, science, current affairs, etc. These communities have been maturing and growing in recent years and I'd say they have obliterated anything ever found on cable-TV in terms of quality and depth.
It would be awesome to see people of General Hodge's calibre add their weight of knowledge and experience to the community!
YT is a place to express what you will never hear about the reality of our time in mainstream media. It would just be edited out and General Hodges knows it. For him it must be really refreshing to get his entire point across largely unedited or being fairly asked about any edits up front. plus he doesn't serve any political agenda other the shared one of assisting Ukraine by fact based quality info, analytics and factual representaition. It doesn't mean you need 12 Million likes on the video if you can reach 5K key decision makers among 250K+ subscribers. plus you can always use your smartphone, sent a journalist the link and don't need to repeat yourself over and over again. For General Hodges this does work much better than traditional media outlets and it is a very useful collaboration for both of them. My bet is it will continue. Unfo what also will continue is a shift in initiative as bean-counters cut Ukraine support short on economic downturns. Chances are super high, this will be some on/off struggle like the half-hearted inconsequential fights against Covid-19. Basically anybody knows a shorter decisive victory for Ukraine would be better for veryone but Russisa, Belarus and North Korea. Yet nobody does go all-in on the support other than Lithuania and Poland. Estonia, Finland and Latvia maybe as well. At least not on anything that would be a major industrial ramp up and long term commitment to supply Ukraine with any forces for long term containment of Russia threats of invasion. Politics is flying blind on sight through the fog once again.
Don’t get ahead of yourself. For every quality CZcamsr you have one hundred crappy creators.
@@aquilifergroup Then you unsubscibe as I have the from a number of content creators covering this Ukrainian Russo War.
@@aquilifergroup Sounds like every media to me
@b. elzibub: Totally agreed. I’ve been thinking this about the quality of (some) YT creators as well. Another great example is Indigo Traveller, whose series on Haiti, I’ve just finished watching.
From almost unknown gaming channel to actually collaborating with a Lt.Gen. is an exponential growth if I ever saw any. Keep it up!
I was about to say! Getting LTG Ben Hodges on his tiny CZcams channel is HUGE!!!
Perhaps Perun is also ex high-level military?
@@stevecollins7698 some have mentioned that his day job is a military analyst, so at the very least, perun is very much at home with his content and with his interviewees !
@@stevecollins7698 While he's been somewhat vague about his day job (presumably because he doesn't want his CZcams channel to mess with it), he seems to have more of an industrial and/or academic background.
man i miss dom5 videos thou
I think General Hodges was most appreciative of being asked intelligent and detailed questions on a subject he clearly has a great depth of expertise in. Thank you so much for this, and for your continued diligence and effort!
Gen. Hodges is probably sick and tired of answer questions like "Will Russia nuke Ukraine???" or "What will America do if they Nuke Ukraine?" or "Explain Hybrid-warfare" or "When will the Russian people overthrow Putler?"
@@genericyoutubeaccount579 haha probably. But hat's off to him and 5 or 6 other former generals who've gone on mass media channels regularly and explained very well to the American (and other) publics why it's so important to support Ukraine, and that they could be successful. They have really done a great job, especially when the politicians eh not so much. I really think they're efforts are a big reason for continued support in the public.
fr hes always on large news channels getting asked how to save the world and given 30 secs to answer.
Yeah the mainstream media would almost never pick his brain like perun could.
I bet he was sick and tired of having to answer dumb questions and get cut off over and over.
A big thanks to General Hodges for recognising Perun's talent & analytical ability by consenting to give his time to give his expert opinion & answer questions.
Who can resist Perun's PowerPoint presentation skills
I believe the compliment from General Hodges to Perun was sincere and further confirmation for me as to Perun's content and analysis quality.
@@alifesh I completely agree. I bet that Gen. Hodges was tired of being asked the same question again and again by mainstream media presenters and wanted to talk to someone who actually knew their stuff and would get into the real nitty gritty of the logistical situation.
Yea, was straight up visible in his face and voice that he enjoyed it himself. Must have been a nice change of pace to have some actual questions asked between the endless interviews about when armageddon starts...
@@da-voodoo-shuffle Having seen what DOD powerpoint decks look like, I wonder if he's trying to get Perun to start training Majors on how to conduct a proper presentation.
This is the kind of content I crave. The sixty-second talking-head pieces on TV are useful for getting a broad-strokes intro to a subject, but two very smart, experienced, thnoughtful people with a wealth of knowledge having a Q&A where nobody feels the need to interrupt or talk over one another - this is the real deal. Thank you Perun, and thank you, General Hodges.
Amen.
"On 24 February the Ukrainians were Googling how to make Molotov Cocktails, on 21 September Russians were Googling for flights out of Russia"
that about sums it up, I think.
also, seeing a general being interviewed by a youtuber in such a professional manner is kind of amazing. I've yet to see a "proper" journalist doing the same.
Mid November Ukraine retakes Kherson & Zelensky visits the City. Honestly I can't believe the skill & tenacity shown by the Ukrainians. 👏Slava Ukraine. 🇺🇦🇬🇧
On the 24th of February 2022 the Ukrainians told the warship Moskva to go F. themself, and googled how to get rid of it.... On the 14 April the same Year the Russians were googling 'how to keep a warship floating'
The Telegraph Ukraine podcast is very good but I’m not sure they’ve had LTG Hodges on their channel.
