Doom and Gloom: A Russian Soldier's Perspective of the War in Ukraine

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  • Опубликовано: 15 янв 2025

Комментарии • 727

  • @PrestonStewart
    @PrestonStewart  6 месяцев назад +27

    Go to tryfum.com/PRESTON or scan the QR code and use code PRESTON to get your free FÜM Base when you order your Journey Pack today
    And as always, thank you all so much for your support!

    • @Wolfspaule
      @Wolfspaule 6 месяцев назад +1

      smooth operator

    • @HavingFunYet-zc8wb
      @HavingFunYet-zc8wb 6 месяцев назад

      any way .. stay ..go ... don't care ... you have be warned ...

    • @Iam_differ
      @Iam_differ 6 месяцев назад +2

      Gaining grounds with such low moral 😮imagine if their moral was high

    • @NAFO_MythicPlague
      @NAFO_MythicPlague 6 месяцев назад +1

      Happy it worked for you. When I quit smoking it was 12/27/2020 at 1900 I took a drag off an Old Gold in the softpack. I just put them in the container I used and they sit right next to me along with the 13 cartons of smokes I still have from my last trip to North Dakota. I would drive a round trip of 500 miles for a Carton of smokes was 54.99 where I live it was closer to 85.99. So it only made sense to drive 8 hours return trip and pretty much get by one get one. I would get 50 cartons at a time and return to family and friends who chipped in on my munchy fund and fuel. I am glad I quit smoking but if you have the will power and ability to just stop something cold. I hope those who want to quit will because if that person is doing it for any reason other than themself they will not make it. That person has to want to quit or they will be doomed to fail.

    • @alexlazar4738
      @alexlazar4738 6 месяцев назад

      Preston, please do a video " Looking at the life of a Klingon warrior at the front lines against the Star fleet, what they're facing, how they're dealing with it and what they think the future holds."
      I just ask you to use the same fact checking technique you used for this video.

  • @bonniespeck
    @bonniespeck 6 месяцев назад +317

    Sounds like Vietnam. My husband was shot right through the neck. It didn’t hit anything crucial but he spent ten days in the hospital and sent right back out into the jungle. That was his second deployment. He re-enlisted but switched over to the Army and retired after 20 years. Now he has what I call his Frankenstein scars on each side of the neck. The wounds healed, the PTSD didn’t.

    • @mozdickson
      @mozdickson 6 месяцев назад +16

      God bless and heal him.

    • @padwar3542
      @padwar3542 6 месяцев назад +1

      🙏🏻 Thank you sir for your service

    • @indycharlie
      @indycharlie 6 месяцев назад +3

      BP , please tell your hubby , an old RVN medic said Welcome Home . Some scars , as they say . Cannot be seen . Stay strong brother ! There are less of us by the day .. doc lll Corp

    • @offthextraz5923
      @offthextraz5923 6 месяцев назад +1

      @@indycharlieThank you for your service sir!

    • @dustinhamabata902
      @dustinhamabata902 6 месяцев назад +5

      Ukraine is Russias Vietnam. where USA lost 50,000 people, Russia has lost 500,000 people.
      So we can say Ukraine is Russia's Vietnam ×10

  • @c1v1c2v2
    @c1v1c2v2 6 месяцев назад +221

    There was a Chinese volunteer who shared his experience in Ukraine. His squad was wiped twice with him and an African volunteer as the only survivors. He described it as an unwinnable hell hole and meat grinder. He's been on the frontline 2 weeks.

    • @afcgeo882
      @afcgeo882 6 месяцев назад +12

      @@c1v1c2v2 I watched that too.

    • @jaxonl7810
      @jaxonl7810 6 месяцев назад +13

      Fake news

    • @antoniussamuelson3748
      @antoniussamuelson3748 6 месяцев назад +53

      ​@@jaxonl7810it's didnt make the news. It's his experience in war in ukraine that he want to share so everyone can know what happen.

    • @antoniussamuelson3748
      @antoniussamuelson3748 6 месяцев назад

      it's didnt make the news. It's his experience in war in ukraine that he want to share so everyone can know what happen. ​@@jaxonl7810

    • @afcgeo882
      @afcgeo882 6 месяцев назад +27

      @@jaxonl7810 No news here… it’s a video on RUclips.

  • @afcgeo882
    @afcgeo882 6 месяцев назад +291

    Preston, I was born and grew up in Russia, but served in the US Air Force, including a deployment in AFG. It’s not really comparable, even to remote FOBs. Russian forward bases lack infrastructure (housing, food, clean water, showers, etc.) on permanent basis. Ours did not. If you were at a remote location, you were there for a week, two tops. Then you came back to a larger base for a while. Not the Russians. They don’t have the logistics for it. They get supply trains, but they’re not getting the big stuff or quantities. There are no C-17s, C-130s or even Chinooks full of stuff coming their way. All their stuff is brought by stake trucks or flatbeds. That’s why they went into towns for toilet paper, food, soda, booze, batteries. blankets, etc. They have no PXs. They don’t do MWR. There are no movies, no gyms… nothing.
    Without the ability to go into a town they have nothing, which feels like a prison.

    • @JJORIS4199
      @JJORIS4199 6 месяцев назад +5

      I get them

    • @bigbigmurphy
      @bigbigmurphy 6 месяцев назад +19

      I wonder what the conditions were like for the Soviets during their time in AFG. The real question is, will the US be able to maintain comparable logistics during a peer to peer conflict.

    • @MarkTheDrunkenSailor
      @MarkTheDrunkenSailor 6 месяцев назад +18

      thats what happens in a pier conflict nobody has air superiority

    • @sche2215
      @sche2215 6 месяцев назад

      omg what a piece of western propaganda...

