Ukraine War Part XIII

Link to Part XII

Things haven't turned out all that well for the Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine since 2014.

Daily Kos has excellent coverage and analysis of the war in Ukraine:

Thanks for that link R2, really eye-opening.

And sickeningly, that's what Putin wants for all of Ukraine. A sad transformation of a flourishing country into a bunch of squabbling warlords, leading looters and bandits in fights over scraps.

We are the raped women with our throats slit.

R6, both allegedly were “murder-suicides.” What are the odds that two billionaires would go nuts, kill their families and then commit suicide, one right after the other one? Preposterous.

Jesus Christ R5. Those poor people. That poor girl.

R7, I would have multiple passports for my children with deep hidden bank accounts so that once they were out of harm's way, I could wait for the Putin assassins in peace.

Can someone explain something to me? They showed a Ukrainian family arriving in the U.S. this morning, a young couple with their two children. It surprised me because I thought all young men under 60 were not allowed to leave and must stay and fight but clearly there are exceptions. Anyone know what the exact criteria is? (I believe they said, depending I guess on how the war goes, that they're due to return to Ukraine in about a year.)

Never been a fan of Liev Schreiber but he was very compelling on AC 360 tonight. And damn he looked hot. Anderson is obviously smitten with him, he ended the segment with “It was lovely talking to you.”

Zelensky:

“You know they (Russians) used to talk about their biggest dream: to see Paris and die… their dream now is to steal a toilet and die"

Russia's MoD claims only 1 person died on board the sunk Moskva cruiser, with 27 "missing".

So that's a *minimum* of 28 dead then. Remember that they originally claimed that everyone on the ship was evacuated.

"@KevinRothrock

Incredible report from ReutersTech about how Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, betrayed the trust of millions of Russians and agreed to share client data with state regulators targeting Navalny’s supporters."

So anyone who donated to Ukraine or Navalny's team using cryptocurrency is probably going to be targeted now.

Wonder if the Ukrainians will bomb that bridge to Crimea. It would make it very difficult for the Russian to hold Crimea then as the Crimean peninsula has very little water of its own. Prior to 2014, the water came from mainland Ukraine.

I'm guessing that the Ukrainians will also take out more of the Russian Black Sea navy, which would also make it easier to go after Crimea.

Watched an interesting, though long, talk by a Finnish intelligence expert about the Russian mindset--they love authoritarianism because they think the alternative is chaos. They think that NATO is out to get them and their propaganda pretty much pushes this idea that they're surrounded. It's completely okay to lie to outsiders of a group--in this case, the group being Russia. So people in Russia don't care that they can't be trusted by the rest of us.

The talk is from 2018. The guy doesn't really think Russians can/will change.

Insightful essay by a Ukrainian with part Russian background: he's looking at the situation from the perspective of Russia's internal ethnic divisions in the post-Soviet decades.

[quote]The Russian government learnt to export its own smouldering civil conflict outside of its own borders ... Since 2014, this has also been an open civil conflict within the Russian political nation, with ethnic Russians, Russian-speakers, and Russian citizens fighting each other on the both sides of the war in Ukraine .... So we shouldn’t be very much surprised when this conflict spills back over into the territory of the Russian Federation at some point in the near future.

Thanks R16. Interesting article.

I love that it points out that Putin is essentially being eaten by his own ambition and foolish mistakes. He fuels a post-truth reality and the fallout inevitably lands on Russia. He subdues Chechnya and is forced to adopt their militaristic posing and bizarre religious fanaticism. He promotes the far-right across the globe and is now reliant on unreliable extremists for power.

Putin has fallen into the trap of many dictators and demagogues by driving a movement that is slipping out of his control. And hopefully it bites him and Russia back.

[quote]Putin has fallen into the trap of many dictators and demagogues by driving a movement that is slipping out of his control.

Sounds just like Trump.

r18, Authoritarian dictators are birds of a feather. How do you think he ran The Trump Org?

I am friends with a few very fresh off the boat Russians here in my Canadian city and 2 things I've noticed are:

1. They are totally into conspiracy theories and have a tendency to not believe anything - even obvious things - as a matter of course/reflexive reaction. I'm not even talking about political beliefs but things you would never think to question. One of them laughed at me last year for taking my car to the mechanic because "there's nothing wrong with it." They had not been in or near my car for weeks. But were convinced the car was fine and the mechanic, who I had not yet spoken to about the car, was in on it trying to rip me off.

2. When I got sick they were incredulous over my making an appointment with the doctor and tried to send me to some random neighbour lady "for antibiotics." They explained, in incredulous tones, that doctors are liars and all out for money and besides everyone they know brings their kids to this random, not medically qualified woman to get unspecified antibiotics that they likely don't even need.

It's this weird refusal to trust anyone in even a minor position of authority combined with a willingness to trust people with zero qualifications as long as they personally know and can vouch for them. That bit above about it being OK to lie to anyone outside the group makes me wonder if that makes Russians more prone to believing everyone outside their group is 100% always lying.

R20, the Russians have no history of justice. Their whole social order must be based on lies and grift. It probably IS wrong to trust anyone outside your immediate social circle.

At least after 1991, I should think.

Russia is a nation of warped individuals.

More Russian generals killed. Too bad, so sad.

A Russian missile strike killed 8 civilians in Odesa today including a new mother with a 3 month-old child whom Zelenskyy referenced in anger about it.

R24, what Russia is doing isn’t simply wrong by 21st century standards. No, “fighting” a war by deliberately brutalizing defenseless civilians would have been considered barbaric back in the 12th century. Note that I’m not saying that atrocities didn’t happen; I’m saying that they were recognized as wrong. The Russians don’t seem to be able to grasp that.

Regardless the century "War is hell".

Zelenskyy on the missile attack in #Odesa: "As president, fortunately or unfortunately, I don't know, I share the pain of everyone who lost his children".

Putin's fugly baby mother has reappeared to support the war, sporting the Zwastika and huge eyebrows. She's wearing a wedding ring as well.

Just a question. Are you allowing divergent views this time or would you still rather have the same few people post and agree with each other ultimately leading to the thread being paywalled like the last two?

BBC1's 9am flagship show had an interview with a super-articulate State Department spokesman. The picture of Putin gripping his table non-stop was shown, and the spokesman was asked about intelligence as to Putin's health. He sidestepped the question and deflected back to practical priorities.

Putin's whore has a unibrow.

One of the other things about Russia is that its system of education went to hell after the mid-1980s. They had technical training followed by apprenticeship under the Soviet system, so there was a baseline of technical know-how and understanding by the general population. As the USSR started going bankrupt, it rolled back on funding education. Now, instead of technical knowledge, education in Russia is pretty much political indoctrination for most of its people. Between that and the population decline, Russia no longer has enough engineers, programmers, etc. to compete in tech with the U.S., EU, Japan, China, Korea and India. The old Soviet Union used to have good programmers--they were used to crappy hardware and got very creative with the workarounds.

And, of course, this applies to their military equipment.

Finland and Sweden joining NATO would bring definite benefits to NATO--Finland has, of course, that border next to St. Petersburg, but also Europe's biggest artillery as well as an army that *hates* Russia. Sweden has good stealth shallow-water submarine technology. Lots of places where that could be very useful.

No wonder NATO would be perfectly happy to fast track the both of them.

There is a large fire at an oil depot in Bryansk (Bryansk is in Russia). Ukraine needs to target Russia's logistics.

The U.S. will be reopening their embassy in Kyiv and Biden is expected to nominate Bridget Brink as ambassador.