Nothing says “professional” like logging into a video interview with a top military advisor and analyst with your camera off and replaced by a shitty CZcams logo.
A bit sus, right? As if it's not just some regular CZcamsr
Man, Gen. Hodges certainly seemed to become more comfortable as the interview went on. By the end, he seemed extremely satisfied with the quality of the questions he was being asked!
I definitely got the feeling that he was not prepared for the insightfulness of the questions. I think he expected an easy, surface-level interview.
@@maz6222 Agreed - it's the first time that I've seen him actually challenged by questions - where he had to seriously consider his answer & possibly even do some research before the "interview".
Unlike MSM reporters Perun actually knows what he is talking about so he asks the questions that actually matter.
definitely, most journalists I imagine are more concerned with asking very "dumb/simple" questions that, to be fair, are meant to recieve broad and simple answers that the average family sitting in the living room can understand. I'm sure he gets satisfying question from say universities but from a "amateur" (I don't mean to insult perun, props to him getting an interview without, i assume, relying on reference from say a news org) it probably was a pleasant surprise.
Have you seen a typical media interview of Hodges? He gets a few very simplistic and superficial questions. I think he appreciated the chance to delve into the issues that matter at an appropriate level of detail for the amount of time available.
1:01:21 "Thanks for this privilege" That is one hell of a compliment to get from a US army General. Perun has really moved up in the world.
i don´t want to dimish that but he says that to every interviewer
Right? I don't think that was just him being polite either. He doesn't strike me as a man who does false praise. He seemed to genuinely mean that.
Ben Hodges is such a chad, it was always a pleasure to see him on DW.
@@ninodino444 I am Lieutenant General Hodges, and this is my favourite interview on the Citadel.
Maybe it's easier to say what you mean on a CZcams channel, speaking to a more select audience
I really can't get over the fact that the guy who taught me about Dominions 5 strategy years ago is now teaching me about the intricacies of the military industrial complex.
Love to see it
I pretty much watch powerpoint presentations for a living and I'm normally bored to death by them. The fact I've just spent over an hour of my free time watching Perun's latest contribution speaks volumes about the quality of his content.
Over 4 hours of power points a month for 7+ months... and hungry for the next one.
Yeh,his videos drag you you into them with information out wouldn't have normally thought about.
Every time Perun posts a video, I get smarter. This channel is what people promised the internet would become when I was young.
I concur with this notion, this channel basically studying without somehow it feeling like a lecture.
Been waiting a whole lifetime for the internet as promised.
I don't agree with the latter half of your statement because even back when people argued about the accuracy of Wikipedia I felt it was just as good as Encyclopedias.
That said I'm also grateful for Perun's presentations broadening my knowledge.
@@mutantmagnet The main issue with Wikipedia is that anyone can edit them. Some also have a blatant bias when often the counterpoint has just as much evidence. Picking a side in arguments that are unsettled.
WONDERFULLY STATED
I've seen former General Hodges give bored answers before. The depth of the questions and the direct nature of your interview almost made him giddy. Excellent video.
I haven’t even watched the video yet, but seeing so many of y’all remarking how excited the general was gets me giddy.
I imagine it was quite refreshing to have intelligent questions coming from some knowledge of the factors involved rather than the more usual bizarre questions coming from complete ignorance of the subject.
@@KarlJeager Might also have been the format, which allows for much longer and in-depth questions and answers. I'm guessing the General is more used to the quick sound-but format of cable-news and such? Imagine being an expert like him, and you're always asked/forced to condense very complex answers into short 10-15 second bits. And suddenly you're given all the time in the world to give your answers. And not only that, you're also getting unrushed, properly formatted and contextualized questions as well!
Might feel like an early Christmas.
@@b.elzebub9252 Yeah, I think he came in ready to suffer through another awful interview with a brainlet for the sake of getting info out there to a different audience if he had to.
Hi, I'm Polish living in France. I want to thank you for the videos on you channel. I can't tell how I appreciate them! I find them very high quality. Your analises are clear, logical, vell organized and objective. I'm just a civilian with no great knowlege about armed conflicts, but with your videos I cans follow this war easily. I like especially the large context of the conflict you describe: the meaning of this war for Baltic countries, for Poland, for western Europe and for USA and China. Thank tou very much.
Still, I have no idea why I wait, keenly, for Perun to drop on Sunday afternoon in Queensland Australia. Many of the channel’s subscribers have expressed (or tried to) WHY this subject matter, so foreign to our day to day lives, means so much now. You can see the delight of Hodges at 1.01.00 to be answering questions so intelligent and relevant. Great work, see ya next Sunday.
Brissie here to. I get up early and watch before the kids wake up. Been my sunday morning for the last 6 months. Good to see someone is brisbane is learning like me
One could tell that General Hodges was impressed with Perun's cogent questions. In the scores of interviews I've seen of the General, this is the first I heard him say, "I love that question."
That indeed surprised me too. 👍
He was delighted by the questions.