    • @MMOStein
      @MMOStein 6 месяцев назад +32

      @@bigbigmurphy Yes because we have the war machine to do so. Did it in WW2 on *2 fronts* and in basically every smaller conflict after, there's no reason US can't do it again nowadays, we are stronger, richer, and more humble than ever (being too arrogant hurt us bad in Vietnam and Afghan, etc). People are just not used to the idea of war anymore so they think we are weaker than we actually are.
      The biggest problem in the west is that Europe has basically no war logistics prepared for major conflicts and could end up just burdening the US when its go time, which is why Obama and Trump have been so critical of Nato getting off their asses. Europe obviously has what it takes to be a devastating war machine but they basically went to sleep after WW2 and this is ultimately bad for the US. I imagine babysitting an entire continent WHILE fighting a war on 2 fronts wasn't the original pitch for Nato.
      Nonetheless, Putin may have believed his "weak west" delusion but I think China and Iran know full well not to "fuck around" and "find out" with America.

  • @leifsoderman5065
    @leifsoderman5065 6 месяцев назад +111

    Thanks, I have read about Swedish guys coming home wounded in UA heal and then go back to UA.and fight again, and they do it as volunteers.

    • @STINKYcheese9
      @STINKYcheese9 6 месяцев назад +28

      @@JJORIS4199says the same type of guy who also opposes conscription in the case of even something like WW2

    • @djanitatiana
      @djanitatiana 6 месяцев назад +25

      @@JJORIS4199 Heroes disagree with you. No one would be free with this loser outlook

    • @Malvisk
      @Malvisk 6 месяцев назад +21

      @@JJORIS4199 evil succeeds when good people do nothing.

    • @gregoryfilin8040
      @gregoryfilin8040 6 месяцев назад

      ​@@STINKYcheese9I am for conscription. Of your own people. Not taking in foreigners.

    • @gregoryfilin8040
      @gregoryfilin8040 6 месяцев назад +4

      ​@@scubapro12zBut that's not the situation. In this situation, someone else is being invaded by someone else, and you picked a side and decided to fight before getting a full spread of the facts. That's the definition of bloodthirst.

  • @sergeyb8
    @sergeyb8 6 месяцев назад +175

    Interesting... Just today a famous Z blogger Sergey Aliev said that this pointless war needs to stop right now. He said russians have no idea what they are fighting for and what victory even means in this context.

    • @that1guy_248
      @that1guy_248 6 месяцев назад +51

      It sounds like he's going to meet concrete pavement after a hike up a multistory building. Or maybe they'll be crueler and put him in prison just to reconscript him back to the front lines but in a Storm Z unit.

    • @sergeyb8
      @sergeyb8 6 месяцев назад +25

      @@that1guy_248 We'll see... His friend Girkin is already serving time

    • @altechelghanforever9906
      @altechelghanforever9906 6 месяцев назад

      @@tomhenry897 And just why would one of the largest countries on the planet need to expand? Expand where? Ok they have the Donbas, so what? The original plan, as per Putin's words, was a 3 Day Special Military Operation to "de-nazify Ukraine." It's been 2 and a half years and 1/3rd of this objective is nowhere close to have been reached. Even Stalin himself would not double down to this level.

    • @sergeyb8
      @sergeyb8 6 месяцев назад +18

      @@tomhenry897 famous Z blogger disagrees with you after talking to ruZo soldier

    • @looinrims
      @looinrims 6 месяцев назад +17

      @@tomhenry897yeah! Expand!
      Wait what’s the point of ‘expanding’? Why? For what? What’s been gained? How does that impact anyone positively?

  • @ethan2285
    @ethan2285 6 месяцев назад +21

    Thank you Preston, I always look forward to your videos.

  • @Hebdomad7
    @Hebdomad7 6 месяцев назад +18

    I've lost family to lung cancer. Lung cancer is a horrific way to go. Grandfather quit chewing gum, gave him an extra ten years which allowed him to be at some major family events. Lung cancer still got him with the amount he used to smoke.
    Get off the vapes/smokes as soon as you can. Not just for you, for everyone around you.

    • @snuscaboose1942
      @snuscaboose1942 6 месяцев назад +3

      The vapes help people get off the smokes, best not to vape at all but vaping is far more healthier than smoking. Vaping has been around for 20 years and there are no records of it causing lung cancer, unlike smoking.

    • @imarchello
      @imarchello 6 месяцев назад

      Lung cancer can get you even if you don't smoke. Life's a lottery, some win, some lose. Only the odds change a bit.

  • @Jeffgarmon-ji5iu
    @Jeffgarmon-ji5iu 6 месяцев назад +1

    Thanks!

  • @MM22966
    @MM22966 6 месяцев назад +93

    One main difference in how the US/West does things: You don't bribe your chain of command.

    • @jamesdixon2857
      @jamesdixon2857 6 месяцев назад +16

      No, America gives up and leaves. They never win a war or conflict they just leave. For example the taliban is still incharge while America ran back home lol

    • @dynamicascension981
      @dynamicascension981 6 месяцев назад +45

      @@jamesdixon2857the taliban hid in Pakistan until we left.

    • @gregoryfilin8040
      @gregoryfilin8040 6 месяцев назад

      ​@@dynamicascension981Case in point.

    • @looinrims
      @looinrims 6 месяцев назад +7

      @@jamesdixon2857LMFAO you can’t cite more than two instances throughout the whole of American history

    • @LizardSpork
      @LizardSpork 6 месяцев назад +23

      ​​@@jamesdixon2857After 20 years, thousands of miles from home. Think about that. Which modern army have been able to achieve that kind of logistical feat? The Russians can't even supply their troops 100 miles from their own border over flat terrain.

