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2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

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Feb 23, 2022#1

bhamv3

It's starting.

Ukraine fighting to stop ‘a new iron curtain’ after Russian invasion

President Zelenskiy calls on Ukrainians to defend country as Russia claims to have neutralised its airbases and air defencesRussia-Ukraine crisis: live updates

www.theguardian.com

Feb 24, 2022#2

jwhouk

...I kinda have friends in the Ukraine.

Feb 24, 2022#3

sixpackshaker

A friend of mine has lots of friends there. He was in the Peace Corps. for 15 or so years.

Feb 24, 2022#4

Bubble181

Yeah, I have friends there and a whole bunch of colleagues just across the border in Poland. They aren't happy right now either, I assure you.

Feb 24, 2022#5

jwhouk

Friend posted this on FB 5 hours ago (as I type this):

Awakened from an explosion. All is well with the family. Me and part of the crew on the road. Pray for Tan, she is still in the Dnieper. Pray for my brother, his family and his mother (they are 60km away from Russia and can't leave), pray for Lena's parents and brother, they are in Poltava. I will write everything in detail and tell you how you can help tonight.

All details and information how you can help I will write later.

I will state that Zhenya is a member of CRU (aka Campus Crusade), but obviously that's not how you want to wake up in the morning.

Feb 24, 2022#6

jwhouk

And get this: they're bombing the exclusionary zone around Pripyat.

Feb 24, 2022#7

chris

Oh, they are bombing everywhere in the Ukraine.

Feb 24, 2022#8

chris

If you think about it it's really smart. Putin doesn't need to use a nuclear weapon to fire. Just a well placed bomb and we have to deal with a toxic nuclear cloud.

Feb 24, 2022#9

General Specific

A fire there would hurt Russia just as much. The toxic clouds could be blown over to them as well.

Feb 24, 2022#10

chris

I have a feeling Putin doesn't really care.

Feb 24, 2022#11

chris

Chernobyl is now under Russian control.

Feb 24, 2022#12

HCGLNS

Canada has the 3rd largest Ukrainian population in the world. Canada is very pro-Ukraine. It appears that the largest military subcontractor in Canada is being hit with cyberwarfare today. I don't believe this is a coincidence and fully expect it to be a global phenomenon.

Feb 24, 2022#13

figmentPez

Of course they are. That's exactly why Trump said it. He's still Putin's puppet.

Feb 24, 2022#14

Krisken

Like I said, really unpopular.

Feb 24, 2022#15

Frank

They've arrested like nearly a thousand protestors. Hey Canadian "truckers", that's tyranny you dumb fucks.

Feb 24, 2022#16

Tinwhistler

figmentPez said:
Of course they are. That's exactly why Trump said it. He's still Putin's puppet.

Trump said he could use a guy like Putin on our southern border--but the analogy is flawed. A better analogy is Mexico going "Hey, everybody south of Corpus Christi in Texas mostly speak spanish and have Mexican heritage. We're just gonna send some troops over to liberate it from you guys. That ok, USA?"

Feb 24, 2022#17

GasBandit

(using 12ft.io to remove the paywall from an economist.com article)

12ft

Feb 24, 2022#18

figmentPez

And Right Wing nut jobs are portraying Russia as a "Christian" nation.

Violent authoritarian governments are fine, as long they're Christian violent authoritarian governments. :mad:

Feb 24, 2022#19

GasBandit

Feb 24, 2022#20

Krisken

figmentPez said:
And Right Wing nut jobs are portraying Russia as a "Christian" nation.

Violent authoritarian governments are fine, as long they're Christian violent authoritarian governments.

Fine, so long as their stupid asses join the front lines of their crusades. Let them spill their blood for their beliefs rather than people with no stake in their stupidity.

Feb 24, 2022#21

Celt Z

figmentPez said:
And Right Wing nut jobs are portraying Russia as a "Christian" nation.

Weren't these the same people indoctrinating us for 70+ years that the Russians were "godless Commies"? That we had to add "..under God" to our Pledge of Allegiance to prove we were the opposite of Russia? Does anyone keep track of their own rhetoric anymore???

Feb 24, 2022#22

GasBandit

Celt Z said:
Weren't these the same people indoctrinating us for 70+ years that the Russians were "godless Commies"? That we had to add "..under God" to our Pledge of Allegiance to prove we were the opposite of Russia? Does anyone keep track of their own rhetoric anymore???

Nothing matters other than triggering and pwning the libs, and there is no permanence of any sort, much less logic.

Feb 24, 2022#23

blotsfan

Lauren Witzke is so Christofascist that other Christofascists think "wow, she is incredibly Christofascist."

Feb 24, 2022#24

figmentPez

Celt Z said:
Weren't these the same people indoctrinating us for 70+ years that the Russians were "godless Commies"? That we had to add "..under God" to our Pledge of Allegiance to prove we were the opposite of Russia? Does anyone keep track of their own rhetoric anymore???

Yup, and they're also the same people who would have said that Russian/Eastern Orthodox is just as "not Christian" as Roman Catholics, right up until the narrative needed them to paint Putin as a man of God.

Feb 24, 2022#25

GasBandit

Russia's 74th Motor Rifle Brigade surrenders to Ukraine

The Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces (CinC AF) of Ukraine announced on Thursday that a platoon of Russian troops surrendered because they didn’t

americanmilitarynews.com

Feb 24, 2022#26

bhamv3

GasBandit said:
Russia's 74th Motor Rifle Brigade surrenders to Ukraine

The Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces (CinC AF) of Ukraine announced on Thursday that a platoon of Russian troops surrendered because they didn’t

americanmilitarynews.com

Ostensibly this is good news, but I'm taking everything about these reports with a gigantic grain of salt because they all sound like military propaganda. There was that report today too about a Ukrainian fighter pilot who supposedly shot down six enemy fighters. Sounds like something straight out of a Ministry of Truth broadcast. It might be true, but for now I'm not believing anything from either side.

Feb 25, 2022#27

blotsfan

GasBandit said:

Feb 25, 2022#28

Frank

Ukranians are hard.

Feb 25, 2022#29

PatrThom

I feel like we're going to see a lot of "Russian warship, go fuck yourself" memes pop up.

--Patrick

Feb 25, 2022#30

ScytheRexx

Read a report earlier of a few Russian divisions up and just abandoning their equipment and running off. It really does feel like this is pretty much something only Putin and his cronies wanted, because it seems very unpopular with most of his people and even his soldiers.

Honestly, I am still attempting to parse why he is even doing this. If it was due to Ukraine joining NATO, well, taking control of the country means he would definitely share a border with NATO by that point. It also pushes the remaining countries that didn't join right into NATO's hands, because they won't want to be alone should Putin decide they look nice and tasty. My only guess is that Putin knows he is on the way out at this point and he hopes to start World War 3 so that he can live forever in history books rather then fading away like many other world leaders that rule during peace time.

Feb 25, 2022#31

evilmike

PatrThom said:
I feel like we're going to see a lot of "Russian warship, go fuck yourself" memes pop up.

--Patrick

"Let's go, Borislov!"

Feb 25, 2022#32

Celt Z

I'm going to be honest, I really don't under how this benefits Russia, either. From everything I read for the past few years, Russia is on the verge an economic collaspe. Is this really going to turn the tide for them? And, if that being the case, are GQPers so quick to jump on the "Yay, Russia!" bandwagon? I may be missing something here, but this seems like a lose-lose.

Feb 25, 2022#33

Krisken

Celt Z said:
I'm going to be honest, I really don't under how this benefits Russia, either. From everything I read for the past few years, Russia is on the verge an economic collaspe. Is this really going to turn the tide for them? And, if that being the case, are GQPers so quick to jump on the "Yay, Russia!" bandwagon? I may be missing something here, but this seems like a lose-lose.

All the GQP/Trumpers have is opposition. They don't have ideas, just fear and opposition. They literally can't agree with Biden.

Feb 25, 2022#34

Frank

Fox's blonde nazi literally called the Ukranian President's 8 minute speech pathetic. We know how they stand and it's appalling.

Feb 25, 2022#35

Krisken

Frank said:
Fox's blonde nazi literally called the Ukranian President's 8 minute speech pathetic. We know how they stand and it's appalling.

You're going to have to narrow that down a bit for me so I know who you mean.

Feb 25, 2022#36

Frank

Why, it's the only one that likes to sieg heil in public, Laura Ingraham.

Laura Ingraham Calls Ukrainian President's Plea For Peace 'Pathetic'

The Fox News host derided Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy for imploring Russia not to invade his country.

news.yahoo.com

Feb 25, 2022#37

Krisken

Frank said:
Why, it's the only one that likes to sieg heil in public, Laura Ingraham.

Laura Ingraham Calls Ukrainian President's Plea For Peace 'Pathetic'

The Fox News host derided Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy for imploring Russia not to invade his country.

news.yahoo.com

Oh, the OVERT Nazi. I wasn't sure if you meant one of the man dog-whistling bleach blondes.

Feb 25, 2022#38

blotsfan

ScytheRexx said:
It really does feel like this is pretty much something only Putin and his cronies wanted,

It doesn’t really sound like his cronies like it either. They care more about losing over half their wealth in one day than restoring mother Russia

Feb 25, 2022#39

Shawn

Celt Z said:
I'm going to be honest, I really don't under how this benefits Russia, either. From everything I read for the past few years, Russia is on the verge an economic collaspe. Is this really going to turn the tide for them? And, if that being the case, are GQPers so quick to jump on the "Yay, Russia!" bandwagon? I may be missing something here, but this seems like a lose-lose.

Purely propaganda would be my theory. "Look! We're invading other countries! We're clearly economically stable!"

Feb 25, 2022#40

ScytheRexx

Saw a few more videos today of Russian soldiers surrendering or getting killed in ambushes, and the thing that shocks me is how young some of them look. It seems like a whole lot of them either newly enlisted or were conscripted.

The worst I saw was a video a woman took of her dead mother and a soldier. From what I read the soldier found them and was trying to flag down his own men that they were civilians, and the other soldiers got spooked he was someone else and gunned him and the mother down.

It feels so surreal that this is happening.

Feb 25, 2022#41

PatrThom

Krisken said:
All the GQP/Trumpers have is opposition. They don't have ideas, just fear and opposition. They literally can't agree with Biden.

--Patrick

Feb 25, 2022#42

evilmike

Feb 25, 2022#43

sixpackshaker

Feb 25, 2022#44

Krisken

PatrThom said:
View attachment 40743
--Patrick

Fucking DUH, it's what he supports. White supremecist says out loud he supports white supremecists over people opposing white supremecists... details at 10:00.

Feb 25, 2022#45

GasBandit

Ukrainian minister says Russia has lost about 2,800 servicemen in attacks

Russian forces have lost about 2,800 servicemen and 80 tanks during their assault on Ukraine, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said on Friday.

www.reuters.com

Feb 25, 2022#46

GasBandit

Celt Z said:
I'm going to be honest, I really don't under how this benefits Russia, either.

I read somewhere today that another possible reason is that he worries that Russians, in economic dire straits, could see Ukraine thriving under a liberal democracy, and think maybe living under iron-fisted dictators isn't all that great. IE, a free and prosperous Ukraine is an existential threat to (Putin's) Russian autocracy.

Feb 25, 2022#47

Frank

Man, the Ukrainians are winning the propaganda war. Every quote I hear attributed to Zlensky (I know I spelled that wrong) is rad. The most recent one from an American who was there said that after refusing to evacuate the capital he said "I need ammunition not a ride".

Incredible that he was 'just' a comedian a few years ago.

Feb 25, 2022#48

blotsfan

Maybe we should elect people from tv shows more often!

Feb 25, 2022#49

Frank

I'd say we should probably elect more comedians but holy shit, as we've learned, they lose their fucking minds when criticized.

Feb 25, 2022#50

ThatNickGuy

Frank said:
I'd say we should probably elect more comedians but holy shit, as we've learned, they lose their fucking minds when criticized.

I'm kinda surprised Jon Stewart never ran for some kind of office.

Feb 25, 2022#51

blotsfan

We had Al Franken. Didn't go great, but damn it, we had him.

Feb 25, 2022#52

ScytheRexx

Watching the stuff with Putin has been morbidly hilarious because he started sitting like twenty feet away from his ministers ever since the war started. He knows at any moment someone might try to kill him, so he is isolating himself more and more.

Feb 25, 2022#53

sixpackshaker

Am I an asshole for posting, "Let's Go Poutine!" on every right wing post I can find?

Feb 25, 2022#54

Frank

ThatNickGuy said:
I'm kinda surprised Jon Stewart never ran for some kind of office.

He's too busy defending Dave Chapelle.

Feb 25, 2022#55

GasBandit

blotsfan said:
Maybe we should elect people from tv shows more often!

That's how we got into our current mess.

Feb 25, 2022#56

evilmike

sixpackshaker said:
View attachment 40744

Feb 25, 2022#57

drifter

Holy fuck

Feb 25, 2022#58

blotsfan

GasBandit said:
That's how we got into our current mess.

Feb 26, 2022#59

sixpackshaker

sixpackshaker said:
Am I an asshole for posting, "Let's Go Poutine!" on every right wing post I can find?

I want #LET'S GO POUTINE!
to replace lets go brandon.

please give it every chance you have.

Feb 26, 2022#60

D

Dubyamn

GasBandit said:
Ukrainian minister says Russia has lost about 2,800 servicemen in attacks

Russian forces have lost about 2,800 servicemen and 80 tanks during their assault on Ukraine, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said on Friday.

www.reuters.com

If true that's a fucking debacle for Russia. I mean sure that's how they've always done it but it's been like 2 days.

Feb 26, 2022#61

Frank

More reliable sources are that Ukraine splashed two troop planes and if they were full, that's like 400 there which is..holy shit what a disaster.

Feb 26, 2022#62

evilmike

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was asked to evacuate Kyiv at the behest of the U.S. government but turned down the offer.

Zelenskyy said in response: “The fight is here; I need ammunition, not a ride,” (AP)

Feb 26, 2022#63

PatrThom

blotsfan said:
It doesn’t really sound like his cronies like it either. They care more about losing over half their wealth in one day than restoring mother Russia

Oligarchs Flee Russia

As someone who loves data, loves research, and tolerates speculation, this post's topic was fun and interesting to research & ultimately implement. Earlier today, I had the thought to research the recent air travel of Russian oligarchs. How many oligarchs are there? How much money does one need...

www.radarspots.com

--Patrick

Feb 26, 2022#64

Dave

France seizes suspected Russian-owned ship in Channel

Russia seeks explanation after ship thought to belong to company targeted by US and EU sanctions is held

www.theguardian.com

Feb 26, 2022#65

ScytheRexx

Was just reading that Russia has accidently attacked a few ships since the war started, including damaging a Turkish ship. They also shot down one of their own aircraft today over the Black Sea. Oof. If Putin was attempting to show off the strength and power of his military this isn't really doing it.

Feb 26, 2022#66

Bubble181

ScytheRexx said:
Was just reading that Russia has accidently attacked a few ships since the war started, including damaging a Turkish ship. They also shot down one of their own aircraft today over the Black Sea. Oof. If Putin was attempting to show off the strength and power of his military this isn't really doing it.

If they actually shot down a Turkish plane we'd hear about it through all Channels you can think.
It's be an act of war against NATO.

Feb 26, 2022#67

Dave

Fucking love Anonymous sometimes.

Russia’s Kremlin and other governmental agencies’ websites are down, TV is playing Ukrainian music

Russia’s Kremlin and other governmental agencies’ websites are down, TV is playing Ukrainian music

OLENA ROSHCHINA - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2022, 17:19 Websites of the President’s Administration of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Аederal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor) and also a...

www.pravda.com.ua

Feb 26, 2022#68

ScytheRexx

Bubble181 said:
If they actually shot down a Turkish plane we'd hear about it through all Channels you can think.
It's be an act of war against NATO.

No they hit a Turkish ship before stopping. The plane they shot down was Russian.

Feb 26, 2022#69

Dave

They hit a Japanese ship as well if I remember correctly.

Russian missile strikes Japanese cargo ship off Ukraine, reports say

A Japanese-owned cargo ship has been hit by a Russian missile in the Black Sea off Ukraine's coast, according to media reports.

www.stripes.com

Feb 26, 2022#70

chris

Chechen troops are on their way to Ukraine. This will not end well for the civilian population.

Feb 26, 2022#71

Dave

Ukranians are changing street signs around to confuse the Russians. All the digital signs now read, "Go fuck yourselves".

And normal signs have also ben changed to "Fuck yourselves".

Feb 26, 2022#72

GasBandit

Former Chief of Defense of Estonia thinks Russia is about to run out of money/materiel and Putin's spitting nails.

Feb 26, 2022#73

blotsfan

I'm no military expert, but is it possible for this to end with Ukraine conquering Russia?

Feb 26, 2022#74

GasBandit

blotsfan said:
I'm no military expert, but is it possible for this to end with Ukraine conquering Russia?