If Perun was having a job interview the General's enthusiastic response would be read as a "you're the guy!".
Actually he says it frequently - but only with the questions that really tickle intellectually in the specific context and are not the standard media self referentialized ones. So it's a very honest compliment.
I’ve gotta believe the General really appreciated the opportunity to speak with someone who actually knows the details of the issues around force projection. So much better than a 60 second interview on any of the big TV networks. Obviously this is the reason we all watch. We’ll done as always.
Very well put
Much more in depth than the usual "Is Ukraine going to win the war?" and "Will putin use nukes?"
Yes, you can tell by just how much he appreciated the well thought out questions.
So fcukin TRUE!
You could really see how the General got more and more into it the longer the interview went.
Solid questions, he had to think.
I had a huge grin on my face when General Ben Hodges said he enjoyed the interview, so glad I can be a part of this. Perun, you're awesome and to me, this was your best video to date, which is an nice reward to your viewers.
Thanks for your excellent content. De-monetization for your channel is ridiculous.
Just CZcams trying to steal content...They find excuses to not pay and also are paid a lot to promote OFFICIAL News sites.
What was the justification for de-monetization? I don't get it.
I think monetization is enabled, what are you talking about?
@@crisscrosschrissy8491 It was a platform-wide problem. A bunch of people got demonetized in error including many channels that don't normally get demonitized.
It seems to be a bug
I love at 1:03:00 the General admits he grossly over estimated Russia's abilities, a military commander that can admit a mistake and move on is rare and invaluable, I love listening to General Hodges.
Better to overestimate than underestimate.
Just like how the Coalition overestimated Saddam's Iraqi Army.
@@aeso3555 Yes but both are bad. If you underestimate you can get blown out. While if you overestimate you can become too cautious and allow them to do stuff you could easily stop if you knew their real capabilities. Both are poison even if one is a little better than the other.
People much closer (culturally) to Russia have fallen for their propaganda.
If you think about it, Russia won only two wars in 20th century, one at a huge coat (WW2, including the Winter War), and one through a foreign nation (Vietnam).
Otherwise Russia was beaten so badly that they were laughing stock: Japan 1905, WWI, Afghanistan, and so on.
Not to downplay his honesty, but he admited it after he retired. But nice move, anyway.
An absolute masterpiece of a video.The compliments from Ben Hodges speak volumes, I´ve watched many of his interviews and I´ve never seen him complement someone in this manner, so it´s well deserved.
I also enjoyed this interview style video more than what you did with the Chieftain where there was no interaction between you two.
You´re really taking your channel to new heights, and I´m watching with great anticipation to see what you have in store for us in the future.
I feel so fortunate to have discovered a channel that is not only well-organized enough to make the situation clear to this very civilian old lady, but one who is able to converse on the level of one of our highly respected retired generals. His praise for your questioning was heartwarming. He surely checked you out before coming on, but he seemed genuinely impressed. Thanks again for another stellar update.
I was in US military intelligence many years ago. I was tasked with creating briefs similar to this back then. I never came close to producing the quantity nor quality of what Perun has produced in the last few months. Much respect.
Reckon he's pretty strong at his day job. Not that you weren't, but he does present like a "thought leader". My impression is of exhaustive attention to detail. My "don't care" impulse kicks in after a while and I'll wave my hand and say, ya know. Perun *never* skirts around a subject and covers *every* base. Clue: who goes to (or has even heard of) the Warsaw Security Forum? 😉
I suspect that when you are from the intelligence you ought not to boast about it on the internet
@@sylvainprigent6234 why, its just a general corps. Perhaps you're thinking of the CIA 😘
@@ironmantooltime Warsaw Security Forum? Idiots like Polish MOD leader - Mariusz Blaszczak, who is only a J. Kaczyński's puppet. He went out there only to talk crap like "German reparations for damages during World War II"
As a Pole, I would like to say I'm very sorry you have to watch and listen to this populism distraction sh!ts.
@@sylvainprigent6234 there's CIA channels on CZcams. You can apply if you want to. And it's easy enough to find a couple of them. They are public facing. The CIA operate radio, CZcams news channels, etc. RFERL is one.
Just because it's CIA doesn't mean it's some secret agent blah blah thing. Intelligence.
Quick anecdote from an EO Worker. One of my previous boss' had a gig with the UN to check the safety of EO Storage and Manufacturing within the eastern European states. Specifically targeted toward post Soviet stockpiles to prevent enormous explosions.
He told me there were a couple he walked into, then immediately walked straight out again. He could smell the nitro and feel the explosive dust in the air. One small spark, even from static electricity and the whole complex would function.
When asked for his recommendation for these places; it was 'stand a lot further away'.
Funny enough my dad was an explosives expert back in the 80's/90's with NATO and he had some very similar experiences. Leaking nitro in huge explosive depots etc. Kind of concerning how common it's seems to be or have been.