  • @jimmaddox2415
    @jimmaddox2415 6 месяцев назад +78

    War Is Hell,no matter what side you're fighting for😪

    • @jaxonl7810
      @jaxonl7810 6 месяцев назад +4

      Says the putin apologist

    • @airon89toyota
      @airon89toyota 6 месяцев назад

      ​@@jaxonl7810bro, you believe the Ukrainians are faring better?

    • @edwarddeere4925
      @edwarddeere4925 6 месяцев назад

      @@jaxonl7810you’re fat

    • @edwarddeere4925
      @edwarddeere4925 6 месяцев назад

      @@jaxonl7810fat

    • @edwarddeere4925
      @edwarddeere4925 6 месяцев назад

      @@jaxonl7810you look goofy asf. Go outside.

  • @PacificOtter-mg2bi
    @PacificOtter-mg2bi 6 месяцев назад +19

    Energy drinks are everywhere, all the time, in the US Army. It’s crazy. If you see someone walking out of a Costco with a 24 pack or Monster, theyre a veteran.

    • @oldphart-zc3jz
      @oldphart-zc3jz 6 месяцев назад

      Costco needs to sell rip it.

    • @nick5062
      @nick5062 6 месяцев назад +1

      I sometimes watch the Funker350 channel and always thought it strange how such a macho military guy was so into the energy drink 'Pink Mist'. 'Paul The Combat Vet' advocates for 'Strike' gum, which seems like a product name much more on point for a military man. However, I recently found out that the military jargon for blood splatters is 'pink mist'. Now it all makes sense.

  • @FLMan4UA24
    @FLMan4UA24 6 месяцев назад +27

    In regards to him saying that the Ukrainians are in the same situation as him, I think the closest would be that once you are in uniform it is very very difficult to get out. There is a major rehabilitation hospital in the city I live in, and I get to grab drinks with those recovering there, at a close by bar. They use concussions as a euphemism for sever PTSD, the bar for a medical discharge is far higher than Western military standards, but I don't think it is as bad as on the Russian side where they are sending men back into the fight with their medical dressing still on.

    • @theincrediblefishsandwich2162
      @theincrediblefishsandwich2162 6 месяцев назад

      Also, the Ukrainians are fighting for their homeland, their people and their families… makes it much easier when you can see the purpose in what you are doing.

    • @dpmjole
      @dpmjole 5 месяцев назад +1

      You don't think??? we've seen hundreds of videos of men going to work or riding a tram getting kidnapped by SBU and send to the front, none of that from Russia

    • @benbevan1442
      @benbevan1442 5 месяцев назад

      @@dpmjole You're joking? Literally have people being arrested in Russia for a petty crime and handed a mobilization notice while in the police van.

    • @dpmjole
      @dpmjole 5 месяцев назад

      @@benbevan1442 I'm not taking about criminals, honest working men arrested on their way to work or a grocery store or just walking a dog ... literally kidnapped and taken to the front

    • @cagrulucyildirimoglu771
      @cagrulucyildirimoglu771 5 месяцев назад

      It is the easy way out to just say "oh it is terrible on both sides". Ukraine doesn't have Storm Z troops like Russia does. Ukraine also does not hit their head against a wall like Russia does. When they tried to push in their summer offensive and it did not result in massive gains, they did not say "at least we are getting some territory, we are keeping the pressure on Russia", they said "this is not working now, we will change course".
      Russia has been attacking and attacking into Ukrainian lines, taking horrific losses and gaining little ground. That little ground is worth something to Russia while Ukraine does not risk their strength for meagre gains.

  • @alphawiskeysix
    @alphawiskeysix 6 месяцев назад +2

    Yep - East coast city boy here... a few years in the Army and a combat deployment later, I was hooked on dipping, courtesy of my buddies from the South. Gave it up when I got out (because I had to) but years later while backpacking in the woods (civilian kids thing) I could feel those old cravings for dip return.

  • @slfurr4
    @slfurr4 6 месяцев назад +38

    Fratricide not causing massive holes to open along the Russian front is a testament to these guys toughness, fealty, stupidity, or a combination of those.

    • @JJORIS4199
      @JJORIS4199 6 месяцев назад +1

      A bit of both keeps a man stable enough to

    • @airon89toyota
      @airon89toyota 6 месяцев назад +7

      Honest to God, both sides have shown sheer tenacity and a will to fight to the bitter end.

    • @Cat-3-3-3
      @Cat-3-3-3 6 месяцев назад +13

      @@airon89toyotamost of us peasants do while the rotten royalty watches; maybe in the next life it will be different

    • @airon89toyota
      @airon89toyota 6 месяцев назад +1

      @@Cat-3-3-3 you ain't wrong

    • @JohnWick-stardawg
      @JohnWick-stardawg 6 месяцев назад +3

      ​@@Cat-3-3-3 lol the fact you said all that good stuff and finished off with hoping its better in the next life.the next life was given by the royalty to the peasants so that they'd at least take solace in the fact that theres a "next life" and its gonna be "heaven".

  • @matthewives3933
    @matthewives3933 6 месяцев назад +16

    @PrestonStewart
    Hey man, it's good to have you and a few select other youtubers giving info. I'm volunteering over here, and it can be difficult to get a perspective as to how things are going. Your videos are always well researched and level-headed. Thanks :)

    • @samholdsworth420
      @samholdsworth420 6 месяцев назад +1

      Hey I'm fighting in Ukraine as well... I have a 500 KD ratio
      70% of my kills where from headshots

    • @crimsoncardinal208
      @crimsoncardinal208 6 месяцев назад +5

      ​@samholdsworth420 haha you are so funny. Here take 20 rubles

    • @mfallen2023
      @mfallen2023 6 месяцев назад

      Kudos man! Stay safe out there!