[quote] The U.S. will be reopening their embassy in Kyiv

After Joe cut and ran last February

[quote]After Joe cut and ran last February

After all countries evacuated their diplomats and staff from Kyiv in February, Boris.

Countries reopening their embassies now is symbolic of Putin's failure to achieve his original objectives. Russian forces have been forced to retreat from trying to take Kyiv.

[quote]Putin's fugly baby mother has reappeared to support the war, sporting the Zwastika and huge eyebrows. She's wearing a wedding ring as well.

Those big globular earrings he makes her wear - he says he likes her in them - have an ulterior purpose. They're cyanide capsules to pop before any tiresome business with the war crimes tribunal set up for slam-dunk charges of genocide.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin discussed with Zelenskyy further military assistance, tougher sanctions against Russia and security guarantees.

The latest images of Putin Shocked! Is his disease Parkinson's?

Ukraine destroys oil depot, causing Russia to "burned"

You don't have a FOX link to go with your post, r35? How untypical of you.

R36 but the US was the first one to do it

R43 U.S. intelligence told us all that Russia was planning on a full-scale invasion of Ukraine even when Ukraine themselves didn't believe it... (U.S. intelligence was right). Now the U.S. has re-opened the embassy along with several other countries. A big mark of how Putin has failed.

News from Mariupol, highlighting the differences between the way in which Russians treat Ukrainian POWs and the brutal acts of sadism that the likes of Azov, OUN and Aidar regiments perpetrate against Russian POWs.

Danish volunteer that is fighting on the Ukrainian side against Russia, denounces the fact that the Ukrainian army systematically executes captured Russian soldiers.

Not surprisingly at all, the Ukrainian nazis are neo-pagan revisionists...

I see our Russian troll is back.

Poots is a loser: his babe lost in France, then in Slovenia. Only Viktor Orbán remains in Pootie's pocket.

I see that our resident imbecile is still active @R48.

[quote] Not surprisingly at all, the Ukrainian nazis are neo-pagan revisionists..

Not that thee is anything wrong with that

Newsmax Calls Out Tucker Carlson For Being A Putin Propagandist

[quote]Poots is a loser: his babe lost in France, then in Slovenia. Only Viktor Orbán remains in Pootie's pocket.

I never really knew him, think I said hello once on one of those foreign trips somewhere.

The International Court investigators on site have interviewed many boys who have been raped by Russian soldiers as well. Per France24.

Also reporting that Putin references Z in the feminine. As if Z is a big lady. How do you say gurleen in Russian?

It pisses me off that they had to ruin a perfectly nice alphabet letter. Just like how the Nazis ruined the swastika which you can still find all over India as a 'good luck' symbol.

[quote]Four Russian oligarchs have died since invasion of Ukraine

R52 Julia Davis, who regularly watches Russian state TV, says that they constantly use Tucker Carlson. Tucker is definitely a 'Russian asset' whether knowingly or not.

"@rommari

At long last: the monument “celebrating” the “friendship” between Ukraine and Russia — that was erected by the occupying Soviet authorities in central Kyiv — will be demolished, according to Kyiv mayor Vitaliy Klychko."

Senseless deaths.

"Mikhail Khodorkovsky @mbk_center

Olga Zhovtobrukh,55, cries

Irina Tromsa,55,throws soil on her son's grave

Valentyna Nechyporenko,77,cries at her son's grave

Ira Slepchenko cries looking at the body of her husband

Nadiya Trubchaninova,70, cries seeing the body of her son

Galyna Bondar, mourns by her son's grave"

Russians have also lost family who were soldiers. And for what?

[quote]It pisses me off that they had to ruin a perfectly nice alphabet letter.

Tell me about it.

Pic of a Russian Tigr vehicle with some roof camouflage.

This is good though - the Russian FSB published pictures of a supposed raid on Ukrainian neo-nazis and there are oddly Sims games amongst the haul. 50 bucks says the Russian officers who staged this were told to make sure to have some sims (as in a sim-card) in the photos and they misunderstood and added the Sims 3 videogame.

Russia: mother and children swinging back and forth in a park while a building burns in front of them.

LOLOLOL, re R28's pic. She looks trans.

Pootie must be into men much more than he'd ever like to admit.

Another dummy piece of 'evidence' the FSB provided of Ukrainian neo-nazis is an inscription in a book. It was signed by "Signature unclear".

It seems like that the FSB goons got an order to sign it with an unclear signature but they're so dumb that they took that literally. Talk of brain drain..

Russian state TV says it has discovered an "organisation of gays and lesbians" in a building in Mariupol where Ukrainian "nationalist battalions" had been based. It was apparently "funded by USAID" and "virtually under the patronage of the US President and Congress".

Anyone who frequents DL, a gay website, and supports the Russians has to be a troll or very stupid.

Aintcha heard, R66? The Russians only hate the gays because of the trans movement. If not for that, they LOVE us!

Latest UK defence update:

"Russian forces are likely attempting to encircle heavily fortified Ukrainian positions in the east of Ukraine.

The city of Kreminna has reportedly fallen and heavy fighting is reported south of Izium, as Russian forces attempt to advance towards the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk from the north and east.

Ukrainian forces have been preparing defences in Zaporizhzhia in preparation for a potential Russian attack from the south."

what's weird is that the Russians are claiming that neo-Nazis and gays/lesbians are working together. I mean, the Nazis literally sent gays to the camps (pink triangle) to be killed. So that already doesn't make much sense.

They are also claiming a Satanic angle to this supposed group of gays and lesbians that they found. On TV they showed a Satanic flag as well as a GI Joe-style doll that they allege they found.

Russia PR is just like Trump PR. Throw as much shit onto the fan and see what sticks.

Waiting for Putin to condemn Jewish Space Lasers.

Just swinging the shit bra...

R69. Logic doesn't enter into it. They just lump every hated group together including: Jews, Nazis, Gays, Pagans, Satanists, the wrong Christians, Muslims, etc. Even when none of them have anything in common.

The list goes on and on.

[quote]Russians are claiming that neo-Nazis and gays/lesbians are working together.

[quote]Waiting for Putin to condemn Jewish Space Lasers.

Putin is L Ron Hubbard with nuclear weapons.

What a cunt. I hope Sweden deports her back to Russia.

In Sweden, a Russian teacher Eugenia Karlsson verbally attacked a ukrainian girl.

Deport her for a "verbal" attack?

Do the Swedes even do that for the various Muslim child rapists and knife men?

If that's an accurate translation, that Russian lady is beyond deranged.

She should be shipped back to Russia in order to enjoy daily Hunger Games™ for a bag of sugar on the supermarket shelf. As opposed to living in Sweden, I mean.

Send r74 with her back to Putingrad.

Woah.

Another Vice President of Gazprombank, Igor Volobuev, has escaped to Ukraine, joined territorial defense forces there and gave an interview to The Insider, claiming that the recent family murder and then suicide of Gazprombank deputy president Avaev was staged and that it was a murder.

Volobuev said he was born in Ukraine and wants to protect his country. He called the war an "international crime" on the part of Putin and the Russian people.

Defense ministers from more than 40 countries have finished a meeting in Ramstein.

The heads of defense agencies agreed to create a coalition in support of Ukraine in order to stop Russian aggression. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the meeting was a "historic".

@mrsorokaa

Talking to people here in Odesa and the main news is the ongoing military escalation in the region, the attack on the main bridge linking Odesa and Bessarabia and the ongoing military buildup in Russian-controlled Transnistria northwest of the city.

Putin wants to make Ukraine a landlocked country, and he really wants to achieve this objective by May 9 (Victory Day). And he’ll do whatever it takes.