Fun fact that’s along the lines of this topic. Nitro crystals forming on the outside of the propellant bags, that fell off and were spread around the turrets whenever the propellant was moved or used by the big guns in the navy, are thought to have been the cause of multiple ships having flash fires in their magazines, resulting in gigantic towers of brilliantly bright flame. Very fine, flammable dust, is scary. Explosive dust, is scary. Both of them together, are fucking terrifying.
first of all, Based Free Stalker chad, would love to go artifact hunting with you 10/10. and secondly, I talked with a Marine EOD guy who has said a lot of countries severely miss-handle their explosive stock piles, and a lot of times even our own coalition and NATO allies do not store them correctly at all. Very scary thoughts indeed.
Proper storage is expensive, and never gets cheaper as time goes on. No one really wants to do it right. Plus, whenever tensions eased, people got into a mindset that the stuff would never actually be used. Which is probably why Russian stockpile commanders in the 90s apparently had no hesitation at pretty openly selling whatever people wanted to buy off them. It was probably a lot cheaper than maintaining proper storage, and when the books came up unbalanced, you could always blame previous commanders and staff!
@@Chasmodius
to be fair theres difference between lazy maintenance, which while expensive is at least fixable
and lack of standarts so bad that people can get away with selling armys stuff with no one noticing/caring
The irony of a gaming channel producing this kind of video is a little mind bending. It's like watching a member of Game Grumps embedding with an infantry unit. It's entertaining, informative, insightful, and just weird as hell.
Perun is a pagan god worshipped by the neo-Nazi Azov regiment. Recognized by the US Congress as a neo-Nazi organization. America supports this war because the Anglo-Dutch Shell company and the American Chevron company bought a license from Ukraine to develop gas wells. To justify this war, many CZcams channels were bought. These channels justify the killing of civilians in Ukraine. And justify the war.
This series of PowerPoint videos is approaching the level of a doctoral thesis analyzing the war in Ukraine. I'm sure general Hodges appreciated how much slower you could take this, allowing him to fully answer rather than being pushed to move things along, and I'm sure he appreciates your intellectual honesty with that disclaimer at the beginning of the video.
Thank You General Hodges!!!! I've seen him on many a US TV channel and they only give him the opportunity to give the same "generalized" answer to the same questions. You, Perun, asked the right questions to get real answers from a respected expert. When he said that the West "German, USA" have given excuses for not providing Abrams and Leopards to Ukraine for not providing arms, he called them for what they are, "excuses!" Well done, Perun. Well said, General Hodges.
Watching CNN the other day and another general said “This is question you should ask” then answered it,I thought it was great…..He had enough of the stupid questions….
Fun to hear when Hodges suddenly gets this isn't your average interview. The guy knows stuff, asks the interesting questions. Suddenly all cylinders are firing.
Amazing work.
Got a timestamp for the look of recognition on his face?
I think Ben's answers where better than he usually gives at CNN for example.
I wonder who approached who about the interview.
@@brainletmong6302 around 1:00:00 he pretty explicitly says he's impressed and (I think) pleasantly surprised with the quality of the questions and the format of this interview(which allows for a much more in-depth interview than other more traditional formats.) And I think that wasn't just him being polite either. He seemed genuinely pleased with the whole thing.
Its the Difference of a CNN Interview with a womenstuddies major that went into journalism and an Military economics specialist /Analyst making long Form CZcams content
Kinda proud of you mate, been here since the start and seeing you grow to the level of "I can invite a Lt. Gen as a guest" is pretty neat, in such a short span of time too.
"[the Russian navy] is terrified to go near Ukraine and Ukraine doesn't even have a navy" that's badass. Ukraine won maybe the biggest naval battle of the 21st century, without any ships.
I never thought I'd look forward to listening to the military version of C-SPAN on my free time, but here we are
C-Span wish it could afford a Perun
I’d like to thank the CZcams algorithm to point me perun’s way all the way back at episode 1. This series has personally enriched me in grounded and strategic thinking in ways I hadn’t considered previously.
same, same!
Hahahaha. From wtf is this and clicking it out of curiosity, to waiting for the ppt that I never knew I needed.
@@233DDR I think the title of the first video "All bling no basics" draws people in because the word bling is quite a mainstream word
An VERY important correction: Zaluzhny never said in the article, that be wanted to create NEW brigades, in contrary he emphasised, that this can be done ONLY through rearmament of already existing brigades.
I love the format, where you talk about some points and then cut to a QA with the General for only that point and then continue. This really makes it much more easier to follow instead of the usuall "lazy" format of just posting the entire interview in one go.
Perun went from gamer armchair general to General interviewing PowerPoint man in less than a year.
Truly the best coverage of the big picture of the Ukraine War around.
IMHO a fairer assesment is that the current war allows him much more to shine than in the gaming business. 🙂
Funny how events in Eastern Europe have changed this Australian's life. Life is an odd lottery.
I'm prettynsure he works in Australia military procurement or in something pretty related to it so he isn't really 'armchair'. Maybe that's just a bs rumour I heard though
the power of Reddit
There is one who is on pair with him: czcams.com/users/AndersPuckNielsen
Ok, Perun is now officially my absolute favorite military CZcamsr.
Not even a contest. Love your work!
Def not contest. Dude raised the bar soo much
He’s definitely in my top 5 too. I can also recommend Ryan McBeth. He’s also been making great videos about the war.