No. But it might end with Putin deposed.

Feb 26, 2022#75

ScytheRexx

By the last count I saw 200 Ukrainians have been killed compared to 3500 Russian soldiers. Holy shit.

If those numbers are true this is a disaster for Russia. Ukraine is hard as fuck.

Feb 26, 2022#76

ThatNickGuy

GasBandit said:
No. But it might end with Putin deposed.

If Putin is deposed, guarantee he'll be petty and drag as many down with him.

Which makes me wonder if he'll leak whatever dirt he has on Trump.

Feb 26, 2022#77

sixpackshaker

ScytheRexx said:
By the last count I saw 200 Ukrainians have been killed compared to 3500 Russian soldiers. Holy shit.

If those numbers are true this is a disaster for Russia. Ukraine is hard as fuck.

If true, Russia lost more soldiers than the US did in 3 days than the US did in Iraq in 20 years.

Feb 26, 2022#78

ScytheRexx

It's hard to know what to believe after it came out that fighter pilot story was fake, but the videos I have been seeing have been pretty stark. There seems to be a general trend.

1) Lots of Russian soldiers don't want to fight, and either abandoned the equipment or gave themselves up. One of the POWs said that he was told all they were doing on the border were combat exercises before all of a sudden being told to roll into Ukraine without much of a plan other then to brute force towards Kyiv. None of them thought they were actually going to do anything until the final hour of invasion.

2) The Ukrainians are using guerilla tactics to basically lead the Russians into kill zones, including changing / removing signs so they don't know where they are going, and blowing up their own bridges to prevent the Russians from alternate routes. Once a truck or convoy moves through a zone they basically brutalize them from all angles with gun fire and anti-tank weapons. The worst one I saw was a transport and armored vehicle rolling through a town square only to be obliterated by what sounded like hundreds of machine guns. The transport got stopped almost instantly, one soldier jumped out to try and escape, but was instantly killed after hitting the ground from the amount of bullet spread. The armored vehicle panicked, and while swerving around the road ran over a civilian car with an old woman inside (what the hell was she doing!?) but lucky for her she survived. Never saw what happened to the armored vehicle, or if they escaped or got destroyed too.

Either way it does make that figure seem pretty reasonable, because these transports are often carrying dozens of soldiers. Each convoy getting caught in these kill zones could lead to hundreds dead in a single barrage, since many of the transports are not armored.

Feb 27, 2022#79

Shawn

I don't want death, but I do want Ukraine to defend themselves against these bullies. If the people of Russia don't want to participate in this dick measuring contest of Putin's anymore than the people of Ukraine then hopefully they will do something about it.
Speaking of compensating for something, we now have North Korea firing missiles and being like "look at us! We're big-bad important too!"

Feb 27, 2022#80

Bubble181

And China has started "military exercises" just outside Taiwanese waters.

Feb 27, 2022#81

ThatNickGuy

So, uh, this is terrifying. Putin is almost at the stage of "Fine, if I can't have it? No one can."

Feb 27, 2022#82

jwhouk

You know where he'd nuke. Pripyat.

Feb 27, 2022#83

ScytheRexx

Reports are that Ukraine took back Kharkiv today. From what I read a whole lot of Russian divisions just straight up surrendered due to lack of ammo and fuel, while the rest that were hostile were eliminated. Putin probably should really consider that negotiation Ukraine is offering near Belarus.

Feb 27, 2022#84

Frank

I love now that Putin is showing what a fucking moron he was to start this shit, NOW some Republicans are crawling out from under his ass.

Not mayor Kane (WWE's Kane) though, he's still on Twitter talking about what a strong bad ass Putin is and how he smelled weakness. He smelled his own diaper.

Feb 27, 2022#85

Shakey

Russia faces major disruptions to oil, commodities flows without SWIFT

Russian exports of all commodities from oil and metals to grains will be severely disrupted by fresh Western sanctions, dealing a blow to Russia's economy and hurting the West with a spike in prices and inflation, traders and analysts said.

www.reuters.com

Probably why Putin Got so upset about the sanctions and put his nukes on alert.

Feb 27, 2022#86

GasBandit

Shakey said:
Russia faces major disruptions to oil, commodities flows without SWIFT

Russian exports of all commodities from oil and metals to grains will be severely disrupted by fresh Western sanctions, dealing a blow to Russia's economy and hurting the West with a spike in prices and inflation, traders and analysts said.

www.reuters.com

Probably why Putin Got so upset about the sanctions and put his nukes on alert.

The SWIFT lockout will really hurt GOP cashflow too.

Feb 27, 2022#87

Krisken

There we go, that will cause Putin to reconsider.

Feb 27, 2022#88

ScytheRexx

This really does feel like he was hoping for another Crimea. I just imagine in his head he saw them walking right into Kyiv, Zelenskyy escaping to EU, which would demoralize the Ukrainians, and then holding "new elections" to install a puppet government, or even just annex the whole region into the Russian Federation. Once he had control he figured NATO would just roll over to avoid a world war spilling into other counties or nuclear destruction, letting him keep what he gained.

What he underestimated was the Ukrainians will to fight. What he thought was going to be simply rolling in and taking the country turned into an actual conflict, and it really feels like his own troops were simply not ready for this level of resistance. They probably thought the majority of Ukrainians were just going to welcome them in. The weakness this invasion has shown makes NATO and other countries feel emboldened to punish Russia with less fear of a major conflict arising, because Putin's army is being shown to be highly ineffective.

Feb 27, 2022#89

Frank

Ukranians have been preparing for a Russian return since Crimea....I don't think Russians have been preparing for war in the 21st century at all if how effective low end Turkish drones are in fucking up their supply lines are any indicator.

Feb 27, 2022#90

PatrThom

ScytheRexx said:
What he thought was going to be simply rolling in and taking the country turned into an actual conflict, and it really feels like his own troops were simply not ready for this level of resistance.

This sounds strikingly similar to the same "plan" the Jan 6 protesters followed. I wonder if there's a connection?

--Patrick

Feb 27, 2022#91

jwhouk

....mmmmmmmMayyybeeeee?

Feb 27, 2022#92

GasBandit

Feb 27, 2022#93

AshburnerX

Feb 27, 2022#94

Frank

So Kane/Glenn Jacobs, the Mayor of Knoxville Tennessee somehow, posted some real hardcore weird pro-Putin shit. Hangman Adam Page, the current AEW fucking murdered him with his reply.

Feb 27, 2022#95

Celt Z

"If you on the Left"?

Feb 27, 2022#96

ThatNickGuy

This is a great, comprehensive breakdown of why Russia is invading Ukraine. This shouldn't come as much surprise, but a lot of it comes down to oil.

Feb 27, 2022#97

jwhouk

Well, yeah, I knew that because I actually studied about World War II.

Feb 27, 2022#98

GasBandit

They accidentally posted this and then took it down.

Наступление России и нового мира

Новый мир рождается на наших глазах. Военная операция России на Украине открыла новую эпоху — причем сразу в трех измерениях. И конечно, в четвертом,... РИА Новости, 26.02.2022

web.archive.org

google translation:

Feb 27, 2022#99

Frank

Mission Accomplished banner.txt

But for reals, if some kid wrote that he'd be put on a watch list. That's the manifesto of a mad man.

Feb 27, 2022#100

Celt Z

Ohhhh, that is a THING. WOW.

Feb 28, 2022#101

PatrThom

It definitely sounds like the manifesto of someone who decided to flip their little write-protect tab to "read-only" quite a while back.
"Destabilize the West, then, in the confusion, run in and reclaim what Mother Russia had lost."
The History people are going to have fun in hindsight untangling this all the way to its source(s).

--Patrick

Feb 28, 2022#102

ScytheRexx

chris said:
Chechen troops are on their way to Ukraine. This will not end well for the civilian population.

Take it with a grain of salt, but supposedly not long after entering the country and about an hour or so after the Chechen soldiers posted a video taunting Ukraine, almost the entire division, including the General leading them, were wiped out. Have not gotten an independent verification but the Ukraine Ministry of Defense is confirming the deaths.

Feb 28, 2022#103

phil

Snake island garrison is reportedly alive and was taken prisoner instead of destroyed as initially reported.

Feb 28, 2022#104

Frank

That fat bearded Chechen general guy definitely got got.

Post automatically merged: Feb 28, 2022

phil said:
Snake island garrison is reportedly alive and was taken prisoner instead of destroyed as initially reported.

Rad.

Feb 28, 2022#105

Frank

Where do you put this? I chose here.

Feb 28, 2022#106

GasBandit

Feb 28, 2022#107

Krisken

This might be the most surprising thing I've seen come of this.

Feb 28, 2022#108

AshburnerX

I'll believe it's more than a statement when they start seizing the Swiss bank accounts of Russian oligarchs.

Feb 28, 2022#109

Krisken

AshburnerX said:
I'll believe it's more than a statement when they start seizing the Swiss bank accounts of Russian oligarchs.

Now that would more than surprise me. None of the EU banks have done that, and that would be more effective than what anyone else has done so far.

Ukraine just signed application papers to join the EU.

Feb 28, 2022#110

GasBandit

Feb 28, 2022#111

Bubble181

Do stay aware that while our propaganda is more believable than the Russian, it's still propaganda.
I have 0% faith that the Chechen troops are suddenly out. Deliberately going under cover and staying out of the media? Definitely. Resurfacing as "locals" supporting Russia? Very likely.
Suddenly mostly gone? Nope.

Feb 28, 2022#112

chris

It's sadly far from over. Even though the war goes on longer than most expected and the "news" online makes it look like the fearsome Russian army is all but a myth I fear everything can change really fast.

Feb 28, 2022#113

Bubble181

chris said:
It's sadly far from over. Even though the war goes on longer than most expected and the "news" online makes it look like the fearsome Russian army is all but a myth I fear everything can change really fast.

We'll see when the Eastern convoy reaches Kyiv.
And also - that ridiculous Belarus referendum (because of course the population voted in favor of installing Russian nukes by 80% in a referendum nobody knew was going to happen) is going to have more of an impact than some may think. Russia don't do anything - Belarus will ask them for protection from the agressive West and Russia will of course oblige, setting off a new Cuban missile crisis, but next door to Europe instead of the USA. And, frankly, on both sides lesser men at the helm.

Feb 28, 2022#114

Shawn

My concern is that Russia was not going in at full strength. They were going in with the impression that it was going to be a cake walk and just a show of force was all that was needed for Ukraine to surrender.
I absolutely worry that "compensating for something" Putin is going to do something drastic and terrible to keep the world from considering Russia a joke.

Feb 28, 2022#115

PatrThom

Krisken said:
This might be the most surprising thing I've seen come of this.

It’s not THAT unbelievable. Switzerland is having their own image problems right now and likely figures this gesture will help tip their image more towards being “good guys.”

—Patrick

Feb 28, 2022#116

Dave

Ukraine has petitioned to join the EU. Putin must be out of his mind right now.

Feb 28, 2022#117

Krisken

Dave said:
Ukraine has petitioned to join the EU. Putin must be out of his mind right now.

Yup.

Feb 28, 2022#118

AshburnerX

We'll probably see Finland apply for NATO membership soon too. Maybe Sweden too at this rate

Feb 28, 2022#119

Frank

Shawn said:
My concern is that Russia was not going in at full strength. They were going in with the impression that it was going to be a cake walk and just a show of force was all that was needed for Ukraine to surrender.
I absolutely worry that "compensating for something" Putin is going to do something drastic and terrible to keep the world from considering Russia a joke.

The Russia wasn't going full strength is a propaganda talking point Russian trolls are pushing. It makes no sense if you plan to take a country in 4 days to 'hold back'. If their plan was to only go partial strength, get sanctioned into the ground by the entire world (sans China and India I guess), lose multiple elite units (confirmed), etc. then I guess mission accomplished, they look like violent, unhinged clowns.

Feb 28, 2022#120

HCGLNS

International Ice Hockey Federation just booted Russia and Belarus.

Feb 28, 2022#121

ScytheRexx

FIFA has also banned Russia from using their name, flag, or anthem in the World Cup, but has not banned the team from playing. However a few other teams have already said they are boycotting playing against the Russian team.

Feb 28, 2022#122

blotsfan

ScytheRexx said:
FIFA has also banned Russia from using their name, flag, or anthem in the World Cup, but has not banned the team from playing. However a few other teams have already said they are boycotting playing against the Russian team.

Thats old news. They have banned them from playing.

Feb 28, 2022#123

Shawn

Frank said:
The Russia wasn't going full strength is a propaganda talking point Russian trolls are pushing. It makes no sense if you plan to take a country in 4 days to 'hold back'. If their plan was to only go partial strength, get sanctioned into the ground by the entire world (sans China and India I guess), lose multiple elite units (confirmed), etc. then I guess mission accomplished, they look like violent, unhinged clowns.

I could easily see Putin deciding that nuclear warfare is a much more viable option than admitting defeat.

Feb 28, 2022#124

jwhouk

Guys?

I'm... uh, I'm kinda concerned about the number of contrails I've been seeing over the PHX area today.

I'd have to think Luke AFB is on high alert.

Post automatically merged: Feb 28, 2022

Shawn said:
I could easily see Putin deciding that nuclear warfare is a much more viable option than admitting defeat.

You go back 40 years and tell that to my teenage self, and he'd laugh in your face.

Feb 28, 2022#125

Ravenpoe

The media coverage from this has been pretty racist... once more we get to see the roots of white supremacy in nearly all of western culture.

(thread)

Feb 28, 2022#126

Bubble181

Frank said:
The Russia wasn't going full strength is a propaganda talking point Russian trolls are pushing. It makes no sense if you plan to take a country in 4 days to 'hold back'. If their plan was to only go partial strength, get sanctioned into the ground by the entire world (sans China and India I guess), lose multiple elite units (confirmed), etc. then I guess mission accomplished, they look like violent, unhinged clowns.

Ever played a strategy game? Not everything moves at the same speed. The idea/hope was to destroy Ukrainian air and anti-air capabilities, blitz Kyiv, either capture or drive into exile the president and government, and cause a de facto losing fight for Ukraine. Support troops, heavier armor, etc, could then roll in and fortify.
Field artillery had only begun playing a ro'e today - everything before had been either mobile artillery, or long range from within Russian and Belarussian borders.

It's definitely not going as intended, but Russia is still a weight class above Ukrain, and has absolute air control. They're far from out.

Feb 28, 2022#127

Frank

US intelligence disagrees with air superiority, considering Russian convoys are still being harassed by drones.

Feb 28, 2022#128

ScytheRexx

It's hard to know what is true and what it propoganda, but there have been a lot of videos of young supposed Russian POWs from the first day of invasion saying their commanders woke them up to get in trucks for "military exercises" and before they were even told what they were supposed to be doing they were in Ukraine being shot at.

If this is true what a shit show of a command structure.

Feb 28, 2022#129

AshburnerX

It's also true that this isn't even really a "blitzkrieg" because there where no second and third waves to secure supply routes back to HQ. Most of Russia's problem right now is that their frontline can't get supplied because their convoys are getting hit hard by Ukrainian militia and military. That's why there are so many photos of abandoned or stuck tanks, APCs, and artillery trucks; they don't have any fuel because the fuel trucks can't get to them and no one wants to emulate the last part of Fury in the middle of a Ukrainian winter.

Of course, there is an even bigger issue at hand: even assuming that Putin gains control of the major cities and declares "victory"... how the fuck are they going to supply and maintain an occupying force when there are already serious doubts they can even finish this fight? The Ukrainians aren't just going to pack up and go home and we're not going to stop supplying them with weapons to fight with. They're going to keep picking off resupplies. There's also the looming threat of just paying their soldiers... you think a bunch of Russian kids are gonna keep fighting this fight when their paychecks stop coming in?

Feb 28, 2022#130

Frank

Jesus

Reddit - Dive into anything

www.reddit.com

Feb 28, 2022#131

Frank

Bubble181 said:
Ever played a strategy game? Not everything moves at the same speed. The idea/hope was to destroy Ukrainian air and anti-air capabilities, blitz Kyiv, either capture or drive into exile the president and government, and cause a de facto losing fight for Ukraine. Support troops, heavier armor, etc, could then roll in and fortify.
Field artillery had only begun playing a ro'e today - everything before had been either mobile artillery, or long range from within Russian and Belarussian borders.

It's definitely not going as intended, but Russia is still a weight class above Ukrain, and has absolute air control. They're far from out.

Yes, obviously, but the whole losing 5000 soldiers, hundreds of APCs and tanks and dozens of aircraft being "All according to Keikaku" propaganda is complete horseshit.

Feb 28, 2022#132

ScytheRexx

Frank said:
Jesus

If that guy ever decides to return to Austin I have a feeling he wouldn't exactly be welcome with open arms.

But who am I kidding, the guy looks like a steamed potato. He likely won't survive if he is anywhere near the front lines.