    • @cka4ok51rus8
      @cka4ok51rus8 6 месяцев назад +1

      Go home.

    • @mfallen2023
      @mfallen2023 6 месяцев назад

      @@cka4ok51rus8 You go home

  • @deanjericevic8912
    @deanjericevic8912 6 месяцев назад +14

    An interesting & insightful perspective; from the soldiers view point! I liked that analogy, the “wheel of fortune”, laid out with all the horrors of war on it, catastrophic!

    • @deanjericevic8912
      @deanjericevic8912 6 месяцев назад

      I should say that it is the wheel of misfortune!

  • @clockco1362
    @clockco1362 6 месяцев назад +21

    Thank you for bringing every perspective preston!

    • @LaplacianDalembertian
      @LaplacianDalembertian 6 месяцев назад

      +, I get perspective now. Another Estonian nazi says "Russians gonna lose whoa", and he puts Nafo on his avatars. Another delusional source of noise.

  • @NickMcRyan
    @NickMcRyan 6 месяцев назад +7

    Thanks for staying busy Preston your take is probably one of my favorite perspectives on this conflict followed by Paul from Combat Vet Reacts then Ryan McBeth. Cappi and Task and purpose and Habitual Line Crosser are good, but I think they’re more comedy mixed in with informal material. Where as you and Paul seem to criticize all sides when it’s apparently needed at times. Kudos!

    • @PrestonStewart
      @PrestonStewart  6 месяцев назад +4

      Hey thanks for the note Nick, that’s some high praise being mentioned alongside those guys!

  • @keeganvogl6293
    @keeganvogl6293 6 месяцев назад +1

    My brother was a Seabee stationed in and around Kandahar for his first deployment, he'd talk about how bad his smoking got while on base and how expensive it was once he was cycled back to Cali. But he LOVED the British and French commissaries because it was new and different.

  • @novascotianinfj
    @novascotianinfj 6 месяцев назад +4

    "You see, killbots have a preset kill limit. Knowing their weakness, I sent wave after wave of my own men at them until they reached their limit and shut down." - Captain Zap Brannigan

  • @dominickgoertzen
    @dominickgoertzen 6 месяцев назад +20

    As a military man myself, i can only feel bad for the Russian soldier.
    To be treated so poorly, have little to no direction, no hope or real motivation to get out alive... and be expected to still give it all courageously? Damn.
    They're still people in a "professional" military.

    • @Grendel650
      @Grendel650 6 месяцев назад +3

      Thet don't show anyone else any sympathy. Why should I feel sorry for them? They're there to absorb Ukrainian ammunition. Some of them are dual use. 🎻

    • @wingedvictory8694
      @wingedvictory8694 6 месяцев назад +2

      do not feel sorry after children hospital strike

    • @NikolayBychkovRus
      @NikolayBychkovRus 5 месяцев назад +1

      Man, just don't believe all you see on RUclips. I work in Shebekino, you can find there is it and how far from battlefield. RuAF staff so much food, they share with us. Cherry drink is awesome:) The most important thing for me- 99% of soldiers I see are optimistic.

    • @Grendel650
      @Grendel650 5 месяцев назад +1

      @@NikolayBychkovRus do you ever see them twice? 🤣

    • @looinrims
      @looinrims 5 месяцев назад +1

      Why would you? War crimes are committed in such numbers you almost get to a point where for every one Russian participant a war crimes or crime against humanity can be found

  • @didntwork9990
    @didntwork9990 6 месяцев назад +5

    Nice Work Mr. Preston! Thank You!

  • @taznaf5978
    @taznaf5978 5 месяцев назад +1

    great reporting!

  • @alexdinu8782
    @alexdinu8782 6 месяцев назад +4

    Great video sir

  • @LuigiLuigi6666
    @LuigiLuigi6666 6 месяцев назад +4

    Very good video Preston, I really appreciate you talking about this with us! Gets me a clearer view on the situation. Thank you!

  • @shanewallace1126
    @shanewallace1126 6 месяцев назад +1

    Thanks for your work, appreciate it. Good! Tabacco, yeh defy death, double-time life, pay at door on way out, dang! 🙃

  • @JamesKonzek-xr5zy
    @JamesKonzek-xr5zy 6 месяцев назад +7

    I was in Ukraine for almost 6 months. Im 55, never had a drop of coffee prior to my arrival. Now I'm a coffee hound. Lol

  • @4xhoser
    @4xhoser 6 месяцев назад +2

    Really enjoyed this thanks Preston and team! 🤘🇨🇦🇺🇦

  • @rdyer8764
    @rdyer8764 6 месяцев назад +2

    One important thing about your videos... While I may not always hear news that I like, I always feel more informed.

  • @gregohnoes
    @gregohnoes 6 месяцев назад +21

    that was one of the best ads inserted into a video. Hands down. Im not even a smoker and im considering a purchase

    • @ErukanuSenpai
      @ErukanuSenpai 6 месяцев назад +9

      If you're not a smoker, then don't
      it will do the opposite for you

    • @mozdickson
      @mozdickson 6 месяцев назад

      😂

  • @heberje
    @heberje 6 месяцев назад +10

    I imagine being on the front lines in any conflict is not good.

    • @JJORIS4199
      @JJORIS4199 6 месяцев назад

      True

    • @paddington1670
      @paddington1670 6 месяцев назад +1

      what an understatement

    • @BidensTopGangstalker
      @BidensTopGangstalker 6 месяцев назад

      I recommend reading first hand accounts of the difference between Japanese and American soldiers experiences in the Pacific War. "Not good" is a very very wide spectrum.