Nice to see Gen Hodges asked intelligent questions and allowed the time to answer them.
Not the usual dumb "what if Russia uses nukes" questions TV anchors keep asking .
Perun, you must by now be getting a whole lot of offers from official institutions. Your analyses are excellent, especially (and I don't meant his any diminutive way in any way) since your background is not a military one. It is outstanding how straight, well researched and on point your analyses are. I am absolutely stunned (especially since I've read of what you did on CZcams and alike before). I am not a specialist in any way but I think it is ok for me to say that your videos are absolutely well done in any way.
Keep up this work, it is inceredible.
Perun has unleashed the General's true nerdy expertise by asking questions of a calibre that's appropriate for him given the status he reached.
Absolutely incredible that you are able to bring on a guest this caliber.
155mm, but, running out fast.
@@crhu319 tovarich, that reply was supposed to go to another comment! The gulag commander wants to speak with you!
Amusing, but every one that depletes the stockpile is one that de-militarises your army
Should I or shouldn’t I? 🤔🤭
And he was so complimentary of Perun at the end!
There's no better analysis of the purely military side of this conflict than you, Perun, and the quality of guests you attract is evidence.
I'd argue Hypohistericalhistory is another good comparison. His channel is still in its infancy but the nuclear weapons and Iraq War pt 1 history video is bringing in more recognition.
Brilliant Perun, It just goes to show when an experienced professional soldier is asked the right intelligent questions the information given is top class.
I would like to thank LTG Ben Hodges, For giving us the chance to hear his thoughts on questions that have not been asked in a 3 minute main TV news channels allotted time slot. Nice to see him given the time and great replies to equally great questions. Thank you both.
I loved the format and the clear collaborative spirit with Gen. Hodges. It was particularly useful to have the background discussion from Perun that informed the questions and answers of Gen. Hodges. The ongoing quality of the material Perun puts out is next level. I look forward to many more videos like this!
LGT Ben Hodges must have been delighted to have the honour of being interviewed by Perun.
The only bad about Perun is that it makes me ask why there are no adults in the mass media, and why the only place I can get detailed and thoughtful analysis is from a person I stumbled across on You Tube.
Will watch in the morning but the fact you've gone from reluctantly talking about the Ukraine conflict on your gaming channel to talking to the commander of US army europe is amazing. The level of content is fantastic and well researched and I'm glad to see people so genuinely hungry for it. All the best man and thank you again.
The reason that Ben Hodges is even willing to be a guest shows how much of a firm grasp Perun has on the situation. The old "Amateurs talk strategy. Professionals talk logistics" certainly still holds true :P
0:37 "A lack of manpower is Russias greatest Achilles heels..." I never thought to hear that sentence.
The problem is willing manpower
@@wom_Bat When was willing ever a factor for the russians?
@@FortuneZer0 war in Ukraine...
@@FortuneZer0 pretty sure in WW2 a lot more of them were willing to march west then these days :)
PZH-2000 and HIMARS aren't exactly 'high complexity' systems with regards to operations. Quite the opposite actually as told by Ukrainian troops using them. They are much easier to use, being mostly computerized, compared to Russian/Soviet-era weapon systems. Now, servicing them is a whole different ball game. They are probably more complex to maintain and will require more training and supply lines to service them. It will probably be needed to be serviced to NATO countries like what is being done to PZH-2000. Very good video! Enjoyed listening to this..
This was a great interview. It's clear at the beginning that Gen. Hodges is not quite prepared to be interviewed by a floating logo, but he puts his best foot forward. By the time Perun asks about sending Abrams tanks to Ukraine, Hodges knows that Perun is somewhat intelligent. He knows Perun is not one of those braindead morons who thinks that tanks are irrelevant because Javelins are cheap. Perun knows that tanks are still critical even with advances in javelin Memes.
On the next question (question 4), Perun asks about sustainment of Ukrainian hardware. Again, Perun is the kind of guy who knows this is going to be a long war. He isn't a memer who thinks Ukraine has won already and the war will be over by Christmas. By now, Gen. Hodges knows that Perun and his audience is intelligent, so he takes his time (4 minutes) answering this question whereas he only spent 1-2 minutes answering the previous questions. All of Gen. Hodges future answers are quite detailed.
Question 5: Gen. Hodges has started to get comfortable and slouch in his chair. His body language is much looser, and he is more comfortable.
Question 8: This is the first question that Gen. Hodges says he "loves". He even goes on a fun tangent about artillery shells being stored in Transnistria which he just couldn't talk about if he was being interviewed in the mainstream media.
Eh I wouldn't be surprised if Perun actually had a webcam active during the call and just used the audio + logo for the video. Unlike on a public platform his guest can probably be relied on keeping his identity confidential and therefore doesn't really require avoiding showing ones face.
@@skirata3144 It's also not like knowing his face would really matter that much without a name or other evidence to link his identity.
Thanks for the analysis
Absolutely; I think the first couple answers were slightly unsatisfying to listen to for us as an audience because the expectations don’t meet up; we’re already well informed and want more detail, but Gen. Hodges I suspect is having to be prepared for the absolute braindead idiocy and wastes of his time which he might encounter in other interviews in order to get to a wider audience. Overall it’s very good to hear from him and a wonderful interview put in the proper context.