Feb 28, 2022#133

HCGLNS

Canada stops buying Russian oil.

Feb 28, 2022#134

Ravenpoe

ScytheRexx said:
If that guy ever decides to return to Austin I have a feeling he wouldn't exactly be welcome with open arms.

But who am I kidding, the guy looks like a steamed potato. He likely won't survive if he is anywhere near the front lines.

So that guy has actually been a mercenary working for Russia for like the last 7 years. He shows up regularly on their propaganda tv and fully believes everything the Kremlin says, that Ukraine is a Nazi state funded by the fascist US. He lives full time over there and has denounced (symbolically, not legally) his US citizenship

Mar 1, 2022#135

Shawn

Ravenpoe said:
So that guy has actually been a mercenary working for Russia for like the last 7 years. He shows up regularly on their propaganda tv and fully believes everything the Kremlin says, that Ukraine is a Nazi state funded by the fascist US. He lives full time over there and has denounced (symbolically, not legally) his US citizenship

In other words, Russia leaders would not tell him dick about what their actual military power is.

Mar 1, 2022#136

Ravenpoe

Shawn said:
In other words, Russia leaders would not tell him dick about what their actual military power is.

Yes, he is a very gullible man that believes every bit of propaganda they feed him.

Mar 1, 2022#137

Bubble181

As opposed to all those other Texans who, we all know, are exemplars of scientific scepsis, good source checking, and levelheadedness. :awesome:

Mar 1, 2022#138

Ravenpoe

Bubble181 said:
As opposed to all those other Texans who, we all know, are exemplars of scientific scepsis, good source checking, and levelheadedness.

I know popular culture states that Texas is all Hillbillies but it's surprisingly one of the more progressive states. It's only half the state that are country bumpkins

Mar 1, 2022#139

Frank

EU accepted Ukraine's application.

Mar 1, 2022#140

AshburnerX

Frank said:
EU accepted Ukraine's application.

Here's my question: if Ukraine is accepted before the Russians leave, does the EU throw down with Russia to protect it's member state? I mean, even Germany's throwing Ukraine weapons and they don't export a lot of "lethal" items beyond small arms.

Mar 1, 2022#141

chris

Frank said:
EU accepted Ukraine's application.

A little to late.

You don't need to exelerate a complete war in europe.

Mar 1, 2022#142

Piotyr

chris said:
A little to late.

You don't need to exelerate a complete war in europe.

Ukraine sent in the application yesterday. Russia is the one "exelerate"ing the war, and Ukraine doesn't have to do what Russia wants.

Mar 1, 2022#143

sixpackshaker

Putin should have watched this before deciding to invade. It takes balls to do this.

Mar 1, 2022#144

Emrys

sixpackshaker said:
Putin should have watched this before deciding to invade. It takes balls to do this.

Interesting technique but their phrasing was muddled. 5/7

Mar 1, 2022#145

grub

Emrys said:
Interesting technique but their phrasing was muddled. 5/7

A perfect score!

Mar 1, 2022#146

GasBandit

Mar 1, 2022#147

Frank

When your attempts to win the hearts and minds are claiming you're fighting to denazify a country, maybe don't blow up a holocaust memorial in the opening days and right after you claim you're performing precision strikes.

https://www.jpost.com/international/article-699034?utm_source=jpost.app.apple&utm_medium=share

Mar 1, 2022#148

Krisken

Russia's 40-mile convoy has stalled on its way to Kyiv, a U.S. official says

The convoy is apparently being hampered by fuel and food shortages, the official says. The news comes as Russia continues to concentrate attacks on Ukraine's largest cities: Kyiv and Kharkiv.

www.npr.org

Huh, apparently it takes food and fuel to move an army. Who saw that coming?

Mar 1, 2022#149

Frank

This entire thread is incredibly interesting, but this stuck out to me.

No wonder their military is such a mess.

Mar 1, 2022#150

Krisken

Can't have people gaining power in a dictatorship, that just makes the dictator look weak.

Mar 1, 2022#151

GasBandit

Pentagon official says Russian troops have 'deliberately punched holes' in their own gas tanks in apparent attempts to avoid combat as morale declines: report

In an apparent attempt to avoid combat, some Russian troops have punched holes in their vehicles' gas tanks, a Pentagon official reportedly said.

www.businessinsider.com

Mar 3, 2022#152

Krisken

Things are going to get worse before they get better.

Mar 3, 2022#153

Frank

YES THEY ARE.

How do you say "We want to nuke you without dropping a nuke"?

Mar 3, 2022#154

ThatNickGuy

Some really good insights from a nuclear expert. It's still a MAJOR concern, but it's not a simple matter of "Missile hit, instant nuclear holocaust."

Mar 3, 2022#155

Frank

No, but a meltdown due to the inability to keep the rods cool are a possibility if the Russians keep dropping missiles and artillery there.

Mar 3, 2022#156

GasBandit

Mar 3, 2022#157

Frank

War crimes are hilarious because every nation at war commits them and no one is ever held accountable.

Mar 4, 2022#158

AshburnerX

Mar 4, 2022#159

Shawn

What are the recent reports? I have been under the impression that Russia is making progress in this disgusting invasion.

Mar 4, 2022#160

Bubble181

Frank said:
War crimes are hilarious because every nation at war commits them and no one is ever held accountable.

Now now. The losers are!

Mar 4, 2022#161

ScytheRexx

Shawn said:
What are the recent reports? I have been under the impression that Russia is making progress in this disgusting invasion.

Progress was unfortunately inevitable. Russia has a massive war machine of conscripts and allies willing to join them in Belarus and Chechnya. NATO is too scared of WW3 and nuclear reprisal to fire a shot, and since Ukraine was not a member they felt they didn't have to.

However, the Ukrainians have done better then anyone expected. Reports were Putin thought Kyiv would fall within 2-4 days and the whole country would surrender by day 15. That didnt happen, and there has been a decent difference between Ukraine losses and Russian losses (not counting civilians, which are a whole different issue, since they are not combatants) and the visible ineptitude of stuff like constantly running out of fuel and abandoning their tanks. People are doing the only thing they can, which is make fun of the ineptitude of the invasion since there is nothing we can do to stop it from progressing.

Mar 4, 2022#162

GasBandit

They aren't even soldiers being sent. What the heck is the idea behind this?

Mar 4, 2022#163

ScytheRexx

That is how conscription works. Putin basically called a bunch of people to report for mandatory military training at the border, then based on what we are hearing, told them they were waking up to do "military exercises" before they started getting shot at by Ukrainians. Most of them didn't even know they crossed a border till that point.

Mar 5, 2022#164

GasBandit

Kremlin staff didn't expect Putin to invade Ukraine and were shocked by the severity of Western sanctions, report says

Kremlin staff told Russian outlet Agency they only prepared for sanctions over recognizing Luhansk and Donetsk, not a full invasion into Ukraine.

www.businessinsider.com

It's not often you see "Everything is fucked" in one of the main bullet points under a headline.

Mar 5, 2022#165

chris

I'm not so optimistic about the outcome in this war. Even though the Russian troops were held off the first days, I fear it's only a matter of time Kyiv will fell.

Mar 5, 2022#166

GasBandit

chris said:
I'm not so optimistic about the outcome in this war. Even though the Russian troops were held off the first days, I fear it's only a matter of time Kyiv will fell.

They'll take it. They'll keep throwing bodies at it til it happens.

Holding it, however, will cost them even more than they have lost and will lose taking it.

America "took" Afghanistan and Iraq effortlessly.

We couldn't hold either.

Mar 5, 2022#167

chris

GasBandit said:
They'll take it. They'll keep throwing bodies at it til it happens.

Holding it, however, will cost them even more than they have lost and will lose taking it.

America "took" Afghanistan and Iraq effortlessly.

We couldn't hold either.

Yeah, everyone will lose in this war. The Ukrainians their home and many ( and on both sides) their lifes and freedom. The Russian already lost their freedom of speech and freedom of the press with the latest law.

Mar 5, 2022#168

Frank

I'll tell you what, I'd hate to stereotype the toughness of a people, but I'm not this tough and I don't know anyone in my life, past or present, that is this fucking tough.

Mar 5, 2022#169

Shakey

GasBandit said:
They'll take it. They'll keep throwing bodies at it til it happens.

Holding it, however, will cost them even more than they have lost and will lose taking it.

America "took" Afghanistan and Iraq effortlessly.

We couldn't hold either.

I would be surprised if their goal was ever to actually hold it. It was probably just to destroy the dam holding water back from crimea, and causing enough damage to where Ukraine wouldn’t have enough resources to rebuild both the dam or build up their gas and oil resources.

The response from Europe probably complicated things for them, and now they may be looking to try to hold it, who knows.

Mar 5, 2022#170

Krisken

WARNING: Disturbing content

Sky News journalists fired upon by a Russian death squad.

They are clearly identified and scream out they are journalists, but that doesn't stop the hail of bullets.

Mar 5, 2022#171

PatrThom

A story in three tweet pics:

...ok two. I can't find the first one now, but it was a pic of a twitter thread showing how soldiers in the Ukraine had sent pics of themselves hanging out in school buildings to their families/friends, the pictures are then reposted to reddit "for the updoots," and it was suggested that this is part of the reason why Russia has started attacking/destroying so many schools.

Pic #2:

And Pic #3:

I really WANT Hanlon's razor to be true here, because the alternative of course confirms that some (many?) of our high-ranking political leaders are unequivocally either in Putin's pocket or else very much want to be, but even if it IS true, JoJo there is right on the money.

--Patrick

Mar 5, 2022#172

ScytheRexx

A very informative video I came across that does a great job explaining the strengths and weaknesses of the Russian forces and why they struggled so much early on.

Mar 6, 2022#173

GasBandit

Shakey said:
I would be surprised if their goal was ever to actually hold it. It was probably just to destroy the dam holding water back from crimea, and causing enough damage to where Ukraine wouldn’t have enough resources to rebuild both the dam or build up their gas and oil resources.

The response from Europe probably complicated things for them, and now they may be looking to try to hold it, who knows.

It's clear from the accidentally/prematurely posted news story about their "victory" in Ukraine that their plan was to blitz Kyiv, install a puppet regime, and cast it as returning Ukraine to the soviet fold.

Mar 6, 2022#174

Krisken

Shakey said:
I would be surprised if their goal was ever to actually hold it. It was probably just to destroy the dam holding water back from crimea, and causing enough damage to where Ukraine wouldn’t have enough resources to rebuild both the dam or build up their gas and oil resources.

The response from Europe probably complicated things for them, and now they may be looking to try to hold it, who knows.

What actually complicated it was Biden doing what people in power don't do and being completely transparent about what they learned. We got a play-by-play of what Putin was planning, pretty explicitly, from the white house. You can't blitz people when they already know what you are planning.

Mar 6, 2022#175

GasBandit

PatrThom said:
A story in three tweet pics:

...ok two. I can't find the first one now, but it was a pic of a twitter thread showing how soldiers in the Ukraine had sent pics of themselves hanging out in school buildings to their families/friends, the pictures are then reposted to reddit "for the updoots," and it was suggested that this is part of the reason why Russia has started attacking/destroying so many schools.

Pic #2:
View attachment 40839

And Pic #3:
View attachment 40841
I really WANT Hanlon's razor to be true here, because the alternative of course confirms that some (many?) of our high-ranking political leaders are unequivocally either in Putin's pocket or else very much want to be, but even if it IS true, JoJo there is right on the money.

--Patrick

Mar 6, 2022#176

chris

Watching Putin's official propaganda footage of himself is absolute baffling. It's like something falling out of time.

Mar 7, 2022#177

GasBandit

Mar 7, 2022#178

ScytheRexx

Just finished reading a possible whistleblower report from someone inside the Russian government. If the report is valid, it's going really bad for Russia right now. A few of the key points is that while Russia is officially saying only around 500 soldiers have been killed in Ukraine, internal numbers see it closer to 10,000 at this point. There is also some bad blood growing between Russia and it's allied countries, with the leader of Chechnya being infuriated that Putin got his "death squad" and a high ranking general killed without much resistance, due to lack of Russian support. The mood seems to be that even if they kill Zelenskyy, by this point, the war has become "unwinnable" unless they throw hundreds of thousands of troops into the grinder.

Mar 7, 2022#179

Krisken

ScytheRexx said:
Just finished reading a possible whistleblower report from someone inside the Russian government. If the report is valid, it's going really bad for Russia right now. A few of the key points is that while Russia is officially saying only around 500 soldiers have been killed in Ukraine, internal numbers see it closer to 10,000 at this point. There is also some bad blood growing between Russia and it's allied countries, with the leader of Chechnya being infuriated that Putin got his "death squad" and a high ranking general killed without much resistance, due to lack of Russian support. The mood seems to be that even if they kill Zelenskyy, by this point, the war has become "unwinnable" unless they throw hundreds of thousands of troops into the grinder.

And we all know Putin puts no value on human life.

Mar 7, 2022#180

GasBandit

I'm still mystified that he thought he'd win by trickling in conscripted-that-week untrained conscripts a few hundred at a time with no logistical support, rather than... you know... tens of thousands of the hundreds of thousands of actual career troops he has.

Maybe that's the thing.

Maybe the Russian military is even more smoke and mirrors than we've been led to believe.

If this is how poorly their conventional forces are maintained, could it be that the nukes Putin is so quick to wave threateningly also have not been maintained properly, and now might be unviable?

Mar 7, 2022#181

blotsfan

GasBandit said:
If this is how poorly their conventional forces are maintained, could it be that the nukes Putin is so quick to wave threateningly also have not been maintained properly, and now might be unviable?

Maybe but I don’t wanna take the chance.

Mar 7, 2022#182

ScytheRexx

GasBandit said:
If this is how poorly their conventional forces are maintained, could it be that the nukes Putin is so quick to wave threateningly also have not been maintained properly, and now might be unviable?

Remember that huge convoy that has been stuck for days? Russia blamed the delays on faulty Chinese tires, but based on the damage people have seen in photographs, it's beginning to look more like they just left most of the trucks unused, stored out in the open, and tires just degraded over time, similar to my uncle who parked an old truck near his house and let it sit for a decade until all the wheels were worn and flat.

It's gotten so bad that some people have noticed that the rail lines that were delivering military supplies to the border are no longer carrying military trucks or tanks, but instead loads of civilian cars and trucks. We know they are all for the military too, because they are painted with the "Z" marker that the Russian army is using to designate their own forces from the Ukrainians.

Reddit - Dive into anything

www.reddit.com

Mar 7, 2022#183

Bubble181

Bear in mind that those numbers are all pretty much show.
Officially, the Russian army has about 1 million troops, and almost 2 million reservists.
1 million troops means they can deploy - at best - about 250.000. They had around 180.000 stationed around Ukraine at the beginning of the "peacekeeping mission". About 160.000 are estimated to be active right now.
Obviously, some of those are reservists - maybe even most - but far from all. A large nubmer of actual deployable military troops are still needed elsewhere - neither mannign submarines, nor manning nukes, nor protecting the Kremlin, can be left to reservists, after all.
This certainly wasn't an "all in, win or bust" move - those just don't happen in real life - but you can pretty safely assume Russia deployed half or more of their actual combat strength.

Ukraine, on the other hand, has about 250.000 active personnel, translating to about 50.000 deployable combat troops, and about 900.000 reservists. Which as far as anyone can tell, have actually all answered the call and taken up arms.

Despite calling the Russian troops inexperienced boys and all that, the reality is that the Russians are probably better-trained than the Ukrainian troops, much better armed, and better organized...But outnumbered, and in unknown, hostile territory. Add crappy materiel turning out to be useless and the Ukrainians receiving high amounts of brand new weapons and supplies, and...yeah, long-range bombardments of city centers to push people into submission starts to make sense as the only viable strategy.

Mar 7, 2022#184

GasBandit

Putin’s World War Z Has Created a New Swastika

In the days before Russia’s all-out invasion, white Zs started showing up on Russian military hardware. Now they’re everywhere.

www.thedailybeast.com

Mar 7, 2022#185

Krisken

Did the article below this "reporting" say a moose gave birth to baby mice?

Mar 8, 2022#186

GasBandit

Putin: "Innocent Civilians of Ukraine, we propose you take the following route to evacuate your city, for your safety."

Ukrainians: "You didn't mine it, did you?"

Putin: "..."

Ukrainians: "YOU DIDN'T PUT LAND MINES ALL OVER IT, DID YOU?"

Putin: "... resume shelling residential targets."

Land mines littered a proposed route for Ukrainians to flee, Red Cross official says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has criticized Russian efforts to thwart civilians trying to evacuate.

www.businessinsider.com

Mar 8, 2022#187

AshburnerX

Putin's still upset his "let us evacuate injured soldiers along this route" plan didn't work, because the defenders immediately seized one of the ambulances and found it was full of ammo. This is just him trying to get a body count.

Mar 8, 2022#188

Bubble181

"I don't see why I need to allow civilians to flee towards Ukraine or Poland; all refugees should be more than happy to come to Russia and join us".