  • @Leftyotism
    @Leftyotism 6 месяцев назад +4

    Too bad you didn't get to meet Peter "Hasta" Fouché, from Project Konstantin. Sadly he got KIA just recently. He speaks from a combat medic point of view, and he also said what is needed and what is lacking at given times. 🕯

  • @davidgoulding1386
    @davidgoulding1386 6 месяцев назад

    Intersting video today! Thanks for bringing us daily news. Its much appreciated coming from someone like youraelf who has military experience.
    Yoy are my first source to go to when i finish work to find out what and how things are going down.
    Keep up the great work

  • @Steven-pu1bi
    @Steven-pu1bi 6 месяцев назад +2

    Very interesting video. Thanks.

  • @tabithan2978
    @tabithan2978 6 месяцев назад +2

    The new study on brains of vets shows that the waves from explosions do harm to brains, not CTE but similar. Makes them aggressive, fragile. The mass shooter from Maine was a trainer for grenades. He apparently had it.

  • @virabhadra
    @virabhadra 6 месяцев назад +5

    Dude that segue...masterful. Just about fell outta my chair. Fum owes you a handy at least.

  • @BradfordRMcKnight
    @BradfordRMcKnight 6 месяцев назад +18

    That video of the Russian commander giving the speech to a thousand new recruits is very eerie. “You will die soon, but know this, mother Russia will never forget you”. The opposite of what my SF friends went in with. They always acted like it’s just a job and there was no chance of them not coming back from their tours.

    • @nisher15
      @nisher15 6 месяцев назад +9

      This war is completely different than what western countries have been fighting since the korean war.

    • @afcgeo882
      @afcgeo882 6 месяцев назад

      @@BradfordRMcKnight Acting it and thinking it are different things. What you think about on your long flight there is a lot more real than what they tell you.

    • @pietersteenkamp5241
      @pietersteenkamp5241 6 месяцев назад +8

      Which is a very practical point of view when you fight rebels/gangsters in third world countries with the full weight and power of the worlds superpower behind you. The Russians understand at their core that things are not like that in the real world and for soldiers from almost any other nation. Once America gets involved in another massive land war they will quickly find that even superpowers are limited in what they can do to preserve their soldiers in fundamentally attritional warfare.

  • @robertharrington2658
    @robertharrington2658 6 месяцев назад +2

    Excellent Video Thanks 🫡🇺🇦🇺🇸

  • @Jake-sg1xr
    @Jake-sg1xr 6 месяцев назад +3

    Imagine how these Russian soldiers are gonna be treated by their government after the war is over. Severe PTSD will be widespread and ignored

  • @Eddie_Munster
    @Eddie_Munster 6 месяцев назад +5

    That advertisement transition though

  • @ľőŵďǒpė86
    @ľőŵďǒpė86 6 месяцев назад

    mmm warm rip-its and pines… so much nostalgia. i think i’ll order a pack or two on line if that’s possible just for old times sake lol.
    thanks for that reminder!

  • @tyguy6296
    @tyguy6296 6 месяцев назад +4

    I often wonder what conditions for US/Canadian/UK/French/Etc. forces would be like if we were to get directly involved in Ukraine.
    Russian and Ukrainian forces are telling these kinds of stories that seem horrendous to us here in the west, but they are not that different from the stories we hear from WW1 and WW2 vets. Western coalition forces are so used to the conditions we have faced in Iraq/Afghanistan that everything going on in europe sounds almost barbaric. would NATO forces have to endure the same trench warfare? or would the technological and logistical advantages of NATO prevent the same experiences for our boots on the ground?
    I hope we never have to find out, but I fear that we will soon get a reminder of what war is like when we are not absolutely dominant over land, sea, air, and initiative.

    • @ПавелКрот-х5ы
      @ПавелКрот-х5ы 6 месяцев назад

      As far as Ukraine war goes, seems unlikely You folks would have forward bases with all the amenities You enjoy at home. I mean it's not like Iraqi/Afghani insurgents had any long-range artillery, rocket systems, helicopters and fighter jets to bomb the heck out of the facilities, right? These were closer to police operations than to peer vs peer military conflict.

    • @afcgeo882
      @afcgeo882 6 месяцев назад

      @@tyguy6296 Western forces have insane amounts of long-range weapons that would absolutely devastate anything within 1000 km of the front line, thinning out the enemy’s ability to attack large formations. Then those formations attack, following massive air strikes delivered by bombers and attack fighters, all while controlled by airborne command centers. It’s a VERY different type of warfare which Russia cannot fight, and it’s why it has nuclear weapons.

  • @mr_hitstick.4217
    @mr_hitstick.4217 6 месяцев назад +3

    lol flavored air is wild Preston, cool idea tho. I picked up my smoking habit in Korea. The Afghan Ciggs def made deployment a little smoother. Had to quit cold turkey after I got out and tried out for a Junior College basketball team.

  • @ThaFunkster100
    @ThaFunkster100 6 месяцев назад

    Very interesting video, I would like to hear more content like this from you. Subscribed.

  • @vincenthu9773
    @vincenthu9773 6 месяцев назад

    Love your videos man, always giving us a new perspective on things. I learn something new every time I watch one of your videos

  • @eoinocnaimhsi2598
    @eoinocnaimhsi2598 6 месяцев назад

    Keep it up Preston. Really great content.

  • @ifneeded1
    @ifneeded1 6 месяцев назад +1

    Minor quibble, your camera's auto focus is struggling with focusing. You can see this as the books in the background come in and out of focus (see the text on the spines).

    • @Wz2bricks
      @Wz2bricks 6 месяцев назад

      That's intended, like portrait mode on an iphone. It blurs the background a bit to give the actual target extra pop.

  • @MrChit-od9po
    @MrChit-od9po 6 месяцев назад +1

    Im surprised your subs aren't more than tnp. Both great channels.