I’d love to hear a more long, freeform discussion on the subject if I’m honest
Mom! Mom get in here quick! A new Perun video essay just dropped! Let's spend an hour learning about the evolution of the Ukrainian military!
The power point quality keeps getting better!
Now with animated slides with people of relevant expertise!
Many thanks to Gen. Hodges for his time and answers
Thank you for including the interview! I'm sure it was a lot of extra effort to set up, but General Hodges' expertise really added to the conversation for me.
This is the best interview of a US leader, and I am US (😊). Journalists don’t always ask the right questions. You completely nailed it. PLEASE thank Ben Hodges. I am so proud to call him a US leader.
The problem is, the average joe doesnt care about the politics behind it. He wants a simple answer that even the biggest fucking idiot can understand.
he is one of the FEW
The mutual respect in this interview was beyond that of what I've seen in most interviews I've witnessed. Hats off to both you Perun, as well as General Hodges for this fantastic review of Ukrainian logistics. I watch you videos every week, but this week felt like a massive step into the mainstream in an odd way! Your type of insight, interviewing, and presentation is completely unparalleled on this platform!
What an interesting discussion. It's such a privilege to listen to someone like LTG (Ret) Hodges discuss these issues with not just you, but your entire audience. Thank you for taking the time to make this and to help us understand a little more of what's happening there.
I just recently found your channel and I'm wondering why it's not the most popular Russo - Ukrainian war update channel. Your updates are always detailed and well documented... thank you very much for the effort!
Watching Ben Hodges - he's really enjoying this. I've seen him give interviews on mainstream media and some major YT media. It's such a different conversation when it comes to talking with a real peer and says so much! You're a real gem Perun! Thank you!
Can confirm there is nothing like talking with someone who is informed on and understands the subject you are discussing. Its the reason Elon Musk talks to Tim Dodd (Everyday Astronaut) every time he asks for interviews compared to the media. You can see that he enjoys the questions and conversation about SpaceX and space tech, compared to how frustrated with the regular media he is. Its all over his face.
@@avroarchitect1793 yeah. Regular media might ask him, GASP!, questions!
@@avroarchitect1793 which makes it even more odd when he goes and spouts his usual bullshit about things he has no clue
LTG Hodges starts the interview like he's on TV, by the end of it he's scratching his shoulder and looking off to one side as he's trying to remember quite technical information that isn't in his "regular interview" mental folder full of generalities and fluff. I think he's also being careful not to give out information that's still confidential or classified as Perun asks him the deeper questions that regular TV pundits wouldn't ask.
Great work to get Gen Ben Hodges on!
He has been on point about this conflict from the start and explains the difficulties and challenges of the protagonists, in a concise and informative manner.
Always interesting to hear his take on any new developments.
So kudos to you Peron to get an interview. I can only assume that he is impressed by your work as well!
He's not as bad as Petraeus but still bad. McGregor and Ritter and Baud have been far more concise about what's going on.
@@crhu319 source: Trust me Tovarich.
@@crhu319 Thanks for the laugh, I just snorted coffee over myself!
@@crhu319 🐒
I have seen Ben Hodges on shows before, he clearly liked this interview/the questions a lot.
No stupid questions he normally gets from journalists like: _"what thinks Putin"_
Man, I love that you let him talk as long as he needed. Also I love that you got him on in the first place.
It's amazing to think that just a few months ago this was a gaming channel with zero content regarding military logistics and economy, and now it has a retired general as a guest, not only answering your questions, but praising them and the format of the videos themselves.
This is honestly the highest quality content I have ever seen. I suffer a lot from a lack of focus, but your style of presenting and clear deep base of knowledge and understanding of the topic makes this hour long PowerPoint presentation incredibly digestible.
It is clear that you even managed to impress the general in the short time you spent with him. Congratulations on your succes, it is well deserved!
Another one hour plus PowerPoint presentation to start my day.
First the Chieftain, then a retired US General, you have grown exponentially ever since you started following the war, Perun.
Congratulations.
Wow, you actually got a general that knows what he is talking about, unlike Petraeus, the bureaucrat general, who knows all about politics but little about war. Amazing actually, This testifies to a high level of respect you have gained. Kuddos to you.
Wow. I came across Perun's CZcams channel via Jake Broe. This was my first viewing of any of your vids and it was super impressive. Brilliant questions asked, and then answered equally so. I can understand why Gen. Hodges was so impressed with the format, your questions etc. Both of you really put on a great podcast. I learnt so much in that hour. Well done.
I like how you aim to pronounce the different weapon systems Ukraine has received so accurately. It's these small details that underline how much effort and dedication you put into these presentations.
His family were Slavic immigrants to Australia. Croats, IIRC. So while he doesn't speak Ukrainian or Russian, he's got more experience with a related language than the vast majority of us.
@@TheFranchiseCA I think he does read Russian?
@@tonybooth4 No, that isn’t confirmed atm
This is exactly what irks me with some other youtube channels, that don't even pronounce some of the most common citynames correctly. It's not that hard, if you try. And "journalists" should at least try.