Which is not a joke it's literally what he said and wants. Which is of course idiotic.

Mar 8, 2022#189

ScytheRexx

Yes, because I am sure the families of the people fighting you are more then happy to enjoy old Russian hospitality. More then likely he just wants enough people he can hold hostage to get many of the fighters to stop fighting.

Mar 8, 2022#190

drifter

Smuggling ammunition in ambulances. Mined civilian evacuation routes. Neo-Nazi hit squads. If someone made a war movie with these details, I would have ridiculed it as cartoonishly evil, yet here we are.

Mar 8, 2022#191

bhamv3

GasBandit said:
Putin: "Innocent Civilians of Ukraine, we propose you take the following route to evacuate your city, for your safety."

Ukrainians: "You didn't mine it, did you?"

Putin: "..."

Ukrainians: "YOU DIDN'T PUT LAND MINES ALL OVER IT, DID YOU?"

Putin: "... resume shelling residential targets."

Land mines littered a proposed route for Ukrainians to flee, Red Cross official says

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has criticized Russian efforts to thwart civilians trying to evacuate.

www.businessinsider.com

I feel bad that when I saw this news, the first thing I thought of was something Sovietwomble did.

Mar 8, 2022#192

ThatNickGuy

Welp, here we go.

Mar 8, 2022#193

Tress

Putin’s 5 Step Plan For Beating Accusations of War Crimes:
Step 1: Claim you want to give civilians a “corridor of safety” to escape

Step 2: Make sure that corridor is as deadly and/or unusable as possible

Step 3: Give a small time frame, and do not make effort to be flexible or help civilians out

Step 4: Now that you’ve “made an effort” to help civilians, you can claim anyone who dies from this point on is a willing combatant.

Step 5: Ignore international criticisms or accusations of war crimes.

It’s what he did in Syria, and it’s what he is doing now.

Mar 8, 2022#194

Dave

It’ll be interesting to see how well the goodwill towards Ukraine lasts now that has prices are going to go through the roof.

Mar 8, 2022#195

Krisken

Dave said:
It’ll be interesting to see how well the goodwill towards Ukraine lasts now that has prices are going to go through the roof.

Being mad at Ukrain for Putin invading and committing war crimes because gas prices go up is the most white America thing I can think of.

Mar 8, 2022#196

Tinwhistler

Krisken said:
Being mad at Ukrain for Putin invading and committing war crimes because gas prices go up is the most white America thing I can think of.

Nah...a republican friend of mine is blaming Biden for the gas prices, which is the most America thing I can think of. I'm like "we didn't even have anything to do with this one!"

Mar 8, 2022#197

blotsfan

They believe this wouldn’t have happened if trump was in charge

Mar 8, 2022#198

ScytheRexx

blotsfan said:
They believe this wouldn’t have happened if trump was in charge

Of course it wouldn't, because Trump would have just tried to get Zelenskyy to hand over Ukraine claiming Hunter Biden corruption and worked extra hard to pull the US from NATO so that Russia could feel all nice and in control of Europe. Putin attacked Ukraine now because he realized this might be his last chance to get what he wants from that region since his puppet was removed and Biden may start sending more munitions to Ukraine, or even attempting to get them into NATO.

Mar 8, 2022#199

Krisken

I find this country's lack of empathy exhausting.

Mar 8, 2022#200

Bubble181

Krisken said:
I find this planet's lack of empathy exhausting.

Ftfy

Mar 8, 2022#201

Krisken

Bubble181 said:
Ftfy

No, that would be OVERWHELMING.

Mar 8, 2022#202

D

Dubyamn

Tinwhistler said:
Nah...a republican friend of mine is blaming Biden for the gas prices, which is the most America thing I can think of. I'm like "we didn't even have anything to do with this one!"

The only thing stupider than Biden pushing the big red button labeled "raise gas prices" was installing it in the first place.

Mar 8, 2022#203

Celt Z

Dubyamn said:
The only thing stupider than Biden pushing the big red button labeled "raise gas prices" was installing it in the first place.

He had to do something with the "fetch me Diet Coke" button.

Mar 8, 2022#204

GasBandit

Mar 8, 2022#205

PatrThom

Is...is Putin literally doing this just to "Make Russia Great Again?"

--Patrick

Mar 8, 2022#206

Tress

PatrThom said:
Is...is Putin literally doing this just to "Make Russia Great Again?"

--Patrick

Seems that way.

Mar 8, 2022#207

bhamv3

GasBandit said:

This suggests that the fastest way to end the war would be for Zelenskyy to step down.

Mar 8, 2022#208

PatrThom

bhamv3 said:
This suggests that the fastest way to end the war would be for Zelenskyy to step down.

I think the absolute fastest way to end this war would be for Putin to step down.

Buuuuuuuuuuuuuut...

--Patrick

Mar 9, 2022#209

Tinwhistler

Russian army right now.

Mar 9, 2022#210

GasBandit

An interesting read

Mar 10, 2022#211

ThatNickGuy

This is heart wrenching to watch. The graphic content warning is warranted here, as parts of the video show footage of dead soldiers and civilians on the ground.

Mar 10, 2022#212

ScytheRexx

After watching a few videos of Putin's recent meetings with his ministers and media, it's really clear to me that absolutely everyone in his sphere is terrified of him.

The last one I just saw, they were talking about all the sanctions, and about the future recovery of the ruble, one guy telling Putin that it was good what was happening to the economy and everything will recover by the next quarter. Putin then asked another minister for a comment on what the first guy said, and for like three minutes straight attempted to goad any "reservations" out of the second guy on the supposed recovery mentioned by the first guy, each time him having to choke out a "No everything is great. We can talk about it later." The guy absolutely refused to give any counter argument that would look bad even though Putin beat him over the head asking for it. They are basically a bunch of yes men terrified that Putin is going to have them fall out of a window if they make him look bad. It makes me wonder if the reason he goads them so much to tell him their feelings is a trap or he really just got himself surrounded by people unwilling to bring him bad news even when he legitimately wants to hear it.

Mar 10, 2022#213

PatrThom

ScytheRexx said:
one guy telling Putin that it was good what was happening to the economy and everything will recover by the next quarter.

That guy just doesn't want to end up in the cornfield.

--Patrick

Mar 10, 2022#214

Krisken

ScytheRexx said:
After watching a few videos of Putin's recent meetings with his ministers and media, it's really clear to me that absolutely everyone in his sphere is terrified of him.

The last one I just saw, they were talking about all the sanctions, and about the future recovery of the ruble, one guy telling Putin that it was good what was happening to the economy and everything will recover by the next quarter. Putin then asked another minister for a comment on what the first guy said, and for like three minutes straight attempted to goad any "reservations" out of the second guy on the supposed recovery mentioned by the first guy, each time him having to choke out a "No everything is great. We can talk about it later." The guy absolutely refused to give any counter argument that would look bad even though Putin beat him over the head asking for it. They are basically a bunch of yes men terrified that Putin is going to have them fall out of a window if they make him look bad. It makes me wonder if the reason he goads them so much to tell him their feelings is a trap or he really just got himself surrounded by people unwilling to bring him bad news even when he legitimately wants to hear it.

He fucking poisoned a political rival with no chance of wnning a rigged election. I mean, no, they have no choice here.

Mar 11, 2022#215

General Specific

Krisken said:
He fucking poisoned multiple political rivals with no chance of winning rigged elections. I mean, no, they have no choice here.

FTFY

Putin's not hiding the dictator part anymore. He used to with political theater, but he's full-on Bond villain territory now. Pretty sure if any of those guys had said anything out of line, they'd have been dragged off by guards and the last we'd have heard would have been a single gunshot.

Mar 11, 2022#216

Shakey

I get the feeling that the job of the IAEA is to hold press conferences and tell everyone everything is going to be ok now.
Between this and Chernobyl not having power any more, they need to take a firmer stance and not sit around until a full on disaster happens. Not that they can really do anything, but quit downplaying the dangers of what’s happening.

Ukraine sees risk of radiation leak at Chernobyl, IAEA sees 'no critical impact' on safety

Ukraine said on Wednesday there was a danger of a radiation leak at the Chernobyl nuclear power station after electricity was cut off to the plant, but the U.N. nuclear watchdog saw "no critical impact on security".

www.reuters.com

Mar 11, 2022#217

figmentPez

Search engine Duck Duck Go has announced that it is going to downrank Russian propaganda in it's search results. So right-wing social media is up in arms with hashtag "DuckDuckGone", claiming that Duck Duck Go is censoring the "truth" because it's "woke" and part of "big tech".

Mar 11, 2022#218

Krisken

I miss facepalm emote.

Mar 11, 2022#219

PatrThom

More like "Oh no they're on to us."

--Patrick

Mar 11, 2022#220

figmentPez

"This doesn't have anything to do with left or right, the reason people use Duck Duck Go is for unfiltered search results."

Yeah, that's not how this works. All search engines filter results. That's the point of a good search engine, to show users the most relevant and useful results. They're supposed to filter out spam, misinformation, sites attempting to manipulate search results, etc.

Duck Duck Go's selling point is privacy, not unfiltered sludge.

Mar 11, 2022#221

ScytheRexx

These people don't understand how algorithms work anyways. DuckDuckGo will still show you stuff based on what you were searching before, so when you spent a month searching for "Freedom Mandate" for months, of course that one time you type in "Vaccine Lies" it's going to link you to The Wacky Rightist's blog because it thinks that is what you want, having been there dozens of times before. These guys think that means it's unfiltered though, and that the blog is "the truth" because it was the top search result that wasn't on google or bing.

What's even funnier, is I am pretty sure DuckDuckGo just uses Bing anyways, it just filters the search so the searching system isn't sending data to Microsoft from the original searcher, and instead sends the info from the DDG servers, thus how they keep things private.

Mar 11, 2022#222

PatrThom

ScytheRexx said:
I am pretty sure DuckDuckGo just uses Bing anyways, it just filters the search so the searching system isn't sending data to Microsoft from the original searcher

I used to think it did this, but with Google, as in you ask DDG, DDG asks Google, Google responds to DDG, DDG passes those results to you, but DDG's FAQs specifically state they use ABSOLUTELY NOTHING from Google. They could practically rebrand as the "IHateGoogle" search engine. Their site also states (at least as of today) that...

Because we don’t know anything about you, and therefore don't even have the capacity to alter individual results based on your search history, you also don’t have to worry about the “filter bubble” on DuckDuckGo Search, which is the manipulation of your search results based on a personal profile about you.

They have even done some research on how Google searches will customize your search results even when you are logged out of Google and are using private browsing.

As to where they DO get their results, it's a little complicated:

DuckDuckGo gets its results from over four hundred sources[, including] hundreds of vertical sources delivering niche Instant Answers, DuckDuckBot (our crawler) and crowd-sourced sites (like Wikipedia, stored in our answer indexes). We also of course have more traditional links in the search results, which we also source from multiple partners, though most commonly from Bing ([but] none from Google).

So yes looks like a large portion comes from Bing.

--Patrick

Mar 11, 2022#223

Dave

Krisken said:
I miss facepalm emote.

Mar 11, 2022#224

Krisken

Dave said:

Yes, that one.

Mar 12, 2022#225

Frank

So the world's best tank hunter and the world's best sniper (one Syrian, the other Canadian) are both in Ukraine now fighting Russians.

I'd fucking stop letting my command staff sit out in the open the way the Russian command have been with the sniper out there. That dude is one, a fucking psychopath if you've ever heard him talk about missing shooting people in the head during war and two, the deadliest sniper that has ever lived by a long shot. Nailing someone from 3 and a half kilometers away is insane. He's apparently upwards of 6-7 times more productive (deadly) than average snipers.

The Syrian dude said he's going to Ukraine because he's out of targets in Syria. He has like 150+ confirmed vehicle kills with rockets,etc. He's got 100 TOW missiles and no more Russians in Syria to shoot them at.

I know 2 guys aren't going to win a war, it's just neat, even in unbelievably violent context, to see two people so fucking good at what they do that no one on Earth can come close to matching what they've done.

Mar 12, 2022#226

blotsfan

Is the Canadian one the guy who said he won't shoot Russians but will shoot Chechnyans because they're Muslim?

Mar 12, 2022#227

Frank

blotsfan said:
Is the Canadian one the guy who said he won't shoot Russians but will shoot Chechnyans because they're Muslim?

I haven't read anything like that, but I do know the guy is a violent, unhinged piece of shit (BIG SHOCK) so it wouldn't surprise me.

Mar 12, 2022#228

ScytheRexx

Today, Putin but the head of his spy network on house arrest for "misleading" him about Ukraine. Claims he was told by his intelligence apparatus that Ukraine wanted liberation and that the government in charge would flee the country once they marched on Kyiv.

Another report came out that many of the officers that entered on the first push had their "military dress" with them for the victory march through Kyiv rather then extra rations or ammo.

Even with all this though, Putin says he is still pushing for victory, probably because he knows his strong man authoritarian status evaporating could be the end of him.

Mar 12, 2022#229

Krisken

ScytheRexx said:
Today, Putin but the head of his spy network on house arrest for "misleading" him about Ukraine. Claims he was told by his intelligence apparatus that Ukraine wanted liberation and that the government in charge would flee the country once they marched on Kyiv.

Another report came out that many of the officers that entered on the first push had their "military dress" with them for the victory march through Kyiv rather then extra rations or ammo.

Even with all this though, Putin says he is still pushing for victory, probably because he knows his strong man authoritarian status evaporating could be the end of him.

It's already evaporating. Ukraine doesn't have to win, they just need to hold out long enough for someone to betray Putin.

Mar 12, 2022#230

Cheesy1

Two Ukrainians whose family hid someone during the Holocaust say they've found refuge in Israel because the survivor's granddaughter took them in

Mar 13, 2022#231

jwhouk

Frank said:
So the world's best tank hunter and the world's best sniper (one Syrian, the other Canadian) are both in Ukraine now fighting Russians.

I'd fucking stop letting my command staff sit out in the open the way the Russian command have been with the sniper out there. That dude is one, a fucking psychopath if you've ever heard him talk about missing shooting people in the head during war and two, the deadliest sniper that has ever lived by a long shot. Nailing someone from 3 and a half kilometers away is insane. He's apparently upwards of 6-7 times more productive (deadly) than average snipers.

The Syrian dude said he's going to Ukraine because he's out of targets in Syria. He has like 150+ confirmed vehicle kills with rockets,etc. He's got 100 TOW missiles and no more Russians in Syria to shoot them at.

View attachment 40925

I know 2 guys aren't going to win a war, it's just neat, even in unbelievably violent context, to see two people so fucking good at what they do that no one on Earth can come close to matching what they've done.

Fun fact: 3.54 km is roughly the length of Phoenix Sky Harbor's runway 8/26 (the north side runway).

Mar 13, 2022#232

GasBandit

I can't even imagine hitting something at that range. Even in a vacuum, it'd take a bullet 5 seconds to travel that distance.

Mar 13, 2022#233

Frank

GasBandit said:
I can't even imagine hitting something at that range. Even in a vacuum, it'd take a bullet 5 seconds to travel that distance.

I remember reading it was 13 but doing mental math makes that seem wrong so now I have to go look it up.

How a Canadian sniper shot someone more than 2 miles away, explained by a Canadian sniper

The sniper shot an ISIS militant in Iraq last month.

www.vox.com

This says it's 10.

Mar 13, 2022#234

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
5 seconds

~11,200ft, so just need to know muzzle velocity but yeah easily 10sec or more.

What’s getting me is at that distance, is accounting for the wind insufficient and how much do you have to start taking the temperature/altitude of the air and the curvature of the Earth into consideration?

—Patrick

Mar 13, 2022#235

Frank

The article above goes into it.

Mar 14, 2022#236

GasBandit

Mar 14, 2022#237

Bubble181

That's several days old by now :-P

Mar 14, 2022#238

Frank

Nice to see Tusli Gabbard and Glenn Greenwald just becoming actual, open Russian agents.

Mar 14, 2022#239

PatrThom

Frank said:
Nice to see Tusli Gabbard and Glenn Greenwald just becoming actual, open Russian agents.

The time for subterfuge has passed. Time to don your brown shirt and get to work.

--Patrick

Mar 14, 2022#240

Frank

Of course the biolab shit is straight Q-Anon, OF COURSE IT IS.

I fucking hate technology. I'm like two more terrible days from running naked into a forest never to be heard from again.

Mar 14, 2022#241

PatrThom

This is not technology’s fault.
This is, as usual, a lack of critical thinking.

—Patrick

Mar 14, 2022#242

Ravenpoe

Frank said:
I fucking hate technology.

Hey I made a thread about this!

Yes I know the irony of posting it to an internet forum...

Mar 16, 2022#243

GasBandit

Mar 17, 2022#244

BErt

uuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhh….what??

Mar 17, 2022#245

Ravenpoe

BErt said:
uuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhh….what??