  • @Xover112
    @Xover112 6 месяцев назад +4

    You understand that you are saying absurd things? Ukraine cant find enough men but you are saying about Russia sending wounded back to front line.
    And Zelensky is talking about Ukraine having 30k casualties

    • @hrrdrr8428
      @hrrdrr8428 6 месяцев назад

      How are those things connected at all? Where's your logic?

  • @chipotleeater
    @chipotleeater 6 месяцев назад

    Ur a good guy. I like how not only do you credit sources, you support them as well.

  • @o______opanasovych
    @o______opanasovych 4 месяца назад

    Tbh we have something near about it. Especially with reassigning from service. You may be recognized as “partially capable or suitable” maybe or how to say it in correct way, but fact that (at least I have not seen it) if you have severe injury that affect your moves or something else important - no one pushing you with walking sticks for disabled to the 0 frontline.

  • @bombheadgames9565
    @bombheadgames9565 6 месяцев назад +5

    Must be depressing if you're 300 km from the front line and watching your comrades die around you from himars.

  • @rogerwilco5918
    @rogerwilco5918 6 месяцев назад +7

    Took me 25 years to quit smoking after the army

    • @tomhenry897
      @tomhenry897 6 месяцев назад +1

      Took me 20 years to stop drinking
      Still smoking

    • @rogerwilco5918
      @rogerwilco5918 6 месяцев назад +1

      @tomhenry897 😆 still drinking
      Still haven't gotten to that first step yet

  • @Leftyotism
    @Leftyotism 6 месяцев назад +1

    Troop rotation is no longer measured in months, it's in percentage now. 40 ish percent down you rotate. [UA]

  • @blindeyedog01
    @blindeyedog01 6 месяцев назад +1

    My second tour I was a M2 gunner, I think I smoked 3 packs a day. Still having a hard time kicking the habit. 😢😢😢

  • @Choicago
    @Choicago 6 месяцев назад +7

    one of the most harrowing reveals has been prestons thick ass head of hair he's been hiding from us under hats

    • @thrwwccnt5845
      @thrwwccnt5845 6 месяцев назад +1

      maybe he got a turkish transplant

  • @Callsign_Spartacus_37Fox
    @Callsign_Spartacus_37Fox 6 месяцев назад +2

    I’ve talked to Russians that my team has captured (International Legion, Code 9.2)…Russia also has an incentive to use these soldiers up so that Russia doesn’t have to pay benefits or the land grants they have promised to those that signed contracts.

    • @Callsign_Spartacus_37Fox
      @Callsign_Spartacus_37Fox 6 месяцев назад +2

      @@JM-ct9mx Nope, some of us just do something other our life, and therefore don’t need validation by losers on the internet.

  • @mozdickson
    @mozdickson 6 месяцев назад

    What would we do without plausible, quality, deep analysis like this? No wonder the MSM hate social media.

  • @danielallan8061
    @danielallan8061 6 месяцев назад +8

    Locking down a unit to prevent desertions and having military police behind the unit was pretty standard practice in both world wars. In WW1, countries would readily make an example of soldiers found outside their unit's zone. Plenty of executions happened. Even if the soldier was just lost after a battle.

    • @UFO-Ark
      @UFO-Ark 6 месяцев назад

      Shocking

    • @kev_sen
      @kev_sen 6 месяцев назад +1

      Very strong similarities to the first big one. There is a front line and then there is a suicide line in front of that where you are going to catch hell it's only a matter of time, everyone is afraid when it's their turn there.

    • @danielallan8061
      @danielallan8061 6 месяцев назад +3

      @@kev_sen Reminds me of Spears from Band of Brothers. Soldiers need to accept that they are already dead in order to survive. Sadly, I actually heard that from a DPR soldier in the documentary "Airport Donetsk". He said that he had to rid himself of his will to live in order to charge through a hailstorm of bullets.

  • @fredbyoutubing
    @fredbyoutubing 6 месяцев назад +23

    Maybe they are preventing soldiers from coming back alive because they would start talking about their experiences with locals.
    It's one thing to see posts on the internet, but an other when it's your cousin coming back with PTSD.

    • @LizardSpork
      @LizardSpork 6 месяцев назад

      When those hundreds of thousands of Russian veterans finally gets released back into society with poor healthcare... Russia is going to be fucked.

    • @EmperorFist323
      @EmperorFist323 6 месяцев назад +2

      Bro you are definitely a teenager if this is your mentality

    • @afcgeo882
      @afcgeo882 6 месяцев назад

      @@fredbyoutubing Thousands come back alive.

    • @fredbyoutubing
      @fredbyoutubing 6 месяцев назад

      @@afcgeo882 And thousands more don't according to this soldier.

    • @fredbyoutubing
      @fredbyoutubing 6 месяцев назад

      @@EmperorFist323 I wish. Some teenagers nowadays have more wisdom than adults...Even though they are annoying.

  • @Dimka43
    @Dimka43 6 месяцев назад +1

    I have to say this was a great educational video! Short and easy to digest without any sensitive touchy subjects 😉 . Dmitriy does do good work ! I speak and read good russian and Ukraine and will say his translations are accurate and honest... 👌. Great video and thanks for sharing ..

  • @davey64
    @davey64 6 месяцев назад +1

    Hey Preston. Big fan of yours for quite some time now. This piece has really shown your growth online. It humanizes what, at times, seems inhuman. I know it must be hard presenting any media in today's hyper-partisan world. You really go out of your way to show the harsh realities of conflict. Keep up the good work.

  • @hambone4728
    @hambone4728 6 месяцев назад +2

    Fuck you've upped your sponsor segment lead in game! I didn't even see that coming. I was busy thinking about all the Rip-Its I drank and bottles of plastic water that had baked in the sun.