@@jan_franzke
Lie-mann
Curr-sun
Severod̷o̴n̶s̵t̷o̴ỳ̷͎͔̦̌e̸̗̙͋v̷̹̫̹́e̸͉̓͠t̷̡̃͊s̷̡͈̈́͒k̶̡̨͖̖̫̞̬̓͛ṭ̴̨̝̤̙͔̪̳̈́ͅô̵͈̙̼͜o̸n̴y̵esk
Gen Hodges isn't speaking like in an interview. He seems to be just on a phone call answering questions about a matter he is well versed in. Excellent job Perun
When he started slouching in his chair and touching his face, I knew that he was totally relaxed. He started the interview with tense body language, but he gradually got more comfortable as it went on.
@@genericyoutubeaccount579 one would guess that he's not used to being interviewed by youtubers, and was pleasantly surprised.
@@genericyoutubeaccount579 The difference between answering questions from an outsider and shop talk between colleagues?
Quite probably the best interview on this topic and the Ukraine-Russian war in general on CZcams. Congratulations Perun!
I've tried to read/watch everything by Hodges since he retired. You may call me a fan of his, and I wouldn't protest.
As an interview, this is certainly among the top three, among them I've got my eyes on. With Perun's context around the questions, it becomes unbeatable.
(26:00) Changing "engine packs" on a T-72 or T-80, have fun on a long weekend. Accord to manual, it take several dozen to hundreds of hours to do such task on a Russian designed MBT. Fast maintenance wasn't an issue in Pact armies.
Damn imagine from a historical and anthropological perspective, if someone like you had been meticulously powerpointing every week of any of the previous big wars. Really useful stuff
The world War Two and The Great War channels do this for the world wars, retrospectively of course!
US Army General Ben Hodges..US Army Ranger, awarded the Bronze Star 4 times and the Combat Infantry Badge as well as the Distinguished Service Medal etc, etc..and a graduate of West Point..a tough and smart dude..
And a leader with a calm collected demeanor. Impressive.
I'm proud to hear it mentioned here about Bulgarians repairing Ukrainian tanks in Poland. My father-in-law is one of those who have been in Poland the past few months. I can assure you those tanks are returning into Ukraine in top condition.
Most people have no idea how many moving parts there are behind the scenes in support of Ukraine. It's almost as amazing as it is important.
Slava Ukraini.
Bulgaria seems to be treading a fine line between Ukraine and Russia.
@@awf6554 It's smart. No need to upset another nation and still do the right thing.
It's walking a line to be an active participant doing repairs to that degree.
@@21kiwi24 Bulgaria doesn't hide it. We support Ukraine openly. We just don't plaster it over the media.
Great content. Mr Ben Hodges was spot on with his remarks. One hopes that the people who are now in charge think the same way... 🇬🇧 🇺🇦
Sincere thanks to Ben Hodges for chipping in ! It's really good to have an opportunity to listen to a person from the field in unedited & un-rushed way expressing his views about certain matter. It's a gigantic difference from current "media" bitesize one liners.
Edit:
I remember when (30 - 40 years ago) cnn was like that, but hey things don't last forever.
“You see, the Russian mobilisation represents a genuine to reverse the pattern of force generation to date”, I say, offhandedly, sipping an espresso. Suddenly all eyes are on me. Old man nod sagely, one has a tear in his eye. The women gasp, everyone of them taken with an instant desire to hold me to themselves and have me protect them with my towering insight. A young man faints, children clamour. In the raucous cheering that breaks a stunned silence, I hear people offering me jobs, wives, cash. Someone in the crowd cries “Mashiach”. I calm the wave of noise with a single gesture and smile, touched by their gentle, pure ignorance. For I subscribed to Perun, and I have knowledge, secret knowledge, that they cannot attain.
Wow man. Picked you up back in February, and now you have LTG Hodges. Great work! Congratulations on the step up! Hooyah!
This might be your best video yet. Great job. 1:03:07 is my favorite part. LTG Hodges was a great guest and gave thoughtful answers. You asked EXCELLENT questions. Bravo.
CZcams. I am a 5 year Premium member. I pay $20AUD a month. Fix this man’s channel now! This is the highest quality content on the current war in Ukraine that exists on your platform. It does not exploit or dismiss or make light of the war it does not breach your policies. Fix this now.
You have more chances of feedback from CZcams by tagging them on Twitter from what I hear, your comment here will definitely get lost in the volume…
I’d like to disagree with the point that there’s isn’t enough post soviet equipment left in NATO armies specifically talking about tanks and also countering the point relating the need to introduce systems like leopard or Abrams.
There is a plethora of T-72 models and upgrades which haven’t been to supplied yet.
One country which Perun has failed to mention as a resource of equipment is Croatia . Croatia has 75 M-84A4 Sniper tanks which it plans to replace.
Bulgaria also has enormous stocks of T-72 M1/M2 tanks with 160 tanks in active service +250 (in storage)
Czechia has also not supplied its extensively upgraded T-72M4CZ which it has 30 of and is looking to replace.