No no your honor, I wasn't "trafficking" these children, I was rescuing them!

Mar 17, 2022#246

chris

BErt said:
uuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhh….what??

There are reports of assholes who offer money to the refugee helpers at the train stations to bring woman and their children to them.

Mar 17, 2022#247

blotsfan

I didn’t click the article, when he was a politician which party did he belong to?

Mar 17, 2022#248

Bubble181

blotsfan said:
I didn’t click the article, when he was a politician which party did he belong to?

Mass killing of liberals to create a theocracy?
Based on my reading on Tumblr and Reddit, I'm going to guess he's in the progressive wing of the Democratic party but not quite far enough off center to be one of the good ones.

Mar 17, 2022#249

Tinwhistler

Mar 17, 2022#250

blotsfan

Oh wow thanks that cleared it up.

Mar 17, 2022#251

Celt Z

BErt said:
uuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhh….what??

Is he bringing them to a pizza place in DC? I hear that's what they do.

Mar 17, 2022#252

AshburnerX

The real sick part of this is even if he's not doing it for sex reasons, he's almost certainly doing it to bring these kids up in the "proper" view of Christianity instead of the Eastern Orthodox, knowing full well that US courts won't return the children to their parents even IF they manage to track down their children in the poorly regulated religious adoption agencies.

Mar 17, 2022#253

Bubble181

Hand him dozens of Syrian war refugees, his Christian heart should definitely treat those the same as the white Ukrainian kids right?

I mean, there's flagrant racism all over (Poland and Hungary opening their borders for tens of thousands of refugees while blocking anyone from Syria or Egypt or...), but for the European nations at least most can make some sort of "it's our neighbour this time" excuse. For America, Ukrain and Syria are literally the same flight duration. There's absolutely no reason to help one and not the other I can think of. None. Nope. Nada.

Mar 17, 2022#254

Celt Z

I still have my doubts this won't end in child trafficking, but I don't want that creeper getting his hands on any children, Ukraine or Syrian.

Mar 17, 2022#255

Dei

Mar 17, 2022#256

Celt Z

Dei said:

It shows why Trump and a chunk of the GOP are in bed with this guy: they're all reading from the same playbook, just different languages.

Mar 17, 2022#257

PatrThom

Dei said:

I was waiting for the part where he started talking about "Peace On Earth" and "Purity Of Essence" while holding a manila envelope with a big red "Я" on it.

EDIT: Someone just texted this back to me in response.

--Patrick

Mar 17, 2022#258

Cheesy1

8 House Republicans voted against suspending normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus

Gee, I wonder why these particular representatives would hesitate to condemn an egomaniac with obvious authoritarian aspirations? :rolleyes:

Mar 18, 2022#259

jwhouk

Gosar was one, wasn’t he?

EDIT: oh God it’s worse - it’s MY congresscreature.

Mar 18, 2022#260

Bubble181

jwhouk said:
Gosar was one, wasn’t he?

An egomaniac with obvious authoritarian aspirations? Yes.
One of these eight? Oddly, no.

Mar 18, 2022#261

Krisken

Of course Grothman. He's the dumbest man there.

Mar 18, 2022#262

mikerc

Canada throwing massive shade.

Mar 18, 2022#263

Frank

Not the first time.

This is from 2014.

Mar 18, 2022#264

Celt Z

I like Sassy Canada!

Mar 18, 2022#265

Frank

If it's shocking, Canada has the third largest Ukrainian population on Earth, only behind Ukraine itself and Russia. Alberta was settled by huge amounts of Ukrainians post the tribulations of the early 20th century.

Mar 18, 2022#266

Frank

So did anyone see the jumpsuits the Russian cosmonauts were wearing boarding the ISS?

I guess you can't be disappeared by the not-KGB in space.

Mar 19, 2022#267

sixpackshaker

I recommend Beau of the Fifth Column on YouTube. He does good world affairs coverage. He is ex-US military intelligence. Also he has some of the best predictions about the war in Ukraine from the start. Except of course no one thought Putin would be stupid enough to attack a near-peer.

https://www.youtube.com/c/BeauoftheFifthColumn

Mar 20, 2022#268

GasBandit

A really really long but interesting read, in the form of a 25,000 pixel high screenshot of a thread of tweets.

Mar 20, 2022#269

sixpackshaker

Are the 2nd and 3rd images for ants?

Mar 20, 2022#270

GasBandit

sixpackshaker said:
Are the 2nd and 3rd images for ants?

Like I said, they're 25000 pixels tall, so the embed frame resizes them down. You'll have to click-through to actually read.

Mar 20, 2022#271

GasBandit

Mar 20, 2022#272

evilmike

sixpackshaker said:
Are the 2nd and 3rd images for ants?

Mar 21, 2022#273

GasBandit

I've been reading in various sources that the Russian people support the invasion of Ukraine to the tune of something like 66% to 72% depending on who you ask. How much of that is political number-fudging and how much of it is scared people saying what will keep them out of the Gulag, I couldn't tell you.

But basically every interview with a Russian I've seen goes like this

Mar 21, 2022#274

Bubble181

The Russian propaganda machine is (just like the American right wing and the American left wing ones) quite potent (I'd argue that the European propaganda machines are weaker, partially simply because most Europeans have far more and easier access to outside sources. I can easily double check what my national TV is telling me on CNN, or BBC, or Bejing Today if I feel so inclined, or Fox News).
If you're a young Russian, you get classes in school to learn how to verify (fake) news stories. Check what different trusted government sources are saying. Check with trusted newspapers that aren't government-owned, like Kommersant (which is....Technically not government-owned. And is allowed to be the "liberal" newspaper in Russia. Which means it makes some minor oppositional sounds on occasion...like, "this special military operation was necessary, but regrettable, such a shame we're being forced into it" instead of "this special military operation is patriotic and we should all be in favor!").
Then you go on VKontakte, where plenty of celebrities and "innocent", "normal" people influencers are using the same talking points - some the official literal words (from which you get those funny composite videos of 100 people repeating the same stuff verbatim, much like local news in the USA). Others, who are "individual" and "open" and "different", use different words and give a slightly different look, but of course the base message remains the same - the people don't agree with the SMO are painted as the absolute lunatic fringe. What they differ on and cause a bunch of noise about to keep critics and opposition occupied is side-stories like "this clearly shows we need more/less money spent on our security", "we should have kept our market closed so we'd be much better off, see how much those evil American corporations can hurt our normal everyday people because we've allowed them in and push away Russian companies", "Western aggression is much worse than we ever expected, see how they instrumentalize economics to try and hurt the Motherland",...). Next you go watch TV, and the official channels, of course, all parrot the official points. So you go watch some commercial TV, where professors and specialists come and explain why and how this is Western imperialism and Russian defense - or is it Russian intervention on behalf of the poor Russian-speaking Ukrainians being killed for almost a decade now? It's all geopolitics, Russia was getting too strong, the West is scared and used this humanitarian action to try and bring us back down.
Wherever you turn, you see the official version. If you don't buy into that and go looking for counter-voices, you'll find them....but they're still actually government-controlled or influenced, and they'll "disagree" on specific aspects while ignoring the baseline.

I read a story about a Russian refugee in the Netherlands. She complained that her parents had been completely indoctrinated in the Soviet era and still couldn't properly think for themselves, and how her children are now being subjected to the same approach and she can see it take hold of her daughter. The daughter was asked to find info on some war-related story, and it took her 8 pages to find real info; everything before was skewed or faked in one way or another.
Having to go to page 8 of search results to find some foreign weird page proclaiming"we're telling the truth and all the rest is lying!", that's....well, conspiracy theorist levels of "searching" for the "right" answer. Young Russians will feel they've done their duty and tried to find the truth after two or three attempts, and they'll still believe the Russian story - even if they're vehemently anti-Putin and pro-democratic!

Mar 21, 2022#275

chris

And now Facebook and Instagram are both banned from Russia for being "extremist sites".

Mar 21, 2022#276

GasBandit

chris said:
And now Facebook and Instagram are both banned from Russia for being "extremist sites".

I thought Russia had already basically blocked the world on their firewall?

Mar 21, 2022#277

chris

GasBandit said:
I thought Russia had already basically blocked the world on their firewall?

The access to Facebook was blocked but not illegal. Today a Russian court decleared both Facebook and Instagram illegal and Meta as an extremist company working against Russia. WhatsApp is still legal however.

Mar 21, 2022#278

AshburnerX

Bubble181 said:
The Russian propaganda machine is (just like the American right wing and the American left wing ones) quite potent (I'd argue that the European propaganda machines are weaker, partially simply because most Europeans have far more and easier access to outside sources. I can easily double check what my national TV is telling me on CNN, or BBC, or Bejing Today if I feel so inclined, or Fox News).
If you're a young Russian, you get classes in school to learn how to verify (fake) news stories. Check what different trusted government sources are saying. Check with trusted newspapers that aren't government-owned, like Kommersant (which is....Technically not government-owned. And is allowed to be the "liberal" newspaper in Russia. Which means it makes some minor oppositional sounds on occasion...like, "this special military operation was necessary, but regrettable, such a shame we're being forced into it" instead of "this special military operation is patriotic and we should all be in favor!").
Then you go on VKontakte, where plenty of celebrities and "innocent", "normal" people influencers are using the same talking points - some the official literal words (from which you get those funny composite videos of 100 people repeating the same stuff verbatim, much like local news in the USA). Others, who are "individual" and "open" and "different", use different words and give a slightly different look, but of course the base message remains the same - the people don't agree with the SMO are painted as the absolute lunatic fringe. What they differ on and cause a bunch of noise about to keep critics and opposition occupied is side-stories like "this clearly shows we need more/less money spent on our security", "we should have kept our market closed so we'd be much better off, see how much those evil American corporations can hurt our normal everyday people because we've allowed them in and push away Russian companies", "Western aggression is much worse than we ever expected, see how they instrumentalize economics to try and hurt the Motherland",...). Next you go watch TV, and the official channels, of course, all parrot the official points. So you go watch some commercial TV, where professors and specialists come and explain why and how this is Western imperialism and Russian defense - or is it Russian intervention on behalf of the poor Russian-speaking Ukrainians being killed for almost a decade now? It's all geopolitics, Russia was getting too strong, the West is scared and used this humanitarian action to try and bring us back down.
Wherever you turn, you see the official version. If you don't buy into that and go looking for counter-voices, you'll find them....but they're still actually government-controlled or influenced, and they'll "disagree" on specific aspects while ignoring the baseline.

I read a story about a Russian refugee in the Netherlands. She complained that her parents had been completely indoctrinated in the Soviet era and still couldn't properly think for themselves, and how her children are now being subjected to the same approach and she can see it take hold of her daughter. The daughter was asked to find info on some war-related story, and it took her 8 pages to find real info; everything before was skewed or faked in one way or another.
Having to go to page 8 of search results to find some foreign weird page proclaiming"we're telling the truth and all the rest is lying!", that's....well, conspiracy theorist levels of "searching" for the "right" answer. Young Russians will feel they've done their duty and tried to find the truth after two or three attempts, and they'll still believe the Russian story - even if they're vehemently anti-Putin and pro-democratic!

It's also worth mentioning that even small slights against the government that get reported can and will be investigated, leading to potential consequences against you and your family.

When you have nearly every source you can easily access telling you one thing and a government willing to make your life hell if you question it, there really isn't much incentive to question state propoganda. It's not like YOU can just leave right now, even if you know the truth... and even if you support revolutionaries at home, even being part of the winning team has been no guarantee of safety in Russia (historically speaking).

Mar 21, 2022#279

Frank

If some of the stuff I've seen is true, the war is mostly supported by boomers. Big shock, even in Russia, it's the olds that are shit.

Babushka warmongers.

Mar 21, 2022#280

GasBandit

Mar 21, 2022#281

Celt Z

GasBandit said:

I love how this states it's "easily-read" when zero images are showing up for me.

Mar 21, 2022#282

GasBandit

Celt Z said:
I love how this states it's "easily-read" when zero images are showing up for me.

What can I say, shitty imgur code strikes again.

Mar 23, 2022#283

Frank

So the war is continuing to go extremely poorly for Russia to the point that it honestly looks like they will collapse as a nation before they take Kyiv.

Mar 23, 2022#284

jwhouk

...or they'll go nuclear.

Mar 23, 2022#285

Krisken

jwhouk said:
...or they'll go nuclear.

Considering the proximity to Poland, just say goodnight then. There is losing, then there is ending human existence out of spute.

Mar 23, 2022#286

GasBandit

Krisken said:
Considering the proximity to Poland, just say goodnight then. There is losing, then there is ending human existence out of spute.

The worry is that, given the rumors about Putin's declining health, he might just decide to take as many of us with him as he can, consequences be damned.

Mar 23, 2022#287

Krisken

GasBandit said:
The worry is that, given the rumors about Putin's declining health, he might just decide to take as many of us with him as he can, consequences be damned.

Then I guess his inner circle will need to make a hard decision. No one is that invincible.

Mar 23, 2022#288

Cheesy1

And especially if he's about shuffle off this mortal coil anyway, then fuck him.

Mar 23, 2022#289

ThatNickGuy

Meanwhile, Russia's estimated troop losses are...a lot, to put it mildly. They've also lost about half a dozen geberals in the past month.

Mar 23, 2022#290

Cheesy1

ThatNickGuy said:
They've also lost about half a dozen geberals in the past month.

Those Russian geberals breed like . . . well . . .

Mar 23, 2022#291

ThatNickGuy

Cheesy1 said:
Those Russian geberals breed like . . . well . . .
View attachment 41028

This is why I hate typing on my phone. Sometimes I don't catch dumb typos like that. Stupid fat fingers.

Mar 24, 2022#292

Bubble181

Russia has said it would only use nuclear arms if they faced an existential threat.

Sadly, "We were stupid enough to invade a coutnry too big and belligerent to conquer, and now our economy is collapsing, our army is folding up, and the people are restless" could be considered an existential threat to a country.

Mar 24, 2022#293

GasBandit

Bubble181 said:
Russia has said it would only use nuclear arms if they faced an existential threat.

Sadly, "We were stupid enough to invade a coutnry too big and belligerent to conquer, and now our economy is collapsing, our army is folding up, and the people are restless" could be considered an existential threat to a country.

Their justification for every single policy and government action since the Bolsheviks consolidated their power after the revolution has been a nebulous ongoing "existential threat." The entire soviet mindset is one that they are constantly besieged by enemies and there are traitors all around.

Mar 24, 2022#294

sixpackshaker

Another good analyses video from the tube.

Mar 24, 2022#295

Emrys

ThatNickGuy said:
This is why I hate typing on my phone. Sometimes I don't catch dumb typos like that. Stupid fat fingers.

That was an awesome typo!

Mar 24, 2022#296

Celt Z

ThatNickGuy said:
This is why I hate typing on my phone. Sometimes I don't catch dumb typos like that. Stupid fat fingers.

As the Queen of Typos (long may she facepalm), the best typos are the ones that make something infinitely funnier. Russian geberals made my morning.

Mar 24, 2022#297

evilmike

Celt Z said:
As the Queen of Tapas (long may she facepalm), the best typos are the ones that make something infinitely funnier. Russian geberals made my morning.

FTFY

Mar 24, 2022#298

Celt Z

evilmike said:
FTFY

Dammit, dude! I thought I really did make that typo and I had to go check!

Mar 24, 2022#299

Tinwhistler

Now I want to be the Queen of Tapas.

Mar 24, 2022#300

Ravenpoe

Tinwhistler said:
Now I want to be the Queen of Tapas.

Too late

ax1vo-AR46PVQ2QVF-Full-Image_GalleryBackground-en-US-1498247323642._SX1080_.jpg

Mar 24, 2022#301

Tinwhistler

I was thinking more like: I sit on a throne in fancy clothes and people bring me tapas all day

Mar 24, 2022#302

GasBandit

At a casual glance I thought that guy in the center was Paul Rudd.

Mar 24, 2022#303

Frank

He's the non-union Mexican equivalent, Paulos Rudduerra.

Mar 24, 2022#304

GasBandit

Russian diplomat: If NATO threatens us we have the right to press the nuclear button

Dmitry Polyanskiy spoke to Sky News from inside Russia's mission to the UN in New York, where pictures of Vladimir Putin adorn the walls.

news.sky.com

Mar 24, 2022#305

Frank

Bring it. Call the bluff.

Mar 25, 2022#306

Frank

At some point Hunter Biden should probably Hulk Hogan/Gawker the shit out of Fox.

Mar 26, 2022#307

GasBandit

Mar 27, 2022#308

GasBandit

Mar 27, 2022#309

blotsfan

Fake news! He is not a military leader anymore due to his recent unfortunate suicide with two polonium bullets to the back of his head while falling out of a tall building.

Mar 28, 2022#310

Krisken

WTH?