A new twist on problems in getting German military assistance to Ukraine has emerged today. Swiss authorities have blocked the re-transfer of ammunition used in the 35mm automatic cannons on Gepard anti-aircraft vehicles that authorities in Berlin now plan to give to the Ukrainian armed forces.

The Swiss government announced today that it was exercising its right under the terms of the original export agreement to veto a transfer of 35mm ammunition from Germany to Ukraine. Over the weekend, a Swiss media report said that opposition from authorities in the country to the transfer of other types of ammunition was part of the reason why German officials had been dragging their feet on a separate plan to give Marder tracked infantry fight vehicles to the Ukrainian armed forces.

It's not immediately clear how this might impact the German government's Gepard plans. The Gepard — which means cheetah in German — is an armored self-propelled anti-aircraft gun that consists of a turret with two Swiss-made 35mm Oerlikon GDF automatic cannons, as well as a search radar and a tracking radar, among other things, all mounted on a chassis derived from that of the Leopard 1 main battle tank.

It was already unclear how many of these vehicles, which were first fielded in the 1970s and are no longer in active German military service, the Ukrainian armed forces might ultimately receive. German defense contractor Krauss-Maffei Wegmann said it had 50 Gepards available to send to Ukraine, but it's also not immediately clear how long it might take to prepare them for delivery. German authorities did say that they would train Ukrainian personnel in Germany on the use of these vehicles, which are being widely described erroneously as "tanks."

Those issues and arguments notwithstanding, Germany also remains heavily reliant on natural gas and oil from Russia. The German government is moving ahead with plans to cut its Russian oil imports, but has made less progress in decoupling from Russian natural gas.

MAJOR DEVELOPMENT: Russia will cut off the gas to Poland on Wednesday in a major escalation in the standoff between Moscow and Europe over energy supplies and the war in Ukraine.

crazy.. so gas prices are going to skyrocket even more. Putin is demented. If Europe cuts off buying his gas and oil, that also cuts Russia's revenue although they have tons of money that can fund them for a couple years. Another example of how Putin is a good tactician but a poor strategist imo.

[quote]Putin is a good tactician but a poor strategist

He is the Last Soviet.

Crisis situation building as US inventory of Stinger missiles becomes exhausted

[quote]Putin is a good tactician but a poor strategist

Illness means he hasn't got time for strategy so focuses on tactics. His psychopathic ego wants to make a big barbaric impact now, because he won't be around to enjoy the results of longer term strategy.

Russia cuts off gas to Poland and Bulgaria. Poland reacts by calling it an attack on Europe. Gas prices in Europe instantly up 24%.

Bloomberg reporting four European gas buyers have already made ruble payments to Russia and as of today 10 more already planning to. Looks like the EU is the first to blink. The Russians are chess players and I guess they don't care about the repercussions as much as the EU will. With no Angela Merkel to rein in the escalation, this will get uglier (for all sides) before it gets better. I really hope common sense prevails because i know for a fact people won't be happy to pay these prices by the autumn. My gas bill is already up.

R87 Your gas bill.. in Russia?

Russian rouble hits a two-year high.

In Italy, r88. Russian gas bills are dirt cheap.

Polish and Bulgarian leaders accuse Russia of blackmail.

Only stupid people believe that this is a good 'chess move'. Yes, it will be a good short term tactic but in the long term it will push the rest of Europe to not depend on Russian gas.

Europe was already moving towards renewables, r92. I'm guessing Russians saw that and said "fuck it".

So the Russians decided it was a good idea to hasten that? Renewables are limited as well.

Also stop posting that bullshit ruble rate. It's artificially propped up, same as in the Soviet Union. If Russians can widely buy at that rate, okay. But they can't.

Chinese Hackers Targeting Russian Military Personnel with Updated PlugX Malware

[quote] A China-linked government-sponsored threat actor has been observed targeting Russian speakers with an updated version of a remote access trojan called PlugX.

[quote] Bronze President, active since at least July 2018, has a history of conducting espionage operations by leveraging custom and publicly available tools to compromise, maintain long-term access, and collect data from targets of interest.

Glorious ruble is replacing dollar as world currency!

I'm only posting from reputable outlets like Reuters and Bloomberg, r95. Take it up with them. Also my cue to leave this thread because alternative perspectives aren't welcome. The thread will get paywalled anyway if only the same few keep posting.

Yes, the dollar is done. The ruble will replace it in no time at all!

^ Intended for r94, not r95.

why does the troll keep claiming that threads get paywalled due to who posts in them? That isn't what gets threads paywalled, dummy.

He's trying to intimidate posters in here, R100. Typical Russian move.

[quote]I'm only posting from reputable outlets like Reuters and Bloomberg

R97, you posted a soundbite from Reuters' tweet without any context that would explain why and by what means the ruble has such exalted status. Don't pretend that's some kind of impartiality rather than disingenuous cherry-picking.

Boris Trollovich has changed his pro Putin trolling tactics. Instead of posting links to dumb videos of Kim Iversen (or whatever that bitch's name is), he now posts "reputable outlets", albeit altering their info to his own gusto, thinking we wouldn't notice. LOL.

[quote]Russian rouble hits a two-year high.

From your own source:

"Movements in the rouble are artificially limited by capital controls imposed by the central bank because it lost the ability to support the rouble through FX interventions after Western sanctions froze nearly half of the country's reserves."

[quote] With no Angela Merkel to rein in the escalation, this will get uglier

Stasi Merkel was his partner down the line, as were her predecessors who were bought off high paying jobs in the Russian gas industry.

Schröder says: "I don't do mea culpa." Very much like Putin in that regard. Their unchecked egos do not allow them to admit to errors.

To illustrate how Germany is faking this,,,,

(Bloomberg) — Germany risks stumbling in its effort to bolster Ukraine’s defense with 50 anti-aircraft tanks as there’s little ammunition readily available for the vehicles.

There are only 23,000 rounds available in Germany, which would only cover 20 minutes of intense action, according to a report by tabloid Bild. A handful of deployments of the 50 Gepard tanks would require hundreds of thousands of bullets for its twin cannons.

Loss of gas transit fees is another angle to this. I saw on RT the Russians have apparently secured replacement markets in Central Asia so more taps could be turned off.

Seems like Poland and Bulgaria won't be affected in the short term. But some are still predicting a worldwide recession, or even a depression, due to the invasion.

"I saw on RT" - of course you did. RT has been banned or closed down in the entire European Union, UK, US and over 10 other countries.

Looking it up I see rt is still available regardless of sanctions

Yes, online, but you choose to watch that turd of a propaganda channel which pumps out lies constantly. According to russian state TV the gays and lesbians are working with Nazis on Satanic shit in Ukraine, so why do you think your shit works on a gay forum?

Getting to the "get ready to die for the Motherland" phase of the war that can't be called a war but really is WWIII:

[quote]Russian state TV is raging about WWIII and an inevitable escalation over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Citizens are being primed to believe that even the worst outcome is a good thing, because those dying for the Motherland will skyrocket to paradise.

After you're bombarded with one side's propaganda r112, RT is almost refreshing to watch. Lord knows I can only take CNN and BBC in so many doses. BBC, especially, is like passing a gallstone. CNN is unwatchable as always. And France 24 isn't even disguising its bias, down to even the petty stuff. I'd say Al Jazeera is the most balanced of the major international broadcasters.

(added bonus in the R113 video: Kremlin pundit referring to the 40 countries participating in American pro-democracy meetings this week as "Hitler".)