Poland- At least 100 more M1s left in storage albeit not in the best condition but can easily be put into service and most importantly operates with the tank that I believe should be spearheading the next Ukrainian assaults the PT-91 Twardy. Poland has 232 of these which it is already phasing out with the Abrams and K2.
Think 832 tanks should be enough at least for the near future.
Advantages of these tanks over NATO models are not only in terms of logistics,maintenance and training but also the fact that they are so much LIGHTER this means then can cross pontoon bridges with ease and not get stuck in the infamous and unforgiving Ukrainian mud.
Thanks a lot for this video quality is exceptional as always.
you touch on an interesting point. I wanted to do a video on the "eastern flank" of NATO at some point and that may be a good chance to quantify the issue
A very solid point. These 'NATO East' stocks would really keep Ukraine's counter-offensive running. It would be great to equip them with Abrams & Leo 2's, but that would take much more time. The 'westernization' of their armor force needs to start now if they expect it to be useful in the near future. In the mean time, dusting off 832 tanks found in the nooks and crannies of 'NATO East' needs to happen 'yesterday'!
Entire armies given away to ukraine won't save it.
@@williamgalbraith3621 I'd been thinking we'd (The US) be well advised to do just that and backfill these donations with refurbished and modernized M1's from our own long-term stocks.
The replacements still wouldn't be particularly quick, but still much quicker than waiting for new production.
It's also a way to shovel some of our old crap out the door so we can replace it with newer more modern stock.
There also seems to be a will power difference between NATO East and West in this conflict. Somehow I would hope this gets discussed at some point.
Holy smokes, it's like Perun took a 'how prepare for an interview class' from Jon Stewart. Exceptional, informed discussion. Biggest hattip also to General Ben.
What are you talking about? He asked reasonable questions about a topic he’s been invested in for months. Perun has as much “presence” in this interview as a piece of paper with text printed on it.
Stop licking nuts and up your standards.
What a thoroughly fascinating and insightful presentation. I've seen/heard several soundbites from General Hodges on the news, but the relaxed style, yet directly to the point, exchanges you had during this collaboration is second to none. Well done, and thank you for your work.
This channel is consistently the best content on the Russo-Ukraine war. Well organized, in-depth, sticking to your area of expertise. As crazy as it seems, your use of ppt format helps to stake out the subject territory and then develop complex ideas. It says a lot that General Hodges so thoughtfully contributed here. Amazing work!
The fact that I'm *enjoying* hell, eagerly waiting for hour long PowerPoint briefs is a fact that never ceases to amaze me.
Perun should be sponsored by Microsoft.
@@JB-pu8ik But imagine if, once the war is over, he reveals he was using LibreOffice all along... restarting the operating system wars of yore!
@@sietuuba Or LATEX or pretty much anything else
Perun, when I see a new video of yours pop up I feel excitement like a child who finally gets to use the TV finding and sees their favorite TV show is live. You’ve truly built up a strong reputation to me and many others. Well done
This is so specific but so accurate too
Damn, our boy managed to fetch an interview from Ben Hodges, fantastic work! Just goes to show how far this plucky little channel has gotten.
I wish more reporting would use this format and go in-depth like Perun does. Most of the reporting I see is either too brief or dumbed down. If and when this war ends I wouldn't mind seeing Perun tackle other subjects and issues.
Thanks for all the hard work Perun. These videos have been great.
That poor man was so happy to talk to someone who asked sensible questions! I found his comments on the power struggle interesting. It's been commented on generally but he seemed to put some weight on it.
My two favourite commentators on the war in Ukraine all in one video. It must be my lucky day.
Thanks for Mr Hodges to share his time by bringing quality viewpoints to this excellent series by Perun. And more external first person opinions to this series would be greatly appreciated. Nice work.
Something tells me the general was more intellectually engaged with the questions you asked him here compared to the questions he was getting from most TV networks hehe
You've really built a bridge of understanding for all of us, Perun. And blown up our estimation of Russia's abilities and cleverness. It's hot fire, my man.
Meanwhile in Crimea, Putin’s bridge has been blown up and is on fire
@@giantnanomachine My train of thought on this is stuck; as if it were welded to the tracks or something. Have to find a way to make thoughts roll forward, but I just can't seem to get it done.
Sir, i'm really curious how many think tanks offered you a contract by now.
Make sure to get the best offer available and put a cherry on top. You really earned it!
would not be surprised if hes allready working at one or more directly in the industry, considering his field of study and what he said in his first two ukraine videos :)
When are we going to get Jen Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO in an interview? His eyes are begging to be asked pertinent, intelligent questions.
Happy to see you again Perun. Hope the de-monetisation issues are solved quickly!
Wouldn't hold my breath that the issue gets resolved. Usually CZcams staff lets channels stay demonetized from what I've seen.
@@dx-ek4vr Hopefully having a whole retired US general interviewed on his channel make some human staff consider his case a little more seriously.
Although that would require CZcams to be behaving rationally as a whole, so....
Argh, yeah, if anything THIS is the content that justifies the existence of youtube.
Shameful of CZcams.
@@MaddeningFly It's truly ridiculous that youtube has traditional news media outlets in their top monetisation bracket while at the same time demonetising creators like Perun who provide far more in depth and arguably far better researched coverage of the exact same events.