  • @jeffsmith3480
    @jeffsmith3480 6 месяцев назад

    Great job brother 👏

  • @robertsolomielke5134
    @robertsolomielke5134 6 месяцев назад

    TY Preston. Suffering is the universal outcome of war, and perhaps humanities destiny. We do know this in our many tales of pain, from all nations.

  • @joshadams8761
    @joshadams8761 6 месяцев назад +1

    As a sponsor, Füm is both interesting and relevant!

    • @paddington1670
      @paddington1670 6 месяцев назад +2

      better than better help or robin hood that's for dang sure

  • @onkeldunkel665
    @onkeldunkel665 5 месяцев назад

    @ 1:42 is that an mg42 he's holding? I've heard of the occasional Mossin Nagant, but still.

  • @KeithMelville
    @KeithMelville 6 месяцев назад

    A fascinating and uncommon perspective of what the Russian soldier probably experiences in Ukraine, from an American with front-line service in Afghanistan. Thank you Preston and I hope you find a soldier from Ukraine, who can tell you like the war is like from the Ukrainian experience.

  • @pyrho1
    @pyrho1 6 месяцев назад +4

    Nobody smoked more on the CG cutters than the cooks. And if you had messcook duty, you wouod probably pick up smoking if you didn't already smoke

    • @afcgeo882
      @afcgeo882 6 месяцев назад

      @@pyrho1 Not anymore.

  • @Kitties-of-Doom
    @Kitties-of-Doom 6 месяцев назад +8

    Im sitting in Russia. I spoke to a sniper recon that got back. Ran out his two tours. Came home in a year and a bit, happy as a baby goat. Got paid 350,000 Russian rubles per month the entire time. Got paid in full and isn't planning on going back. All units are different. This guy had war experience from Afgan war. He was in his late 40s.

    • @Chaldon-hl6yk
      @Chaldon-hl6yk 6 месяцев назад +2

      This guy had war experience from Afgan war - hes over 60

  • @pfclumi
    @pfclumi 6 месяцев назад

    Adding to favorites

  • @jojomargogo
    @jojomargogo 6 месяцев назад +1

    Are you going to do any meet and greet while in DC?

  • @emceha
    @emceha 6 месяцев назад

    At the end he was talking about very specific type of soldier - assault troops. They have minimal training, old gear, 4 mags. They role is to do two waves of “recon by force” , reveal Ukrainian positions and deplete drones. Third wave will be an actual soldiers, you will easily recognize them on footage because they often have optics.

  • @Mia-single
    @Mia-single 6 месяцев назад +93

    Maybe you could get an interview with CivDiv

  • @indycharlie
    @indycharlie 6 месяцев назад

    Hmm ... MAN ! I wish we'd of had energy drinks in RVN ! None of this is different than it was for us . Unless it was daylight , and in a " claimed " safe village or town . We never left our FSB , LZ or base camp . We sure as hell didn't go driving around to see the sights ! As far as injuries go , there were lots of guys who returned to the bush after wounded . Did anybody get gut shot , get bandaged and return to the bush ? Only on a FSB or remote LZ or battle where you were about to be overrun , and couldn't get in a bird . BITD the vast majority of guys smoked and we all ( mostly ) used our choice of intake of a stress reliever . Though most did , I never took a R&R . IMO , according to the guys I talked to after coming back . It was a very mixed bag , about if they regretted going or not . Stay strong LT , cool video . And for any of you RVN guys out there . Welcome home and STAY STRONG! There are less of us by the day ... doc 68-71 lll Corp

  • @peggyjoyce7763
    @peggyjoyce7763 6 месяцев назад

    Thank you Preston for these remarkable reports both Middle East and Ukraine. Appreciate the level headed and reality based reporting.

  • @Journeyman107
    @Journeyman107 6 месяцев назад +7

    Was that a Warhammer reference? Why are there so many Warhammer references involved in this war?

    • @fillosof66689
      @fillosof66689 6 месяцев назад +7

      Because some of the people that volunteered or dragged into the trenches were nerds, with nerdy interests. World of Tanks servers look like they were hit with a freaking plague for the very same reason.

    • @Journeyman107
      @Journeyman107 6 месяцев назад +1

      @@fillosof66689 interesting- just Ukrainian servers or globally?

    • @JustAsPlanned1
      @JustAsPlanned1 6 месяцев назад +6

      @@Journeyman107 Eastern European ones where Russian, Ukrainians and other post Soviet states play together

    • @artnull13
      @artnull13 6 месяцев назад +3

      Russia loves warhammer - grimdark is their reality

    • @fillosof66689
      @fillosof66689 6 месяцев назад

      @@artnull13 nah, I'd say that in Russia WH 40k is far from being on the top of the mind of even certified nerds and people steeped in internet countries. Maybe among the wacky monsrchists, imperialists, nationalists and the like. During the Soviet and post Soviet eras local writers created fictional universe of their own that can give WH a run of its money in terms of grim darkness and opressive regimes. After all, they had experiences to draw upon, instead of just writing an abstruct satire on spherical dictatirhips in vacuum.

  • @Typhaon89
    @Typhaon89 6 месяцев назад +1

    Thx

  • @danielallan8061
    @danielallan8061 6 месяцев назад +5

    The Warhammer reference at 6:10 is interesting.

    • @lucagerulat307
      @lucagerulat307 6 месяцев назад +5

      Warhammer is pretty big in Russia. Apparently there are even some Russian units using patches and even symbols on vehicles. Not as insane as the fortnight dancing Wagner soldiers in bakhmut but its a weird world we live in.

    • @ChucksSEADnDEAD
      @ChucksSEADnDEAD 6 месяцев назад +4

      ​@@lucagerulat307 There's also a Ukrainian unit called Khorne Group, there's been sightings of Russians wearing BEAR and Ukrainians USEC patches from Tarkov and the separatists have a unit called Sparta Battalion after Metro 2033.