R108, there are no “replacement markets” in Central Asia, because Russia does not have the infrastructure. Russia now can only send a small percentage of its output to China. Everything else was built for the European market. Putin has ordered new delivery systems built, but that will take years. In the meantime, Russia will either have to sell to Europe or store what it produces, and it does not have huge storage capacity.

The Russians have gone crackers. But I think it's about making people believe that there's no truth, that you can't trust *anything*.

I believe the WWIII talk is either:

1. To get the West to back down on supplying Ukraine with weapons and training; or 2. A face saving way to end the war. They can say they pulled back and negotiated a peace treaty to save the Russian people from nuclear annihilation.

R119 Or worse, preparing their people for actual WWIII...

Just to recap: The countries arming Ukraine are all collectively Hitler, Russia's ultimate goal is to disarm NATO, Russia's the ultimate source of peace and stability in the world, but it's okay if we all die in global nuclear war because we'll be closer to Jesus?

It's like Fox News on bath salts.

I think r119 has it. The bear feels cornered and that could be very dangerous for all.

On a side note, it is mildly amusing being called a Russian asset when all you're doing is highlighting the folly from both sides. An escalation is in no one's interest yet we seem to be irreversibly hurtling towards it. The reason I keep harping on pragmatic Merkel is that she seemed like the only world leader capable of seeing this and nipping it in the bud. She didn't like Putin by any means (just as she didn't personally like Johnson or Macron), but she was able to contain him, partly due to their rapport as they easily communicated in German.

The Moscow Times is reporting that their military and secret services sources are telling them that they're unhappy that Putin ordered a retreat from Kyiv to focus on the Donbas. The military apparently want an escalation - all-out war including mobilization. JFC.

R121 You say that because Merkel was one of Putin's biggest appeasers so no wonder you like her so much. She'd have been more likely to hand Ukraine on a plate to him. After all, she did nothing and went along with the pipeline after Putin invaded Georgia and Crimea.

R121, Merkel is fluent in Russian and was the only Western leader able to converse with Putin in his own language.

That certainly didn't help in containing him, R124.

I think Merkel would have understood that Ukraine doesn't need to join NATO and would've made other arrangements for their security. Now we're about to face nuclear annihilation over a country, which before the invasion, was regarded as endemically corrupt (worse than the third world), entangling both Trump's and Biden's families. Now, I could understand starting WW3 over Finland, but Ukraine? Wonders never cease.

At least Marine Le Pen didn't win. Putin wanted her to win. I wonder if she'll ever pay back the money he gave her to fund her campaign..

R126 Trotting out that stupid Nato argument again? 1) Ukraine couldn't join Nato even if they wanted to because countries with disputed territory are not allowed to join 2) Putin invades other countries for imperialistic reasons, not because of Nato. 3) As can be seen, Nato is a defensive alliance and that's why Putin will be getting more and not less Nato as a result of his invasion when Finland and Sweden (likely) join. And probably some others.

I love that you call Ukraine 'endemically corrupt' as justification for what Russia is doing too when Russia ranks over 10 places lower than Ukraine on the Corruption Index. Yeah, that's right. Russia is even more endemically corrupt than Ukraine is!

If Putin is dying he may want to take everyone with him like a true psychopath.

Interesting report today from the ISW.

"The Kremlin continued to prepare for a likely false-flag missile attack against the Moldovan territory of Transnistria, which is illegally occupied by Russian forces."

"Russian forces are stepping up “filtration measures” in occupied territories and abducting Ukrainian citizens, likely for use in future prisoner exchanges."

"Ukrainian forces likely conducted drone or possibly missile strikes on Russian logistics centers in Belgorod and Voronezh on April 27."

I hate this "filtration" news, it sounds extremely sinister (probably because it is).

So looks like Russia is just doubling down, trying to involve Transnistria or even Moldova itself. ISW suggests that is either to divide NATO attention (by diverting troops and aid to Romania or Moldova) or as part of a wider escalation. I don't see why it can't be both to be honest.

And Ukraine might now be striking back, thankfully. All in all though I think this war is a long way off from over and it will almost definitely get worse before it gets better. I really hope Russia is feeling the pain of sanctions right now because if they keep escalating (with Moldova or even Sweden or Finland), I don't see a good outcome for humanity.

Ukraine just got a ton of military equipment this week, which is already being put to use kicking Russia's ass.

Which perhaps explains the hysterical apocalypse rhetoric coming from Kremlin pundits.

Yeah, the war could go on for another five years even. Putin is used to that though.

The Ukraine lend lease act is set to pass the house unanimously thursday morning. I wonder hoe many of the usual suspects will abstain from the vote?

One of the results of this stupid war is famine. Ukraine is a huge wheat exporter. Not now. They're going to starve and so are poor countries in Africa and the Middle East.

Putin's such a fucking asshole.

"@DefenceHQ

Approximately 20 Russian Navy vessels are currently in the Black Sea operational zone, including submarines.

The Bosporus Strait remains closed to all non-Turkish warships, rendering Russia unable to replace its lost cruiser Moskva in the Black Sea.

Despite the embarrassing losses of the landing ship Saratov and cruiser Moskva, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet retains the ability to strike Ukrainian and coastal targets."

[quote]Citizens are being primed to believe that even the worst outcome is a good thing, because those dying for the Motherland will skyrocket to paradise.

Sounds familiar. But I suppose plentiful virgins awaiting in paradise also smacks of Western decadence. So Russian paradise it shall be, maybe involving yachts.

Back in the Russian looney bin: Germany gave Ukraine 88 tanks because Nazis.

[quote] Germany gave Ukraine 88 tanks because Nazis.

Tracked anti aircraft guns, without ammunition. Deadly. see r82

[quote] those dying for the Motherland will skyrocket to paradise.

as per "A Guy Named Joe" (Spencer Tracy), "A Matter of Life and Death" (David Niven), and "The Fighting Sullivans", etc.

"Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" is found in every war.

I don’t think Ukrainians will starve, r135. They will eat potatoes, beets, carrots, and apples. All are grown in life cal gardens in villages. Ukrainians generally are one to two generations removed from villages, so a lot of city folk have garden plots. Even in the direst of times in the 1990’s, there wasn’t food insecurity. I think the only way they will starve is if Russia removes food.

I have no idea what happened there. In local gardens.

Putin has turned into Jim Jones and Russia is his Jonestown. Maybe the rest of the world as well.

Well, he needs a permanent state of semi-war that he can paint as an existential threat to Russia. That's the way he plans to install himself as an emperor for life. Probably even in his shithole of a country there are some constitutional restrictions. Russia has turned into North Korea. Hopefully with some famine to go along with it.

To get a picture of Ukraine before the war you might look on Amazon Prime where they have a Russian/Ukraine co-production detective series. "The Sniffer".

It was filmed mostly in Ukraine before things went south. Not a bad show on its own merits but also pretty interesting for the scenery.

R140, I read yesterday that Putin intends to seize Ukrainian foodstuffs and deport them back to Russia. So he fully intends to starve them. Again.

Also, the US said they would export more wheat to Africa to help with the shortfall. It won’t be nearly enough and I wish we’d stop planting corn and plant more wheat. Now is the time to start planting wheat.

[quote] I wish we’d stop planting corn and plant more wheat. Now is the time to start planting wheat.

Yes I'm paying over $3 for a loaf of whole grain. At least use the corn to help feed people. 40% of the American corn crop is wasted making ethanol.

[quote] I read yesterday that Putin intends to seize Ukrainian foodstuffs and deport them back to Russia. So he fully intends to starve them. Again.