Roman Abramovich and Ukrainian Peace Negotiators Suffer Suspected Poisoning

The Russian oligarch and at least two senior members of the Ukrainian team developed symptoms that people familiar with the matter blamed on hard-liners in Moscow who they said wanted to sabotage talks to end the war.

www.wsj.com

Because of course. I think Putin looks at wvery living thing and thinks "Yknow, I could poison that".

Mar 29, 2022#311

Krisken

The Day Foreign Journalists Felt Forced to Leave Moscow

After a meeting at the Russian Foreign Ministry, dozens of outlets moved their reporters out of the country.

www.newyorker.com

Excellent story by Clare Malone at the New Yorker on the media crackdown in Russia and the journalists who decided it was best not to stay.

Mar 29, 2022#312

jwhouk

So who's left, Fox News and what? OANN?

Mar 29, 2022#313

GasBandit

jwhouk said:
So who's left, Fox News and what? OANN?

Pravda, NY Post, Daily Mail...

Mar 29, 2022#314

Frank

As I've been following this map every day, the little blue appearing is heartening.

Apr 1, 2022#315

Frank

Apr 1, 2022#316

Shawn

Frank said:

I really hope Putin tries to claim that Ukraine committed a war crime there.

Apr 1, 2022#317

chris

He will change the narrative in a way that Ukraine attacked Russia unprovoked. Now the russians can call it a war.

Apr 1, 2022#318

Bubble181

I find it interesting how in the West, it's being painted as "Russia really miscalculated and is losing badly and is suffering", while in China and Africa, the narrative is "Russia has secured a land connection to the Crimea, has taken the full coastline, has gotten insurances about Ukrainian neutrality, and is now consolidating defenses to protect the Russian areas where atrocities were being committed against the poor civilians. Ukraine has been destabilized and is now poorer, weaker, and with less infrastructure, the threat to Russia has been neutralized, Russia has achieved all its original goals.".

I mean, the fun bit is both are technically true. I fully believe Russia intended to do a regime change and quickly take Kyiv and replace Zelinskyy. But besides that, all their stated objectives and all of their strategic goals have been achieved. A peace treaty that confirms the current status quo would be an absolute and pure win for Russia.

Apr 1, 2022#319

Krisken

Yes, all those dead troops and having to conscript people into their army to continue the aggression, not to mention the sanctions and damage to the Russian economy, total win for Russia

Apr 1, 2022#320

D

Dubyamn

Bubble181 said:
I find it interesting how in the West, it's being painted as "Russia really miscalculated and is losing badly and is suffering", while in China and Africa, the narrative is "Russia has secured a land connection to the Crimea, has taken the full coastline, has gotten insurances about Ukrainian neutrality, and is now consolidating defenses to protect the Russian areas where atrocities were being committed against the poor civilians. Ukraine has been destabilized and is now poorer, weaker, and with less infrastructure, the threat to Russia has been neutralized, Russia has achieved all its original goals.".

I mean, the fun bit is both are technically true. I fully believe Russia intended to do a regime change and quickly take Kyiv and replace Zelinskyy. But besides that, all their stated objectives and all of their strategic goals have been achieved. A peace treaty that confirms the current status quo would be an absolute and pure win for Russia.

Why exactly would Ukraine ever agree to a peace treaty that confirmed the status quo? All that would do is insure that they'll be fighting the exact same war 10 years from now.

Apr 1, 2022#321

Bubble181

Dubyamn said:
Why exactly would Ukraine ever agree to a peace treaty that confirmed the status quo?

Because the alternative is "getting bombed even more for a few months, then get the same offer".
Yeah, they're not there yet. But Ukraine can't keep this up for 6 more months unless the West gets a bit more active. And don't forget - the #1 candidate for US president in 2 years' time is even as we speak broadcasting pro-Russian propaganda and calling Putin an amazing genius who made the right call. WHILE THE BOMBS ARE FALLING.

Apr 1, 2022#322

D

Dubyamn

Bubble181 said:
Because the alternative is "getting bombed even more for a few months, then get the same offer".
Yeah, they're not there yet. But Ukraine can't keep this up for 6 more months unless the West gets a bit more active. And don't forget - the #1 candidate for US president in 2 years' time is even as we speak broadcasting pro-Russian propaganda and calling Putin an amazing genius who made the right call. WHILE THE BOMBS ARE FALLING.

Russia can't keep this up for 6 more weeks. Especially not if Ukraine is starting to strike their only viable industry. To let Russia have the land they've already grabbed is very stupid since it would only insure that Putin attacks again once he's rearmed and resupplied.

It would be cowardly and stupid on a level that I can't see any kind of support for.

Apr 1, 2022#323

Frank

Ukraine will never accept a status quo treaty.

Apr 1, 2022#324

Bubble181

I agree with both those. I'm not saying it's going to happen. but, right now, don't kid yourself by only reading American or European newspapers - there is zero possibility Russia will withdraw from the Donbass region or willing give Ukraine access to the sea. It's going to last for quite a bit longer, and where it'll end up, I don't know. But the Facebook Master Strategists claiming Russia is being pushed back and will completely have to give up everything, perhaps even give back Crimea, are just idiots.

Apr 1, 2022#325

D

Dubyamn

Bubble181 said:
I agree with both those. I'm not saying it's going to happen. but, right now, don't kid yourself by only reading American or European newspapers - there is zero possibility Russia will withdraw from the Donbass region or willing give Ukraine access to the sea. It's going to last for quite a bit longer, and where it'll end up, I don't know. But the Facebook Master Strategists claiming Russia is being pushed back and will completely have to give up everything, perhaps even give back Crimea, are just idiots.

I'm sure that North Vietnam will surrender any day now. I mean they're up against a world super power.

Apr 1, 2022#326

Bubble181

Dubyamn said:
I'm sure that North Vietnam will surrender any day now. I mean they're up against a world super power.

You're right, the US realized they weren't going to win and just returned home after a month or two, putting all of Vietnam back into the hands of the North and paying to restore any damage they'd done. I'm genuinely not sure what you're trying to say here?
I'm not saying Ukraine should roll over and give Russia what they want. All I'm saying is that I'm hearing a lot of people in the West going "haha! Russia is completely imploding! they completely misjudged! What buffoons! They're losing so badly, it's funny!", because that's more or less what we're being shown. The sentiment in a very large part of the world is quite different. Obviously this isn't going as planned by the Russians, but thinking they're just going to pack up and go home is naive and wishful thinking. This war is going to last a long time still, and Europe is already coming back on promises for weapons and embargoes and so on. NATO, EU, US - nobody is going to go in and help Ukraine. So, sure, it may turn into Russia's Vietnam, bogged down for years and returning home without any accomplishments. Or it might turn into a second Syria - Assad is happy back in power and the Western-supported rebels are MIA, the population is completely oppressed and scared.

I'm seeing far too much happy "Russia is losing haha" on social media, and that's just...not what's happening. Even if Russia started off badly, there is literally no realistic future where Russia just packs up and goes home and apologizes for disturbing their neighbors. Maybe if the right person were to launch a coup in Russia...But even so I very much doubt it.

Apr 1, 2022#327

Krisken

But you aren't talking to social media, you're talking to us.

Apr 1, 2022#328

D

Dubyamn

Bubble181 said:
You're right, the US realized they weren't going to win and just returned home after a month or two, putting all of Vietnam back into the hands of the North and paying to restore any damage they'd done.

Not exactly what they taught in US schools.

'm genuinely not sure what you're trying to say here?

You don't see any similarity in a super power getting into a war of misadventure, finding it far more costly than they expected so they kept on upping the violence in an attempt to make the other side surrender and the current situation?

If you don't I don't really know what to tell you.

I'm not saying Ukraine should roll over and give Russia what they want. All I'm saying is that I'm hearing a lot of people in the West going "haha! Russia is completely imploding! they completely misjudged! What buffoons! They're losing so badly, it's funny!", because that's more or less what we're being shown. The sentiment in a very large part of the world is quite different. Obviously this isn't going as planned by the Russians, but thinking they're just going to pack up and go home is naive and wishful thinking. This war is going to last a long time still, and Europe is already coming back on promises for weapons and embargoes and so on. NATO, EU, US - nobody is going to go in and help Ukraine. So, sure, it may turn into Russia's Vietnam, bogged down for years and returning home without any accomplishments. Or it might turn into a second Syria - Assad is happy back in power and the Western-supported rebels are MIA, the population is completely oppressed and scared.

I'm seeing far too much happy "Russia is losing haha" on social media, and that's just...not what's happening. Even if Russia started off badly, there is literally no realistic future where Russia just packs up and goes home and apologizes for disturbing their neighbors. Maybe if the right person were to launch a coup in Russia...But even so I very much doubt it.

Except your original claim was that it was reasonable to expect Ukraine to accept a status quo peace treaty because they were being bombed. You have a problem with people saying Russia is losing then go argue with that don't post nonsense.[/quote]

Apr 1, 2022#329

GasBandit

The critical difference between Ukraine and Vietnam is that the Russians have a much tighter lock on the information their populace get than America did (and does). Vietnam was lost in the American Press - militarily, we were devastating them. The Tet offensive was a calamitous loss for NV tactically, but its effect on the American public's will to fight accomplished what their troops could not.

Apr 1, 2022#330

D

Dubyamn

GasBandit said:
The critical difference between Ukraine and Vietnam is that the Russians have a much tighter lock on the information their populace get than America did (and does). Vietnam was lost in the American Press - militarily, we were devastating them. The Tet offensive was a calamitous loss for NV tactically, but its effect on the American public's will to fight accomplished what their troops could not.

An offensive that took place 7 years before the end of the war is your proof that the US was winning in Vietnam?

Apr 1, 2022#331

GasBandit

Dubyamn said:
An offensive that took place 7 years before the end of the war is your proof that the US was winning in Vietnam?

From what I've read, it's generally considered the turning point. Despite it being a military defeat for the north, it started the chain reaction that led to the US failing.

Apr 2, 2022#332

Tinwhistler

GasBandit said:
From what I've read, it's generally considered the turning point. Despite it being a military defeat for the north, it started the chain reaction that led to the US failing.

So sayeth the BBC.

North Vietnam - Why the USA lost the war in Vietnam - Higher History Revision - BBC Bitesize

For Higher History, study the reasons the USA lost the war in Vietnam. Learn the tactics used by both sides and the growing opposition to war in the USA.

www.bbc.co.uk

They suffered many casualites and the Tet Offensive was a military defeat for them.

The offensive failed but has been viewed as a turning point.

Apr 2, 2022#333

D

Dubyamn

GasBandit said:
From what I've read, it's generally considered the turning point. Despite it being a military defeat for the north, it started the chain reaction that led to the US failing.

It also isn't proof that the US was winning the war.

The US would get 2 more presidents both of who knew that the Vietnam War was unwinnable and invade another country as part of an insane idea that maybe destroying Cambodia would work. Vietnam was fought harder after the Tet offensive not softer.

Apr 2, 2022#334

GasBandit

Dubyamn said:
It also isn't proof that the US was winning the war.

The US would get 2 more presidents both of who knew that the Vietnam War was unwinnable and invade another country as part of an insane idea that maybe destroying Cambodia would work. Vietnam was fought harder after the Tet offensive not softer.

No, it wasn't proof that the US was winning the war, it was the turning point where public opinion in the US started turning against the war (despite it being a tactical failure for the north), and it was that erosion of public opinion that ultimately led to the US's withdrawal more than any actual military losses.

Apr 2, 2022#335

D

Dubyamn

GasBandit said:
No, it wasn't proof that the US was winning the war, it was the turning point where public opinion in the US started turning against the war (despite it being a tactical failure for the north), and it was that erosion of public opinion that ultimately led to the US's withdrawal more than any actual military losses.

7 years later after thousands more Americans died and no victory was in sight. Despite the war spiraling completely out of control.

Apr 2, 2022#336

GasBandit

Dubyamn said:
7 years later after thousands more Americans died and no victory was in sight. Despite the war spiraling completely out of control.

From wikipedia:

The Tet offensive was in 68. 12k of those 17k were in that offensive. Total American dead over the course of the war was just over 50k.

Meanwhile the North Vietnamese had 1.1 million dead, a number the Vietnamese government did not release until 1995.

And here almost 50 years later, the American press still has you convinced that the US was losing militarily.

The Russians, by most estimates, have lost around 35k in one month. And their state-run press still has the home front convinced they're doing well.

Lying to the masses is a frightfully powerful political tool.

Apr 2, 2022#337

D

Dubyamn

GasBandit said:
From wikipedia:

View attachment 41114

The Tet offensive was in 68. 12k of those 17k were in that offensive. Total American dead over the course of the war was just over 50k.

Meanwhile the North Vietnamese had 1.1 million dead, a number the Vietnamese government did not release until 1995.

And here almost 50 years later, the American press still has you convinced that the US was losing militarily.

The Russians, by most estimates, have lost around 35k in one month. And their state-run press still has the home front convinced they're doing well.

Lying to the masses is a frightfully powerful political tool.

You do know that the sharp decline in deaths was due to the US sidelining US troops in 1971 right? Not because we suddenly got really good at fighting the Vietnamese?

And yeah that's what casualties liok like when a country with air superiority fights another country. You want me to post the number of dead Russians vrs the number of dead Germans as proof that Germany was winning WWII?

Apr 2, 2022#338

GasBandit

Dubyamn said:
You do know that the sharp decline in deaths was due to the US sidelining US troops in 1971 right? Not because we suddenly got really good at fighting the Vietnamese?

And yeah that's what casualties liok like when a country with air superiority fights another country. You want me to post the number of dead Russians vrs the number of dead Germans as proof that Germany was winning WWII?

That's a disingenuous comparison.

Eastern Front (World War II) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Germany's military: 13.6 million
Red army: 35 million

Germany deaths on the eastern front: 5 million.
USSR deaths on the eastern front: 8.7-10 million.

As a function of a fraction of the total size of each nation's military, neither figure looks good, but in no way do these numbers even come close to making Germany look like it was winning. They had a 2:1 K/D ratio at best, starting with a force that was less than half the size.

That's kind of a different story than Vietnam's 22/1 ratio, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine's (unconfirmed) at least 10:1 ratio.

Apr 2, 2022#339

D

Dubyamn

GasBandit said:
That's a disingenuous comparison.

Eastern Front (World War II) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Germany's military: 13.6 million
Red army: 35 million

Germany deaths on the eastern front: 5 million.
USSR deaths on the eastern front: 8.7-10 million.

As a function of a fraction of the total size of each nation's military, neither figure looks good, but in no way do these numbers even come close to making Germany look like it was winning. They had a 2:1 K/D ratio at best, starting with a force that was less than half the size.

That's kind of a different story than Vietnam's 22/1 ratio, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine's (unconfirmed) at least 10:1 ratio.

Point remains that looking at the number of enemy killed vrs the number of your own dead is a childish way of looking at military victory. Especially when you see how the US stopped being on the Frontline after 71.

Apr 2, 2022#340

GasBandit

Dubyamn said:
Point remains that looking at the number of enemy killed vrs the number of your own dead is a childish way of looking at military victory. Especially when you see how the US stopped being on the Frontline after 71.

Point remains that the actual point here was that public opinion - shaped by the press - was what did the US in, not the actual military situation. And it's what is keeping Putin's regime afloat amidst the biggest military flop since Custer.

Apr 2, 2022#341

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
public opinion - shaped by the press - was what did the US in, not the actual military situation.

Influenced heavily by Walter Cronkite, if the stories are to be believed.

--Patrick

Apr 2, 2022#342

@Li3n

GasBandit said:
Point remains that the actual point here was that public opinion - shaped by the press - was what did the US in, not the actual military situation.

Yeah guys, if the US just fought for another decade or so, it totally wouldn't have been taken over by the locals within weeks of leaving.

GasBandit said:
And it's what is keeping Putin's regime afloat amidst the biggest military flop since Custer.

Nah, i'm pretty sure it's the mass crackdown on dissent that's keeping the public opinion on his side, no matter what the private one is like.

Apr 2, 2022#343

D

Dubyamn

GasBandit said:
Point remains that the actual point here was that public opinion - shaped by the press - was what did the US in, not the actual military situation.

If you believe nonsense without an ounce of proof.

And it's what is keeping Putin's regime afloat amidst the biggest military flop since Custer.

Propaganda also isn't going to change the facts on the ground that Ukraine is a goddamn debacle and isn't going to turn out well for Russia. It'll probably keep Putin around but it isn't going to magically dissolve Ukrainian troops.

Apr 2, 2022#344

GasBandit

Dubyamn said:
If you believe nonsense without an ounce of proof.

I mean, I've provided links (granted wikipedia links, but they have source documentation), others have provided links to other experts saying the same thing... whereas you haven't provided anything but disproven rhetoric. But hey, you're just as free as any Trumper to plug your ears and scream "fake news."

At any rate, I think this conversation has run its course.

Apr 2, 2022#345

D

Dubyamn

GasBandit said:
I mean, I've provided links (granted wikipedia links, but they have source documentation), others have provided links to other experts saying the same thing... whereas you haven't provided anything but disproven rhetoric.