    • @ArchOfficial
      @ArchOfficial 6 месяцев назад

      @@ChucksSEADnDEAD Russia's entire fake modern history is based on LARPing after all. It only makes sense their military are the biggest LARPers.

    • @paddington1670
      @paddington1670 6 месяцев назад +1

      My friend plays Warhammer 40k professionally, he's one of the top rated Ultramarines players and plays on a team, i wont say which one but hes ranked 150 out of like 14,000 on the international circuit. We started playing in 2nd edition but only he kept up with it all these years. I still remember my mom and dad saying, "ahhh you guys will never keep up with it when youre older" and my friend always reminds me of that quote.

  • @АлександрБушев-о7т
    @АлександрБушев-о7т 6 месяцев назад +1

    Читал этот пост в оригинале. Престон зачитал его не полностью, там ещё немало интересного.

    • @paddington1670
      @paddington1670 6 месяцев назад +1

      interesting, thanks for sharing.

  • @brianpeck4818
    @brianpeck4818 6 месяцев назад +1

    Ty Preston

  • @BlindxSide
    @BlindxSide 6 месяцев назад +2

    "have you ever wondered what live was like for a Russian soldier on the frontline?" - No. No I have not.

  • @NorthernAviationAcademy
    @NorthernAviationAcademy 6 месяцев назад +4

    I just quit smoking Mx never smoked before Iraq .. smoked like a chimney in Iraq and for over 10 years

  • @Silvervwolfee
    @Silvervwolfee 6 месяцев назад

    This guy is good! Very interesting

  • @shooth100
    @shooth100 6 месяцев назад +2

    Welp,I'll try out FUM. I've been smoking since I joined in 2007. Can't breathe and cough/gag all the time.
    Anyway, good video as always.

  • @seanohare5488
    @seanohare5488 6 месяцев назад +1

    Well said big bad Preston as always

  • @elvarsmar2280
    @elvarsmar2280 6 месяцев назад +7

    Maybe you could get an interview with CivDiv?

    • @paddington1670
      @paddington1670 6 месяцев назад +2

      That would be a very interesting interview!

    • @Cat-3-3-3
      @Cat-3-3-3 6 месяцев назад

      🤢🤢

  • @nightwaves3203
    @nightwaves3203 6 месяцев назад +1

    Sounds like a personal problem to me. Do you think SF and Seals would complain when their usual relaxed FOB is a daily target of high tech missiles. The US is trying to get Russia to roll out their good stuff and so far the US can't stop the common stuff Russia uses or get US equipment to have reliable results. Russians aren't villagers.

  • @FlightLine4240
    @FlightLine4240 6 месяцев назад +1

    Great journalism Preston. Really appreciate your objectivity!

  • @vladimirdosen6677
    @vladimirdosen6677 6 месяцев назад

    Link to the post?

  • @DrCarlBooze
    @DrCarlBooze 6 месяцев назад

    I remember the pines and Miamis $5 to $10 a carton or the counterfeit Marlboros for $1 a pack.

  • @donnywolf9250
    @donnywolf9250 6 месяцев назад +1

    Thanks for another video

  • @Predd21
    @Predd21 6 месяцев назад +3

    Still addicted to energy drinks I've tried to drop it since I got out in 09 can't kick it

    • @paddington1670
      @paddington1670 6 месяцев назад +1

      try harm reduction, get a powdered drink mix that you like instead, still sugary, without the caffeine, and ween yourself off one onto another drink that is less harmful - as much as that can be said about energy drinks. Then you can go from 4 scoops of sugary powdered drink mix to 3, to 2, to 1, to water; then you will have won the ultimate prize, healthy liquids. Get a Brita water filter thing if your water isnt great, makes it more palatable. I did this with trying to quit Coca Cola that I drank too much of every day on work sites, as well as Monster energy drinks. good luck!

    • @JT-of9qb
      @JT-of9qb 6 месяцев назад

      I went cold turkey on all caffeine about 18 months ago. For the first two weeks I felt awful, but it gets better..
      It requires a mental switch being operated in your head, I view them as poison now.

  • @jeffe9842
    @jeffe9842 6 месяцев назад +2

    Is this the only perspective of a Russian soldier or are there other Russian soldier perspectives, as well?

  • @amorphoussolid8512
    @amorphoussolid8512 6 месяцев назад

    I studied the art of War until I realised my superiors were finger painting with our blood. Then I tried to deprive them of paint. I failed. Now everyone is a ghost to me and I have to pretend to feel things. I hate loud noises and I am a chain smoking alcoholic with a savage caffeine addiction and trust issues. I said I wouldn't be anywhere else but now I know I can not leave. Gonna try and get it together again but I'm running out of room to maneuver.

  • @kidfunkyfri3308
    @kidfunkyfri3308 6 месяцев назад

    I didnt start smoking till a few of my buddies died and took me 6 years to quit after my deployment when i started smoking and everyone but 1 guy in my platoon came back a smoker

  • @NAFO_MythicPlague
    @NAFO_MythicPlague 6 месяцев назад +1

    Thank you and your family for your service to the American Military. You are a true American Hero.

  • @islandwills2778
    @islandwills2778 6 месяцев назад

    Considering that their has been pretty much constant complaints from ukrainian soldiers that they are not being rotated, sometimes for months on end i really wonder how many soldiers are breaking down mentally.

  • @laf5537
    @laf5537 6 месяцев назад

    If anyone is wondering about FUM I actually got one a couple months ago. Neat product and definetly a tool to help quit smoking, however you need to have the willingness to quit as well- it won't do the work for you.