With what army does he intend to do that?

Today's edition of Al Jazeera's Inside Story (not up on their site yet, but I'll link it when they post it) had three European economic analysts based in Berlin, Oslo and Moscow discussing the Russian vs Europe game of chicken over energy. A few takeaways:

- A plus for Russia is the Russians appear to have the upper hand right now. Four countries (Hungary and Austria were singled out) have already broken ranks and agreed to pay in roubles and more are expected in the following days. Vlad got them on a technicality. The buyers pay euros and dollars into Gazprom Bank, who then convert it roubles. EU Commission President UvdL insists it's a violation of EU sanctions but it looks like the members are going to defy her on this to get their fix of gas.

- A plus for the West is this crisis will accelerate the EU's shift to renewables and strengthen efforts to wean themselves off Russian gas.

- The insistence on payment in roubles is actually part of a decade-long plan by Vlad who has long bemoaned the dominance of the dollar and EU and made efforts, in conjunction with China, to elevate the rouble and the yuan.

-2030 is the magical date. Europe wants to be completely free of dependence on Russian energy by then, while Russia had in turn set the same date for freeing themselves from an overreliance on European markets by fully pivoting towards Asian markets. The Siberian-Chinese pipeline will start being operational in 2030.

- Poland and Bulgaria's contracts with Russia were expiring this year anyway which is why the Russians chose to use them as examples to send signals to the rest of the EU. But both already had plans for alternative sources. Countries like Germany however, won't be able to give up Russian gas any time soon.

[quote] Vlad who has long bemoaned the dominance of the dollar and EU

Then why didn't he try to build an actual economy long-term in Russia, instead of an opportunistic extractive kleptocracy?

[quote]So he fully intends to starve them. Again.

History is repeating itself. I highly recommend [bold]Mr. Jones[/bold] about how the Holodomor was finally revealed to the West. Stars DL favorite James Norton. I watched it on Amazon Prime.

I'm not sure Russia can simply make up the necessary lost income by selling fuel to China and India. Russia has proven that it is an unreliable trading partner. Other countries may not want to be that vulnerable to economic blackmail.

Russian state TV continues with their nuclear circle jerk, with one military guy aware that the other guys can actually shoot back.

Igor Duma Warhawks keeps going on about their superduper nuclear missiles that can reach London in 3.5 minutes. Is that remotely connected to reality?

The Americans, British, French and Russians all have submarines loaded with nuclear weapons circling the globe 24/7. Any idiot, from any nation, who thinks that they can win, or even limit, a nuclear exchange, is out of his mind.

"Russian propagandists have already begun to prepare their audiences for World War III.

Margarita Simonyan offers a World War III and nuclear strike as an alternative to losing Ukraine.

Solovyov at the same time agrees with her: "we will go to heaven, and they will simply die."

The Russians have nukes stationed in Kaliningrad and a plane with a nuke on board violated Swedish airspace over Gotland.

The evil fuck Russians are still hitting Kyiv with bombs even though they are supposed to be taking the Donbas. It's just wanton destruction of Ukraine out of pure jealousy and spite that Ukraine was doing better than Russia and moving towards the West.

All this nuke stuff is performative sabre-rattling. Putin is not going to use a nuke. He's just threatening it to put fear into people and divide the opposition.

His people are all over social media spreading fear and discontent. You need look no farther than all the threads started about how dangerous America is, magnifying a upturn in crime that is still way below what it was for decades.

The show I referenced at r148 is up. Notice the class, quality of guests, balance and fairness of Al Jazeera's coverage of Ukraine compared to the inferior BBC and CNN. THIS is how a news talk show should be. No one here is interested in pushing either side's agenda and propaganda. They're just laying out the facts and giving their considered opinions. A refreshing break from the jingoistic bias and propaganda.

I've been to Kyiv in better times, r156. While I enjoyed the centre, it has nothing on Moscow or, especially, St Petes.

[quote]I've been to Kyiv in better times, [R156]. While I enjoyed the centre, it has nothing on Moscow or, especially, St Petes.

So, your response to R156's tweet is "well it's not as pretty as Moscow or St. Petersburg, so it's okay to bomb the shit out of it?"

^ No. My point is, jealousy isn't what's motivating the Russians, they have nothing to envy.

Geez, why can't the conversation here be civil? Stating a fact isn't necessarily supporting the invasion.

[quote]- A plus for Russia is the Russians appear to have the upper hand right now. Four countries (Hungary and Austria were singled out) have already broken ranks and agreed to pay in roubles and more are expected in the following days. Vlad got them on a technicality. The buyers pay euros and dollars into Gazprom Bank, who then convert it roubles. EU Commission President UvdL insists it's a violation of EU sanctions but it looks like the members are going to defy her on this to get their fix of gas.

R148, Austrian Chancellor said on twitter yesterday that it's fake news. And what's more, the fake news was disseminated by TASS, the state news agency of Russia. Many news outlets were hoodwinked and reported it without double-checking.

[quote]Poland and Bulgaria's contracts with Russia were expiring this year anyway which is why the Russians chose to use them as examples to send signals to the rest of the EU. But both already had plans for alternative sources.

BG and PL were hit first because their scheduled payments are coming up first. More countries may be hit as their payments come up. Bulgaria's contract with Gazprom runs out at the end of this year, and the new government said they're reviewing all contracts with Gazprom and Russian energy companies. There's a transit gas pipeline across Bulgaria delivering to Serbia and Hungary, and in theory they could demand higher transit fees (apparently the previous government that was in the pockets of Russian energy oligarchs and didn't negotiate a fair contract). Doubt they'll have the guts to do it though, unlike the Poles there are strong pro-Russian lobbies in their politics.

I meant that Ukraine was doing better economically and socially than Russia. For example they're now less corrupt than Russia, the minimum wage is higher than in Russia, they have democracy and not a totalitarian dictatorship.

History is history - this was about who's going in a better direction moving forward.

^ Be that as it may, I still think the Russians are acting on fear rather than envy.

Fear of what though? Nato is a defensive alliance who wouldn't have attacked Russia. Russia is the one who is attacking and invading countries and by doing so are creating more Nato and increasing the likelihood that Nato will attack back.

It's pure jealousy that Russia can't stand that Ukraine was choosing to move towards the West rather than the East in terms of politics and society (remember that many Russian soldiers had never seen an indoor toilet before and thought that ordinary people having Nutella in their home was luxurious living). Russia sees themselves as 'owning' as well as better Ukraine and so if they can't have that, they're going to jealously (jealousy isn't the same thing as envy btw) destroy Ukraine to pull Ukraine down. It's real evil what they're doing.

[quote]Russian soldiers had never seen an indoor toilet before

[quote]Solovyov at the same time agrees with her: "we will go to heaven, and they will simply die."

The primitivism revealed about a country which considers itself first-world and on competitive terms with the US is astounding.

To put it in human terms it's like Trump wilfully insisting he was on a par with Obama, if not even better. To prove it he spent four years digging his hole of ineptitude, covering himself in mud.

The U.S. has called on all its citizens to leave Transnistria. So has Israel. Bulgaria has officially called on its citizens to leave Moldova...

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[quote]Be that as it may, I still think the Russians are acting on fear rather than envy.

It's mainly Putins fear of Nato, Russia has 3 countries that were at one time under their control Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania they are now NATO countries and soon Finland will be a member.

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[quote]Geez, why can't the conversation here be civil? Stating a fact isn't necessarily supporting the invasion.

Geez, maybe if you were clearer about the point you were trying to make, people would misinterpret your post.