You actually haven't provided a single link to show that the US was in a good position in the Vietnam War.

But if you want links instead of just reading your own let's talk about how the US military post 68 was a fucking mess with soldiers fragging officers that wouldn't allow them to find a safe spot and call back fake reports. Or just refusing to fight the Vietnamese at all. Which is why the US started undergoing Vietnamization where US troops would step back and South Vietnamese forces would step forward. An undertaking that worked as well in Vietnam as it did in Iraq and Afghanistan. With big operations in Cambodia and Laos having either little effect or being outright disasters. Then of course you ignore the Easter offensive where North Vietnam launched a huge invasion of South Vietnam and was only halted by a massive bombing campaign that left North Vietnam with only significant gains rather than complete victory.

So your claim that the US was in a great position militarily is nonsense.

But hey, you're just as free as any Trumper to plug your ears and scream "fake news."

At any rate, I think this conversation has run its course.

Probably has.

Apr 2, 2022#346

Tinwhistler

lol

Putin 'running out of missiles' because all the parts are made in Ukraine

The Russian military's stock levels are said to be 'pretty bad'.

metro.co.uk

Apr 2, 2022#347

Frank

They're massacring civilians as they abandon villages, leaving the roads lined with corpses.

Apr 2, 2022#348

jwhouk

So, how many of us were actually alive when the Tet Offensive happened - other than myself and @Dave?

Apr 2, 2022#349

Celt Z

@Grytpipe-Thynne?

Apr 2, 2022#350

GasBandit

Celt Z said:
@Grytpipe-Thynne?

Has not been on the site since March 2021 :/

Apr 2, 2022#351

Tinwhistler

jwhouk said:
So, how many of us were actually alive when the Tet Offensive happened - other than myself and @Dave?

Year before I was born.

Apr 2, 2022#352

Dave

Apr 3, 2022#353

Frank

Yeah, they also carved swastikas into the torsos of many of those people while they were still alive.

Russian civilians gleefully support it.

Apr 3, 2022#354

GasBandit

Any hapless innocent soldiers who didn't want to kill Ukrainians all surrendered within the first week. The ones remaining are the butchers, rapists, and murderers.

And unfortunately the home front is much the same.

Apr 3, 2022#355

GasBandit

Putin believed his own propaganda

Russian oligarch: Putin went 'literally insane' when Russian army wasn't met 'with flowers' in Ukraine

Appearing on CNN with host Fareed Zakaria, exiled Russian oligarch Mikail Khodorkovsky tried to explain what is happening with Russian President Vladimir Putin now that his invasion of Ukraine has stalled and the invading army is engaging in atrocities against Ukrainian civilians.Speaking with...

www.rawstory.com

Apr 3, 2022#356

ScytheRexx

The whole story just gets worst. Reports are Ukrainian soldiers have found that some of the bodies left behind in the streets of the Kyiv suburbs are concealing land mines. They literally booby trapped their dead, which has forced Ukranians to be cautious collecting bodies for burial.

Apr 3, 2022#357

Frank

The blue spreads.

Apr 5, 2022#358

Frank

Apr 5, 2022#359

GasBandit

Apr 5, 2022#360

PatrThom

So being a Nazi in Ukraine now is just the same as what, being a Jew in Germany in the 30's?
I'm confused.

--Patrick

Apr 5, 2022#361

chris

It's easy. Anyone who is against russia or not part and ruled by russia is a nazi.

Apr 5, 2022#362

Bubble181

Well now, a definitive Final Solution to the problem? We're making progress, it took about 2 years to come up with that last time.

Apr 5, 2022#363

Sara_2814

The Other History of the Holocaust at The Atlantic. It explains how Russians can think Ukrainians are "Nazis" though they have a Jewish leader.

Apr 5, 2022#364

Bubble181

Translation of the full article here (while it lasts)

Apr 5, 2022#365

Frank

Bubble181 said:
Translation of the full article here (while it lasts)

Jesus. Just a call for absolute and total genocide.

Apr 6, 2022#366

GasBandit

Apr 6, 2022#367

Bubble181

As the author itself points out with the references to Radio Milles Collines and Goebbels....This is not new, nor surprising - and it already IS a war crime, depending on what they say and know.

Doesn't make it any better or anything, mind. Not like anyone will actually face any consequences from this. But it IS already punishable, so the last few tweets are kind of without purpose;

Apr 6, 2022#368

GasBandit

Apr 6, 2022#369

Krisken

EXACTLY FUCKING RIGHT.

Apr 7, 2022#370

Bubble181

I'm not exactly Verhofstadt's biggest fan, to say the least, but when he 's got a point he' s got a point.

Of course, with Germany unable to stop using Russian gas, Hungary still actively building a nuclear plant with Russian funds, uranium, plans, and staff, etc etc, there's too many people unwilling to go as far as we need to.
A complete ban on anything from, to, or passing through, Russia, as well as blocks and sanctions against countries that do accept Russian goods or material.

Apr 7, 2022#371

BErt

Apr 7, 2022#372

Celt Z

BErt said:
View attachment 41156

The internet has taught me to be skeptical about these things, but I SO want this to be real.

Apr 7, 2022#373

Krisken

Verified.

Scott Detrow is a contributor to the NPR Politics podcast and is currently reporting for NPR in Ukraine.

Apr 7, 2022#374

Frank

I had to look up what that meant. I have never seen Red Dawn apparently.

Apr 7, 2022#375

MindDetective

Frank said:
I had to look up what that meant. I have never seen Red Dawn apparently.

You would probably hate it, so of course I think you should watch it while live blogging it. Both the original and the remake.

Apr 7, 2022#376

Celt Z

It is a famous/infamous piece of Reagn-era propaganda, but looking at it from a pop-culture standpoint, perfectly used in this situation.

EDIT: The original, I mean. The new one was supposed to be about China, China got pissed, and it was changed to North Korea. I never saw the new one, and only saw the original for how batshit, over-the-top ridiculous it was.

Apr 7, 2022#377

Celt Z

Red Dawn (1984) : "Nobody puts Baby in the Gulag."*

*I'm sure someone somewhere made this joke decades ago, but it just popped into my head, so I'm claiming credit.

Apr 7, 2022#378

GasBandit

Medvedev said the quiet part out loud.

Putin 'wants to build empire from Vladivostok to Portugal' warns colleague

Dmitry Medvedev also said Putin's "special military operation" in Ukraine was undertaken in a bid to "demilitarise" and "de-Nazify" the country

www.irishmirror.ie

Apr 8, 2022#379

GasBandit

It was the plan all along

Apr 8, 2022#380

Krisken

We really need a "DUH" tag for stuff like this. It's been the Russian tactic for the last 20 years.

Also, we can drop the "It's just Putin" stuff now. No, it's Russia, now.

Apr 8, 2022#381

Tress

Krisken said:
It's been the Russian tactic for the last 80 years.

FTFY.

The Red Army’s march to Berlin at the end of WWII was brutal in the exact same way.

Apr 9, 2022#382

Frank

The carnage left in the wake of the retreated areas is too horrific to imagine. Thanks to some military friends I have that I have a group chat with I've seen some of the worst things I've seen since I helped K division digitize photo evidence at major crimes.

Hey Russia, do me (humanity) one solid, stop raping babies. If there's one thing you could stop doing, it's that. Thanks. Fuck you.

Apr 10, 2022#383

GasBandit

Shell is still buying Russian oil, but then mixing it with oil from other sources in a 49.99 to 50.01 ratio, and calling it "Latvian Blend" and technically it's not Russian anymore so they can then turn around and sell it.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/energy/the-backdoor-that-keeps-russian-oil-flowing-into-europe/2022/04/08/efecb7ce-b701-11ec-8358-20aa16355fb4_story.html

Apr 10, 2022#384

AshburnerX

GasBandit said:
Shell is still buying Russian oil, but then mixing it with oil from other sources in a 49.99 to 50.01 ratio, and calling it "Latvian Blend" and technically it's not Russian anymore so they can then turn around and sell it.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/energy/the-backdoor-that-keeps-russian-oil-flowing-into-europe/2022/04/08/efecb7ce-b701-11ec-8358-20aa16355fb4_story.html

DOOOOOOOM thinks this is despicable, even for him!

Apr 11, 2022#385

Krisken

Russia Warns Sweden, Finland Against Joining NATO (msn.com)

You hear that, Sweden and Finland? Putin wants you NEXT.

Apr 11, 2022#386

Bubble181

Ah, when I saw this thread updated I assumed it was about the (currently unconfirmed) reports that Russia had deployed chemical weapons in Mariupol.

Apr 12, 2022#387

GasBandit

China’s Echoes of Russia’s Alternate Reality Intensify Around the World (Published 2022)

China’s officials and state media are increasingly parroting Russian propaganda organs on the war in Ukraine, undercutting U.S. and European diplomatic efforts, even after the killings in Bucha.

www.nytimes.com

The lines are pretty much drawn.

When this shit finally boils over, it's going to be a hell of a chapter in the history books, if anybody is alive to print them.

Apr 13, 2022#388

GasBandit

Apr 13, 2022#389

Frank

The Russian Black Sea flagship, the Moskva, the ship involved in the Snake Island "Go fuck yourself, Russian warship" incident at the start of the war is apparently sinking after being successfully attacked. Or at the very least badly damaged. According to folk monitoring maritime channels, it's broadcasting sinking and SOS in morse.

Apr 13, 2022#390

GasBandit

Apr 13, 2022#391

Frank

Holy shit, Andrew of Channel 5 News is actually in Ukraine.... That's a heckuva step up from Nascar rallies and Q-Anon conferences.

Apr 13, 2022#392

jwhouk

How ironic. WWIII won't happen because the USSR wanted to take over Europe; WWIII will happen because the USSR wanted to take its territory back.

Apr 13, 2022#393

GasBandit

jwhouk said:
How ironic. WWIII won't happen because the USSR wanted to take over Europe; WWIII will happen because the USSR wanted to take its territory back.

Ukraine predates the USSR, and predates Russia.

Apr 13, 2022#394

Frank

Really, Russians are descended from Ukrainians.

History of Russia - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Apr 13, 2022#395

GasBandit

Frank said:
The Russian Black Sea flagship, the Moskva, the ship involved in the Snake Island "Go fuck yourself, Russian warship" incident at the start of the war is apparently sinking after being successfully attacked. Or at the very least badly damaged. According to folk monitoring maritime channels, it's broadcasting sinking and SOS in morse.

Apr 14, 2022#396

Frank

I guess it's confirmed now.

Russia's damaged Black Sea flagship sinks in latest setback

The flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet sank after it was heavily damaged in the latest setback for Moscow’s invasion.

apnews.com

Apr 14, 2022#397

bhamv3

I'm surprised Russian media didn't try to claim they got a new submarine.

Apr 14, 2022#398

GasBandit

Apr 14, 2022#399

PatrThom

GasBandit said:

--Patrick

Apr 15, 2022#400

Just Me

Apr 15, 2022#401

Bubble181

Conspiracy Theory Time: since neither side actually wants this to escalate to WWIII, the gassing in Mariupol went "unconfirmed". The sinking of the Moskva was actually aided by US/NATO troops and everyone involved on both sides knows full well it's the retaliation/punishment for the gas attack, but neither side can come out and actually say that, since it would mean the Cold War became Hot.

Apr 15, 2022#402

AshburnerX

Bubble181 said:
Conspiracy Theory Time: since neither side actually wants this to escalate to WWIII, the gassing in Mariupol went "unconfirmed". The sinking of the Moskva was actually aided by US/NATO troops and everyone involved on both sides knows full well it's the retaliation/punishment for the gas attack, but neither side can come out and actually say that, since it would mean the Cold War became Hot.

My take? No, but only because if Putin had evidence of direct US involvement in the war, he'd be blasting it from every avenue and using it force the US to mediate a resolution that lets Putin save face infront of his people, probably by sacrificing a lot of Ukrainian territory. Ukraine would be forced to comply, because the rest of NATO isn't going to keep supplying them for a war that could end NOW instead of when nukes start flying.

No, I suspect the Moskva suffered a USS Cole-style bombing that wasn't prevented because Russia doesn't have enough experienced navy men in that part of the world.

Apr 15, 2022#403

Dave

It really doesn't matter. Both Russian and Chinese state media frame the war as a US & NATO war of aggression and that's what most of the people there believe. What ever makes you think they need proof to trumpet their bullshit from the highest mountain? Or to deny that they are the aggressors and are using genocidal tactics and committing mass rape, murder, and war crimes even though there is ample proof?

Apr 15, 2022#404

Krisken

Yup, this is what a country with only Fox News looks like.

Apr 15, 2022#405

GasBandit

A recording of a phone call between a Russian soldier and his wife where she gives him permission to rape Ukranians ("just don't tell me about it, and use contraception"), has been making the rounds. The couple has apparently been identified.

Apr 15, 2022#406

GasBandit

Apr 15, 2022#407

Celt Z

GasBandit said:
A recording of a phone call between a Russian soldier and his wife where she gives him permission to rape Ukranians ("just don't tell me about it, and use contraception"), has been making the rounds. The couple has apparently been identified.

Well, they look like winners.

Apr 15, 2022#408

GasBandit

Russians rounded up and executed 900 Ukrainian civilians.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ukraine-russia-invasion-april-15-1.6421111

Apr 15, 2022#409

PatrThom

Hardly unexpected, at this point.

--Patrick

Apr 15, 2022#410

ScytheRexx

Pride is a terrible monster. These soldiers rolled in thinking they would be welcomed as heroes, only to be treated like the invaders they are, and forced to retreat with thousands of their comrades dead.

This was the proper punishment in their mind, these were not people to them, but ungrateful animals that would only support their enemies. They had to die.

We need a change on this planet, because as long as we allow these types of people to fester and put pride above life, we will never stop killing each other.

Apr 16, 2022#411

Krisken

At this point I just expect the worst and for the entire world to stand by and do the bare minimum.

Apr 16, 2022#412

Dave

Well, Russian state media is reporting that the sinking of the Moskva was both a tragic accident and the start of WWIII since this is all NATO’s fault.

Apr 16, 2022#413

Krisken

Looking more and more like I'm going to lose in the Apocalypse raffle. I was really pulling for asteroid.

Apr 16, 2022#414

Frank

Widespread partisan activity has been reported deep in Russian controlled areas.

Apr 16, 2022#415

Bubble181

Russia had just claimed they have taken Mariupol.

Apr 16, 2022#416

chris

Bubble181 said:
Russia had just claimed they have taken Mariupol.

Again?

Apr 19, 2022#417

GasBandit

Apr 19, 2022#418

PatrThom

Me, flipping through album, getting to #2: "...is this just The Wellerman?"
Me, clicking to #3: "Ok, it's not just me."

--Patrick

Apr 23, 2022#419

GasBandit

Goblins stealing from Orcs

Apr 23, 2022#420

AshburnerX

Considering that France and Germany have been caught selling weapons to Russia despite embargos dating from the Crimea Invasion, I think a bunch of war prizes are the least of their worries.

Apr 23, 2022#421

Celt Z

900 civilians executed, but good thing we got those iPhones back! :censored:

Apr 23, 2022#422

GasBandit

I don't think the FSB is going to return them to their rightful owners.

I think they're going to sell them themselves.

Apr 25, 2022#423

BErt

Apr 25, 2022#424

GasBandit

BErt said:

How are they so bad at it??

Apr 25, 2022#425

chris

People following orders without thinking for themselves.

Apr 26, 2022#426

GasBandit

chris said:
People following orders without thinking for themselves.

There's some conjecture that they're fucking up on purpose to spite Putin. Sort of a "malicious compliance" extreme.

Apr 26, 2022#427

AshburnerX

GasBandit said:
There's some conjecture that they're fucking up on purpose to spite Putin. Sort of a "malicious compliance" extreme.

It has to be. Finding 3 copies of The Sims 3 on short notice was probably a several day task... it's a 13 year old game!

Apr 26, 2022#428

GasBandit

AshburnerX said:
It has to be. Finding 3 copies of The Sims 3 on short notice was probably a several day task... it's a 13 year old game!

To be fair, it probably just came out last year in Russia.

Apr 26, 2022#429

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
How are they so bad at it??

Simpsons did it: "Signed - LITTLE GIRL"

--Patrick

Apr 26, 2022#430

blotsfan

Apr 26, 2022#431

ScytheRexx

Some apologists have been trying to say that "Signature Unclear" is actually a secret Nazi signature they use whenever they carry out crimes. It's kind of sad.

Apr 26, 2022#432

phil

ScytheRexx said:
Some apologists have been trying to say that "Signature Unclear" is actually a secret Nazi signature they use whenever they carry out crimes. It's kind of sad.

