Yeah, there’s an active one right now between the US and Russia in Syria, I believe (at least I think it’s still ongoing? I haven’t checked lately, but I know there at least used to be one), and I think another one specifically about Ukraine.

What in God’s name are you talking about, lol. A de-escalation hotline is common- and a very good idea- among powers, especially ones that don’t get along. It’s how you make sure that nobody accidentally starts a shooting war. The US has had multiple examples with Russia and China (and still does right now!!!), and it’s an extremely good thing. It absolutely does not mean Japan is “playing both sides,” lol jfc

BUT WHAT ABOUT (non-sequitur I never voiced any support for whatsoever)

Russia has the power to end this war at any time by simply stopping their invasion.

Who knows? I can only say what I’ve heard is going on now. As for what they’ll do in the future, I have no idea

If they both have the same vulnerability to artillery, then I don’t see why that’s really a shortcoming. Like in an equation, the same variable on either side balances out.

I mean, there currently aren’t many Western tanks on the ground in Ukraine at all, so that bet seems extremely safe. However, I would be very interested in seeing the exact percentages, because my understanding is that the vast majority of Russian tanks in Ukraine are variants of the T-72, with no indication of that really changing.

I understand that, but it’s on a tank-to-tank comparison that the difference stands out

T-90M has a modern optics package, but that’s not exactly the tank being used the majority of Russian units. It’s also worth noting that those were built with imported components, and there are reports from inside Russia that even relatively modern tanks are now being sent to the front with older packages.

From what I’ve heard, target acquisition and optics are by far the single most important difference between truly modern tanks and everything else, when it comes to battlefield performance

No negotiation with terrorists, no rewarding aggression

The Belarusian Army has about 10,000 professional soldiers, and a budget that’s literally only 1% of the Russian military budget

Those are a risk, but I do think the original commenter’s point has some merit if you consider the value of modern optics systems vs the old ones used on most Russian tanks. In that scenario, it really is a 10 to 1 increase in value

True, although interrupted (at least in the UK). Most of the Anglo-Saxon kings prior to… maybe Æthalstan?… simply put their name on the coins, until the use of a portrait was reimplemented

I mean, you understand that the slow replacement is done all the time, so… you absolutely do know that the change would be doable. Slowly.

The reigning monarch’s portrait being on currency goes back to before the Norman invasion, lol

They only just finished the switch to plastic, so replacing all the money again would be an absolute nightmare