NATO itself is a defensive alliance formed, and now joined by new members, in response to Russia's manifest expansionism and colonialism. Putin can't claim "NATO is threatening us, they're trying to steal Ukraine" while at the same time spewing all this stuff about Ukraine being intrinsically part of Russia and letting his media go on all day and night about how Ukrainian identity must be eliminated from the face of the earth.

General Gerasimov is in Ukraine. Please god he’ll be “neutralized” soon.

Oligarchs dissent! Discreetly, of course.

Ukrainian academic Olga Baysha details Volodymyr Zelensky’s embrace of widely loathed neoliberal policies, his repression of rivals, and how his actions fueled the current war with Russia...

If they complain won't Putin just arrange for them to have an "accident"?

R176, sometimes oligarch have bad allergic reaction to harmless cup of tea!

Chrysanthemum, r177?

Bipartisan lawmakers receptive to $33 billion Ukraine aid package

Richard Medhurst interviews the extremely prestigious Pepe Escobar, who disparages the Western elites and their mindless pursuit of military escalation against Russia and China, which can only result in planetary devastation.

Pepe is currently making Welcome Door Mats for totalitarian dictators. In the colors of your choice.

More about the aforementioned Pepe:

The State Department's Global Engagement Center (GEC) has identified several outlets that publish or republish work by Escobar as being used by Russia for propaganda and disinformation.[31][32] In 2020, the GEC stated that both the Strategic Culture Foundation (SCF) and Global Research, two online journals where Escobar's work has appeared, acted as pro-Russian propaganda sites.[33] According to the GEC, "Pepe Escobar began writing articles for Global Research in 2005 and ten years later became an SCF author.[31]

Escobar has also been a commentator for RT and Sputnik News; both outlets were highlighted in a 2022 GEC report as members of "Russia's disinformation and propaganda ecosystem."[32] Ukrainian journalist Volodymyr Yermolenko describes Escobar as an example of "anti-Western intellectuals" hosted by RT, adding that Escobar suggests "dividing Ukraine between Poland and Russia."[34]

Oh my God, R182! Do you mean that the State Department criticizes and tries to smear, censor and attack anyone that dares to challenge their particular geopolitical plans? That is UNBELIEVABLE.

So, that must surely mean that Pepe Escobar's entire career, character and integrity as a human being must be questioned, right? Of course it does! I mean, we wouldn't want to think by ourselves and try to listen to critical voices that offer a different perspective, would we?

Thanks for clarifying things so effectively, and showcasing your own level of intelligence in the process.

Go suck Putin's dick, R183. It's obvious you're salivating over it.

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@Mij_Europe

A senior EU source tells me: “Putin has now taken day-to day-control of the conflict and delegated the running of Russia to the Prime Minister”

@olgatokariuk

Pope Francis reached out to Putin three times asking to allow the ship with a Vatican flag to evacuate civilians trapped in Mariupol's Azovstal steel mill, but all three times his requests were rejected, according to the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero

R175 The Grayzone again, Sergei?

The Daily Beast have actually just put out an article about The Grayzone and their propagandists.

[quote] The Grayzone has taken to spreading pro-Russia propaganda. Edited by Max Blumenthal, the publication is infamous for its defenses of dictatorships and its denial of atrocities.

Imagine having to do this but at least they won't risk a Bucha-like massacre.

@nytimes

To block Russia's advance, Ukrainians intentionally flooded Demydiv, a village north of Kyiv, along with a vast expanse of fields and bogs around it, creating a quagmire. "Everybody understands and nobody regrets it for a moment," one resident said.

There's always been a fringe of the Left that has a weakness for authoritarianism as does, of course, the Right. Part of that black-and-white thinking. Not surprisingly, a number of people in these groups are also mentally ill--since the ability to deal with ambiguity erodes with various mental conditions, ranging from personality disorders through to things with clear physical causes, such as Alzheimers.

It took a long time for a lot of American Communists to recognize how terrible Stalinism was--and some of them still don't accept the horrorific truth of it.

It also looks like there's a certain set who are just corrupt--spouting pro-Russia propaganda and spreading lies pays the rent and, probably in Max Blumenthal's case, giving the finger to Dad.

As the Daily Beast article points out, there are a lot of Lefties disposed to be anti-American because they think the USA is too powerful. However, their reflexive hostility to the United States makes them willfully blind to the evil intent and actions of Russia and China.

It doesn't seem to occur to them that you can oppose the U.S. going to war in Vietnam and Iraq and also oppose Russia's invasion of Ukraine and acknowledge that, yes, China is capable of great cruelty to the Ughyurs and doesn't have kindly intentions toward Taiwan. You can think that the USA overflexes its might at times, but also think NATO has been a useful deterrence to Russian aggression.

You can recognize that Russians have contributed some remarkable things to world culture, but that it's essentially worked as an empire and has always had a weakness for authoritarianism. It was true 500 years ago and it's true now.

The far left is operating from the viewpoint of 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'. That's why they are susceptible to Russian propaganda.

It's OK to criticize the US for the bad things they do, but it is not a OK to side with Russia, a country far worse, over this.

If known dozens of these far leftists throughout my life and I can't say these people are very bright.

R185, the so-called Ghost of Kiev is a ridiculous fabrication... Curiously enough, he is one of the greatest pilots in history but they've only been able to name him now? SURE.

Some of you are even more credulous than a five-year-old who still believes in Santa Claus, leprechauns and fairies.

And the Daily Beast is closely linked to the Atlantic Council, R188. They only do hit jobs on anti-imperialist journalists and promote neoliberal policies while pretending to be leftists. Not to mention that I find it EXTREMELY difficult to take them seriously when their writers admit to contacting social media companies in order to get people banned, just because they don't like what they say. That is what the agents of a repressive government do, not proper journalists.

Anti-imperialist? You mean like invading a sovereign country, R192?

R190/R191. The thing is, what exactly is Left and Right?

It's so nebulous that it's difficult to say whether those on the Left who supposedly support authoritarian thinking are actually "Left-wing".

That's why I've never been a fan of that stupid horseshoe theory. It presupposes a single dimension of political affiliation that doesn't really play out in real life, except perhaps within the US.

The only support I've seen for Russia is from the right, unless you count Tankies, which I don't.

The critics agree: Russian reboot in Donbas is a FLOP!

R196 God, I want to hope. I've seen so many people saying that this could go on for years though :(

Ukrainian Air Force begs people to stop making up idiotic stories about them.

Ukraine’s Air Force asks to stop producing stupid fake stories.

Pilot Serhiy Tarabalka was not “the Ghost of Kyiv” and he did not have 40 (!!) air victories. He was killed in combat on March 13.

“The Ghost of Kyiv” is a meme, a collective image of all Ukrainian fighter pilots.

It's definitely people on the far left side of politics who still come up with excuses for Russia. Bernie Sanders didn't vote for one bill to sanction Russia. Jill Stein chimed along Russian propaganda that the Ukrainian government was full of Nazis.

Russia boosted Trump's campaign as well as Sanders' and Stein's.

EU intelligence agencies did a major investigation about how Russian influence is trying to disrupt and weaken the EU. One mode of operation was influencing the extremists on both sides of the political spectrum.

1. Russia is the main threat.

2. Russia conducts political influence activities, and the main purpose is to weaken the European Union (EU) and NATO.

3. Russia is targeting populations; their approach is divide and rule.

4. Russia uses minorities, refugees and extremists to further its divide and rule approach.

5. Human intelligence is an important covert tool of influence.

6. Cyber operations are another important covert tool of influence.

7. The energy sector, business and corruption are used as venues for influence.

8. There is an extensive use of allies and front organizations.

9. Russia is reconstructing reality and rewriting history to legitimize itself and undermine others.

10. Military force is the ultimate tool of influence.

Link to the comprehensive EU intelligence report, which was published on Nature in 2019.