LoL

Like...why sign anything at all? That's "everyone in our secret gang has the same tattoo" levels of dumb. Like don't these people realize that if it looks like bad TV it's probably not real? Or are they banking on others to say "damn this is like some good ass TV so it must be real"

Apr 26, 2022#433

Bubble181

The amount of people raised on TV and yet still believing so much B-rate stuff is astounding.
People have seemingly lost their ability to think critically.

Apr 26, 2022#434

D

Dubyamn

GasBandit said:
There's some conjecture that they're fucking up on purpose to spite Putin. Sort of a "malicious compliance" extreme.

Could be they’re trying to get taken off the Ukrainian desk so they aren’t the ones catching a bullet when the dust settles. Or could be the FSB isn’t the kind of organization that rewards asking clarifying questions.

Apr 28, 2022#435

drifter

Donate $1,000, get a keychain made from a downed Su-34

Not entirely sure it's legit, but dang that's cool if true.

Apr 29, 2022#436

GasBandit

"We have to have a special military operation to demilitarize NATO" wow are these guys off in fantasyland.

Apr 29, 2022#437

Tinwhistler

The Russian tank design flaw that makes them 'mobile coffins'

Unlike in Western tanks, Russian vehicles store up to 40 shells in a carousel at the base of the turret, making them extremely vulnerable in what is known as the 'jack-in-the-box effect'.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Even an indirect hit can spark a chain reaction, igniting all the ammunition at once and decapitating the vehicles dubbed 'mobile coffins' by Western military experts.

The 'jack-in-the-box effect' has contributed to the devastating loss of up to 970 Russian tanks, the Ukrainian military claims.

Video included in article.

Apr 29, 2022#438

Frank

That aerial shot of the tank turret hundreds of feet away from the destroyed tank is like the ultimate sign of Russian military might.

Apr 30, 2022#439

sixpackshaker

It seems the Iraqis were using better tanks 30 years ago.

Apr 30, 2022#440

jwhouk

Anyone out there a bit concerned that RUSSia might be trying something... spectacular... for May Day?

Apr 30, 2022#441

blotsfan

Boomers stop acting like Russia under putin is even nominally communist challenge (impossible)

Apr 30, 2022#442

sixpackshaker

jwhouk said:
Anyone out there a bit concerned that RUSSia might be trying something... spectacular... for May Day?

May 9th is more likely.

May 2, 2022#443

GasBandit

Putin is inching towards his nukes, threatening to annihilate the world if he fails to capture Ukraine, says foreign affairs expert

The world has to stop Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, because he is an existential threat to the human civilization, international affairs expert Ivan Yakovina said in an interview with NV Radio. We print an edited transcript of the interview below:

news.yahoo.com

May 2, 2022#444

PatrThom

Looks like a good time to get a job as a bank vault manager.

—Patrick

May 2, 2022#445

evilmike

Time enough, at last.

May 4, 2022#446

GasBandit

May 4, 2022#447

PatrThom

OMG I finally get it now.
Russia wants to denazify the rest of the world because they are Not-Z's! It's so simple!

--Patrick

May 6, 2022#448

GasBandit

Russian frigate Admiral Makarov ‘on fire after being hit by Ukrainian missile’

Ship was sailing near Snake Island when hit, say reports

www.independent.co.uk

May 9, 2022#449

GasBandit

May 9, 2022#450

GasBandit

May 9, 2022#451

Bubble181

GasBandit said:

Problem there being that while individuals may well not be all that belligerent, they've been force-fed misinformation for years, and their world view is now hopelessly warped by fake news and manipulation through the media.

...oh wait, I thought we were talking about Republicans. Sorry! Yeah, there may still be hope for Russians.

May 9, 2022#452

sixpackshaker

GasBandit said:

Well looks like those recruits do not want to go to Ukraine either.

May 9, 2022#453

GasBandit

Ukraine mocked Russia's 'Victory Day' by holding a 'parade' of captured Russian tanks

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry tweeted its military was "ruining the holiday for the occupiers" as Russian forces celebrated in their home country.

www.businessinsider.com

May 12, 2022#454

Bubble181

Finland has declared its intention to join NATO.

Russia has responded that they consider this a threat and will have repercussions etc etc.

So: neighbor of Russia does something they don't like = it's a threat
neighbor of Finland does something they don't like = they should roll over and take it and not meddle in "internal" affairs.

Ah yes, logic.

May 12, 2022#455

GasBandit

Yep. In the eyes of the NeoUSSR, other countries are either prey or threat. There is no third classification. You are either a prize to be taken, or an enemy engaged in active hostilities.

May 12, 2022#456

Bubble181

GasBandit said:
Yep. In the eyes of the NeoUSSR, other countries are either prey or threat. There is no third classification. You are either a prize to be taken, or an enemy engaged in active hostilities.

Or a proper and respectful vassal/client state. I guess.

May 12, 2022#457

GasBandit

Bubble181 said:
Or a proper and respectful vassal/client state. I guess.

That's a taken prize. They let you wear a unique nametag, but you're pretty much in the Union.

May 12, 2022#458

AshburnerX

The stated goal of the current powers in Russia is the eventually "reclaimation" of all previously held territory and expansion Westwards to defeat the decadent western Nazis. This will never happen; considering the state of everything else in their country, we don't have an reason to believe Russia can actually launch a nuclear weapon effectively and even if they could, the retaliation of such an event (whether conventional or in kind) would be the end of Russia.

They can yell all they want. If they don't want NATO at their doorstep, maybe they shouldn't be so invasive of neighbors.

May 12, 2022#459

Dave

Finland is ONLY joining NATO because of Russian aggression. But let’s not let that little fact get in the way of a good saber rattling.

May 12, 2022#460

Bubble181

Dave said:
Finland is ONLY joining NATO because of Russian aggression. But let’s not let that little fact get in the way of a good saber rattling.

Clearly they're doing it using Ukraine as an excuse but in fact because they're Nazi supporting filthy degenerate Westerners who are being brainwashed to fight against their own best interests, which lie with their big strong and friendly neighbor.

May 12, 2022#461

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
Yep. In the eyes of the NeoUSSR, other countries are either prey or threat. There is no third classification. You are either a prize to be taken, or an enemy engaged in active hostilities.

Yet another textbook example of binary thinking.
This is why they don't want Teh Gays, because that will ruin their "pure" binary stance.

--Patrick

May 12, 2022#462

GasBandit

May 9th came and went... no massive mobilization.

May 21, 2022#463

GasBandit

Tick Tock, Pooty Poot.

Putin Leaving Meetings to Get Medical Treatment, Christopher Steele Says

The former British intelligence official with MI6 claims that the Russian president is "constantly accompanied around the place by a team of doctors."

www.newsweek.com

May 23, 2022#464

GasBandit

Exclusive: Senior Russian Diplomat at U.N. Resigns, “Never have I been so ashamed of my country” - UN Watch

GENEVA, May 23, 2022 — Russia’s counsellor to the United Nations in Geneva has resigned, the most senior diplomat to defect since his country’s invasion of Ukraine began in February, according to an exclusive report by UN Watch, an independent non-governmental human rights organization based in...

unwatch.org

May 23, 2022#465

GasBandit

Jun 5, 2022#466

GasBandit

Ukraine’s partisans are hitting Russian soldiers behind their own lines

In Russian-occupied cities like Melitopol, covert resistance continues

www.economist.com

Jun 18, 2022#467

GasBandit

‘Russia is failing’ in Ukraine and has already ‘strategically lost’ the war, says the head of Britain’s armed forces

Russia is a “more diminished power” as a result of its invasion of Ukraine, the head of the British armed forces also said.

fortune.com

Jun 27, 2022#468

figmentPez

Jun 27, 2022#469

Dave

Time for the US to give better missiles to the Ukranians that can reach farther into Russia.

Jun 27, 2022#470

sixpackshaker

If the famine happens in the Middle East and Africa, I fear that the USA will be drawn into open warfare in Ukraine.

Jul 4, 2022#471

GasBandit

Seems like Russia's stealth fighters aren't exactly all that stealthy.

4 Russian Su-57 Jets, Operating In Stealth Mode, Identified & Destroyed Ukrainian Air Defense Systems - Decoding Claims

In May, the Russian state-owned media, TASS, reported that the Russian military has been using Su-57 fighters in the ongoing Ukraine war for two or three weeks after the onset of the Russian assault on Ukraine. Russia Attacks Snake Island After ‘Goodwill Withdrawal’; Ukraine Did Not Draw Lessons...

eurasiantimes.com

Jul 5, 2022#472

AshburnerX

GasBandit said:
Seems like Russia's stealth fighters aren't exactly all that stealthy.

4 Russian Su-57 Jets, Operating In Stealth Mode, Identified & Destroyed Ukrainian Air Defense Systems - Decoding Claims

In May, the Russian state-owned media, TASS, reported that the Russian military has been using Su-57 fighters in the ongoing Ukraine war for two or three weeks after the onset of the Russian assault on Ukraine. Russia Attacks Snake Island After ‘Goodwill Withdrawal’; Ukraine Did Not Draw Lessons...

eurasiantimes.com

1.) This is TASS, meaning it's almost certainly false. They wouldn't be reporting an ongoing operation and certainly not one involving Russia's supposedly hotshit next-gen fighter.

2.) Russia has a total of 4 of these things, 12 years after production began (Well... plus 10 testbeds that are probably non-functional at this point). They will not be a factor in the grand scheme of things.

3.) I highly doubt Russian engineers managed to do better than the F-22A, which is kind of a flying turkey itself.

Jul 12, 2022#473

Frank

HIMARS are making a huuuuuge impact on Ukraine.

Just a few of them have made a massive impact.

The absolute worst job in the Russian military right now must be anyone working at an ammo depot.

Jul 12, 2022#474

PatrThom

Or logistics in general.

--Patrick

Jul 12, 2022#475

sixpackshaker

PatrThom said:
Or logistics in general.

--Patrick

Or General in Specific.

Aug 10, 2022#476

ScytheRexx

Looks like Ukraine is positioning itself to take back Crimea. They destroyed a Russian airbase in the area, destroying over a billion dollars of military hardware and countless soldiers stationed there. Russian tourists are now fleeing the area over the Crimean bridge. (seriously? Tourists?)

What's weird to me is the Russian response, they blame the airbase going up in smoke on "improper fire safety" because they would rather make themselves look like idiots that would blow up their own airbase then admit Ukraine was able to get past their air defenses.

Aug 10, 2022#477

Bubble181

Russia is now also recruiting convicts with promises of amnesty for 6 months of service. No pedophiles or terrorists (as designated by the Russian government), but murderers and robbers and rapists, sure. They alledgely) get 2 weeks of boot camp before being dropped in Ukraine to serve as cannon fodder.
I can absolutely believe this, easily, but....Yikes.

Aug 10, 2022#478

HCGLNS

Bubble181 said:
Russia is now also recruiting convicts with promises of amnesty for 6 months of service. No pedophiles or terrorists (as designated by the Russian government), but murderers and robbers and rapists, sure. They alledgely) get 2 weeks of boot camp before being dropped in Ukraine to serve as cannon fodder.
I can absolutely believe this, easily, but....Yikes.

You can't believe this? Russia employs the Zap Branigan strategy consistently. Clog the enemy with our dead until victory.

Aug 10, 2022#479

Bubble181

Bubble181 said:
Russia is now also recruiting convicts with promises of amnesty for 6 months of service. No pedophiles or terrorists (as designated by the Russian government), but murderers and robbers and rapists, sure. They alledgely) get 2 weeks of boot camp before being dropped in Ukraine to serve as cannon fodder.
I can absolutely believe this, easily, but....Yikes.

HCGLNS said:
You can't believe this? Russia employs the Zap Branigan strategy consistently. Clog the enemy with our dead until victory.

....

Aug 11, 2022#480

Frank

Yeah, Ukraine's been making heavy use of the anti-radar weapons provided. Basically nullifying Russia's anti-air capabilities.

Sep 1, 2022#481

mikerc

The chairman of a Russian oil company, who criticised the invasion of Ukraine has used after ~~being pushed out of~~ falling out of a sixth-floor window.

No wait, it was suicide - he willingly jail out the window!

Sep 1, 2022#482

chris

mikerc said:
The chairman of a Russian oil company, who criticised the invasion of Ukraine has used after ~~being pushed out of~~ falling out of a sixth-floor window.

No wait, it was suicide - he willingly jail out the window!

What are you talking about? His death was clearly of natural cause.

Sep 1, 2022#483

Bubble181

Walk into a bear's den, get mauled to death, that's natural causes. Walking into Russia state chambers and opposing Putin, obviously same thing so natural causes too. Durr.

Sep 9, 2022#484

Frank

Russian lines are domino-ing really badly now near Kharkiv, like a total collapse. The Ukranians are shocked at how fast they're falling apart, saying they can't capture territory fast enough. It's legit exactly like a rout in Total War.

Some other Russian statistics that are interesting

To showcase Russia's demographic decline, some stats on their births and deaths:

In July 2022, Russia registered 113,946 babies being born, a decrease of 10,769 (-8.36%) from July 2021 during which 124,715 babies were born

In July 2022, Russia registered 131,763 deaths, down from 215,265 in July 2021 (huge difference can be contributed to COVID-19)

As such, in July 2022, Russia had a natural population decline of 17,817 people in the month of July 2022

From January through July 2022, Russia registered 749,164 babies being born, a decrease of 53,663 (6.68%) compared through January-July 2021, during which 802,827 babies were born

From January through July 2022, Russia registered 1,150,803 deaths, down from 1,315,309 deaths in January-July 2021. Again, the difference was made by the COVID-19 pandemic

As such, from January through July 2022, Russia registered a natural population decline of 401,639 people

Probably shouldn't be throwing an entire generation of young men at a war you're losing very badly.

Here's some comedy:

Sep 10, 2022#485

Frank

Russia just took a huge defeat and admitted it.

Sep 10, 2022#486

GasBandit

Can we fast forward to the part where Putin shoots himself in his bunker yet?

Sep 10, 2022#487

Dave

GasBandit said:
Can we fast forward to the part where Putin shoots himself in his bunker yet?

And winter is coming. I would absolutely love it if Ukraine pushed the Russians out and stopped at the border. Crimea river, bitches!

Sep 10, 2022#488

PatrThom

GasBandit said:
Can we fast forward to the part where Putin shoots himself in his bunker yet?

I think at least a few more people have to fall from high windows before that will happen.

—Patrick

Sep 10, 2022#489

Celt Z

Dave said:
Crimea river, bitches!

...how long were you waiting to use that? Be honest.

Sep 10, 2022#490

Dave

Celt Z said:
...how long were you waiting to use that? Be honest.

Since the Russians first "annexed" the area.

Sep 10, 2022#491

blotsfan

I do wonder if Russia is really falling apart the way that it looks like, if Ukraine will try to take Crimea back.

Sep 10, 2022#492

drifter

Didn't they already say a while back the war won't be over until the pre-2014 borders are re-established?

Sep 10, 2022#493

AshburnerX

blotsfan said:
I do wonder if Russia is really falling apart the way that it looks like, if Ukraine will try to take Crimea back.

We're literally at the "Oil Oligarchs are 'jumping' from 6th story windows" part of Putin's control purge.

Sep 10, 2022#494

blotsfan

I guess to be darker, if things end up going that badly for Russia, will Putin say "fuck it, whip out the nukes"?

Sep 10, 2022#495

GasBandit

blotsfan said:
I guess to be darker, if things end up going that badly for Russia, will Putin say "fuck it, whip out the nukes"?

Do the nukes even still work, or are they glorified low-yield dirty bombs at this point, I wonder.

Sep 10, 2022#496

blotsfan

That isn't much more appealing.

Sep 10, 2022#497

GasBandit

blotsfan said:
That isn't much more appealing.

Requiring a hazmat cleanup in a heavily damaged building is definitely preferable to the annihilation of a city.

Sep 10, 2022#498

Krisken

I really hope his high ranking officials turn on him before that happens.

Sep 11, 2022#499

AshburnerX

GasBandit said:
Do the nukes even still work, or are they glorified low-yield dirty bombs at this point, I wonder.

This is essentially where NATO is right now. There is essentially no reason to believe that the Russian nuclear stockpile is nearly as massive or functional as previously thought if they were willing to rob their own standing army of it's means to do it's job. In fact, it's basically a sure bet that ALL of the Russian "state of the art" technology they have is only for show... one offs made for the press. We certainly know this is true in regards to their Air Force: there 16 SU-57s in the entirety of the country and 10 of them are hanger queens. If it came to it, it's highly probably that Russia could not defend itself from a conventional attack from NATO forces.

However... they really only NEED one nuclear weapon to deter NATO and the idea that they kept one or even a handful of such weapons active and trained on NATO countries is very feasible. As such, it doesn't really matter how big the arsenal is: if they have anything, it's enough to deter such a scenario purely for humanitarian reasons.

Sep 11, 2022#500

Frank

The bright yellow is the territory taken in the last couple of days to put into perspective just how badly Russia is collapsing in the north.

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