When did Jill Stein say that R199?

R202, she seems to have been pushing the Russian line on Ukraine for a long time.

R203. Thanks for that. Yeah, those statements really didn't age well.

Very disappointing but hindsight is 20/20. I do think a fair few countries and politicians were willfully blind about how evil Russia really was.

[quote] a fair few countries and politicians were willfully blind about how evil Russia really was.

While some were not. And were hated for this by the woke people of the day

The city of Mariupol five months ago.

Jill Stein is a cunt.

A little design advice for Russia: if you're persuading the world you're the anti-fascists perhaps don't put your soldiers in red armbands?

Just a thought.

R187

They ARE evaquating civilians from Azovstal. Thankfully.

‼️ U.S. House @SpeakerPelosi arrives in #Kyiv to meet with Volodymyr @ZelenskyyUa .

[quote]if you're persuading the world you're the anti-fascists perhaps don't put your soldiers in red armbands?

Persuasion is way too nuanced for the Russians. They indulge in juvenile sociopathic lying to display contempt. Not invading, not fascists, not killing civilians using humanitarian corridors. Such smug primitive brutalists.

Remember how Mitt Romneu was endlessly mocked for saying Russia was a main threat. Mittens has been proven right.

[quote]Remember how Mitt Romneu was endlessly mocked for saying Russia was a main threat. Mittens has been proven right.

Because no one has mentioned this in the last three days.....

Seriously why is an octogenarian wearing high heels in a war zone on a cobblestone street? If there was an emergency, I guess her bodyguards would have to carry her away to safety.

Glad they met with him nonetheless.

Her heels are titanium, r214. They double as lethal weapons.

It was all a trick

Troll for the Kremlin for fun and profit - $630 per month, as it turns out.

[quote]The city of Mariupol five months ago.

We will never pass this way again.

A rather excellent analysis of the gas-for-rubles scheme and Poland's nefarious role in trying to sabotage it.

This Armstrong?

[quote] Her heels are titanium, [R214]. They double as lethal weapons.

Well then okay. But of course. Nancy the Nimchuck Warrior.

OMG. Mariupol is a giant graveyard now.

[quote] Mariupol is a giant graveyard now

I've seen worse

There is a link to Infowars and Alex Jones at r219's site. Enuf said.

The paid trolls have to post 200 comments per day? That's quite a lot.

[quote]The paid trolls have to post 200 comments per day? That's quite a lot.

It's the golden rule of advertising - horseshit becomes truth if you repeat it enough.

That would explain why the trolls would bother with a site like datalounge--anonymous, so you actually have to look to see what someone's saying, relative ease of establishing an account. You could knock off a good chunk of your daily quota here and then, as you sober up, hit higher profile sites.

More armageddon threats from the worlds nuclear armed gas station. They also apparently believe Ireland is part of the UK.

America never censors or cracks down on independent media. Never.

I read an expert today, who said if the Russians launched a nuclear bomb, Moscow and St.Petersburg would be targets within 90 seconds. So, I suspect a nuclear strike is unlikely.

In realistic terms Russia would come off far worse by nuclear war than the west since they have only 2 large areas of population that would have America, Britain and France trying to out nuke each other to destroy. The majority of this posturing is because Russia is built on the myth they're still a great power who could drop kick their way to the English channel ala Stalin but since that's obviously not true anymore "here's how we could cause an Atlantic tsunami when/if that new superweapon the government wasted all our money on comes out and lets not discus the catastrophic consequences to us if we use it".

[quote]It's the golden rule of advertising - horseshit becomes truth if you repeat it enough.

And they got that from me! Learn from the master.

Russia has a better chance of survival because of its vastness and thin spread of its population. They're correct about the UK getting wiped out by just one hit, France and Germany too.

I imagine people in New Zealand, South Africa and the Galapagos will survive?

If Russia wasn't a great power r231, NATO would've invaded by now, bombing it to submission like they did Serbia to help secure Kosovo's independence. Russia is probably the only country in the world NATO can't defeat. But the proxy war strategy, supplying Ukraine with weapons a la Afghanistan is a good strategy.

[quote]Russia is probably the only country in the world NATO can't defeat.

Thanks for the biggest laugh I've had all day, dummy vatnik.

Nato is made up of 30 developed countries.

The U.S. *alone* has a stronger military than Russia (multiple sources confirm this). That isn't even adding onto the combined power of the other 29 countries. And nor does that take into account all of the Russian soldiers, tanks, helicopters, missiles etc. that the Ukrainians have destroyed or depleted. Nato would absolutely be able to destroy Russia if they wanted to. Three Nato nations (U.S., France and U.K.) also have nuclear weapons.

Really, this is the best argument you can come up with? You aren't even trying to be semi-convincing.

I have that poster on ignore, r235. However, Russia can’t even defeat Ukraine. No way could they take on the US or the UK.

R235 Again, if NATO could take on Russia, they'd have invaded by now. They invaded Serbia over much, much less (Kosovo). As for the mighty US army. They just got their asses handed to them by the Taliban. They lost and were forced to flee Afghanistan. NATO is essentially waging a proxy war in Ukraine which is why it's so hard for the Russians to wrap up, but I can guarantee you when the war is over:

1. Ukraine will be forced to officially take a neutral position and give up its NATO aspirations

2. Crimea will remain an integral part of Russia

3. The Donbas will be gain full independence from Ukraine

The only reason NATO hasn't attacked Russia is because of nukes. But you know that. Without nuclear blackmail Russia is using, they'd be considered a 2nd rate power, AT BEST.

Their army has been reduced to stealing Ukrainian TOILETS. Imagine an American solider stealing somebody's shitty toilet to send back home.

The US won the battle in Afghanistan but lost the occupation. Russia can't even win the battle in Ukraine much less occupy a country of 44 million people. Ukraine was never going to become a member of NATO, so that war aim is complete nonsense.

Russia fighting for the Donbas and Crimea (already contested since 2014) already admits Russia's invasion has been a failure. What happened to taking over the country, replacing the government. 'denazifying Ukraine? So Russia invaded, lost over 20,000 men, and became a pariah nation...to effectively land on the status quo?

[quote]Their army has been reduced to stealing Ukrainian TOILETS. Imagine an American solider stealing somebody's shitty toilet to send back home.

"What you do in time of special operation, Grandpa?"

"I liberate Nazi toilet, little Vlad, to bring home to Mother. To win trophy, I kill pregnant woman!"

"I so proud of you, Grandpa, I want to be like you."

[quote]3. The Donbas will be gain full independence from Ukraine

I'd be willing to bet a lot of money that this won't happen. Ukraine is fully committed to this now. I don't see how Russia will be able to successfully occupy even just the Donbas. At best it will be a long war of attrition but good luck on getting a genuinely successful occupation.

Did we say "Army of great Mother Russia declares victory against Ukrainian Nazi pig-devils by May 9th"?

Our bad! Most glorious army of mother Russia not quick like bunny, slow and steady like mighty steamroller. What are dates? What is numbers?

[quote]Ukraine was never going to become a member of NATO, so that war aim is complete nonsense.

It's in Ukraine's current constitution.

R242 Snigger, they're having to constantly revise downwards their expectations.

There's a fair bit of talk that Putin might choose the May date to announce full mobilization. I know that he doesn't want to do that unless necessary though (one, it will be unpopular and two, it could threaten his position).

Why is the Azov Battalion getting a friendly edit all of a sudden? Are we just pretending they're not a far-right regiment?

R243 - just because it's in their constitution doesn't mean it was ever going to happen.

I heard Putin is going in for cancer surgery soon does he trust the doctors?

R247, allegedly it’s some sort of abdominal cancer.

Anesthesiologist, do your thing!

Why Is the Media So Hungry For War With Russia?

Zeeshan Aleem, MSNBC

[quote]I heard Putin is going in for cancer surgery soon does he trust the doctors?

They're sure to have the very best surgical equipment which was available thirty years ago.

Russian Oligarchs & Their Families Are "Disappearing"

What did they expect, R252? They were buddies with Putin, did they think he'd treat them any differently than anyone else once shit hit the fan?

[quote]General Gerasimov is in Ukraine. Please god he’ll be “neutralized” soon.

Not confirmed as of yet, but it's been reported that he's been wounded.

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Well imho that was the plan all along, trick Putin into invading Ukraine to allow China to invade Taiwan with the rest of the world exhausted and/or distracted.

And of course Putin has drawn troops from the Eastern borders so China may get a two for one.

R256, for that to have been true, China would had to have known that Ukraine would put up tremendous resistance against an unexpectedly unconvincing Russian force, dramatically dragging out the invasion and requiring Putin to use additional troops. I’m sure that the Chinese are good. I doubt that they’re that good.

That seems like a stupid conspiracy theory. How did the Chinese 'trick' Putin into invading Ukraine? From everything I've heard and read from what Putin has said it's all fitted into the shame that Russians have had that they lost their empire.

So when will Putin declare all-out war on Ukraine along with martial law requiring mass mobilization? Before or after the May 9th Victory parade?

ElderLez, do you really believe that? Talk about a stretch verging on a conspiracy theory. You usually seem much more logical about issues.

I can just picture Putin celebrating May 9 by announcing a national mobilization so that Russia can save Donbas, Transnistria, and other depressed marginal zones from alleged fascism. That'll be sure to float his ratings.

Why aren't Russian mothers on the street about the murder of their sons.

[quote]Why aren't Russian mothers on the street about the murder of their sons.

I would imagine that most of them haven't been told. They may never be.

[quote]Why aren't Russian mothers on the street

Pics please.

Whereas apparently the Russians sent a photo of a dead Ukrainian soldier to his mother. Filthy bastards.

Gerasimov is fine! He's just been "lightly wounded".

BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA

Even if actually is just "lightly wounded"—whoa. The Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.

People In Mariupol are currently being evacuated. Finally, some good news.

I hope he’s captured and tortured.

Ukraine claims they sank two Russian patrol boats.

Bringing back memories of one of my favorite childhood songs.

I still mentally refer to it for history re the Hood.

Sing along with the 10 million viewers. LOL!

RuZZian ships go boom!

This guy on twitter traces the convoluted history of the elderly tires the Russian army is using (and losing) in Ukraine.

Interesting read, R273.

R273 That's how China has their backs selling old defective tires to the Russian army, I'm sure someone in the Russian army had pocketed the savings on the disccount tires.

The Ukrainians who were rescued from the steel factory in Mariupol hadn't seen daylight in weeks. I feel deep sympathy for the people in Ukraine and all of the horror and trauma they've been through. They must win this war so it all wouldn't have been for nothing.

The people in Azovstal were being kept there by nazis (as well as, in all likelihood, several prominent, high-ranking US and French army officers), R276. Russia didn't keep them there, but the Ukrainian forces themselves. And this wouldn't have happened if the Ukrainian government and NATO hadn't keep prodding Russia and massacring civilians in the Donbas.

You need to read a little more about this situation before making any judgements. The levels of propaganda in the media are staggering.

I’m surprised that R277 didn’t mention those DNC servers that everyone knows are hidden in Ukraine. Why, that alone would have justified the invasion!

Hopefully it's obvious, but every single word R277 posted is pure weapon's-grade horseshit.

The 'Azov are Nazis!' thing is so tired and obsessive Russian propaganda. Some of the Azov battalion are Nazis (some in the Russian army are Nazis as well) but no more than 10%. The battalion as a whole and its leadership aren't Nazis. The depressing thing is how successful the propaganda has been. Lots of left wing media ate it up prior to and at the beginning of the war but they seem to have largely stopped..

The real Nazis here are the Russians, who are trying to eliminate Ukraine as a nation and a people (genocide). So it's just yet more projection by them. They do a lot of projection.

Regarding R277's "source":

[quote]MintPress News (MPN) is an American far-left news website founded and edited by Mnar Adley (née, Muhawesh) which was launched in January 2012. It covers political, economic, foreign affairs and environmental issues. Editorially, MintPress News supports Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, and the governments of Russia, Venezuela, Iran, and Syria....The source of MintPress News's funding remains opaque.

Tankies fellating dictators - that's what independent journalism is all about!

More about “MintPress.” It’s basically a Syrian propaganda outlet.

R282 100 bucks says that the mysterious funding is Russian.

Could be Iranian too.

Finland considers NATO membership, citizens mobilize for an invasion by Russia

HELSINKI — When the Finnish Reservists’ Assn. recently announced wartime defense courses for civilian women in the southern town of Haemeenlinna, the 400 slots filled almost immediately, with a waiting list of 500 more. Topics will include shooting, cybersecurity and how to manage the first several days of an invasion from abroad.

“I wouldn’t call it fear,” said Sgt. Sonja Airikki, a 39-year-old reservist who will lead the training next month. “It’s more about being prepared.”

Military readiness is ingrained in the culture of this country of 5.5 million people that shares an 833-mile border and a long, complicated history with Russia.

The relationship has grown increasingly tense since Russia invaded Ukraine two months ago. For the first time, Finland is considering seeking membership in NATO, prompting threats of retaliation from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The reservists group is primarily responsible for keeping its call-up soldiers ready for war. Its civilian classes — like those Airikki leads — have always been popular, but nothing prepared it for the nationwide enrollment spike since the attack on Ukraine.

“The change has been enormous,” said Ilpo Pohjola, a top official with the association who has been with it since its inception almost 30 years ago. “It’s something very special. I haven’t seen anything like this before.

Is there a repressive dictatorship R277 doesn't love?

Far leftist idiots are just as stupid as far right idiots. There is really no difference. The whole squad voted with MTG and other far right house members several times on sanctions on Russia.

It all come back to what I posted before at R200.

Russia is trying to divide and conquer the West by propping up extremists on both political sides.

R277 You must be out of your mind.

Ooooooo, those scary extremists on the left.....ooooo....

R289 How are we wrong though? I don't even see it as a horseshoe. I see it as like a circle - the far right and the far left end up in the same place which is dictatorships and awful regimes.

[quote] MintPress News (MPN) is an American far-left news website founded and edited by Mnar Adley (née, Muhawesh) which was launched in January 2012. It covers political, economic, foreign affairs and environmental issues. Editorially, MintPress News supports Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, and the governments of Russia, Venezuela, Iran, and Syria....The source of MintPress News's funding remains opaque.

Sounds like NPR in the 80s

How does a far left organization support Russia or Iran or Syria?

That does not compute. It sounds more like it just supports anyone who opposed the U.S. or other Western governments.

Again like NPR in the 80s

[quote]They just got their asses handed to them by the Taliban.

We called them Mujahideen and left after 15,000 Russian soldiers were killed.

Their supporters are not left in any real sense of that word. Russia has no social safety net, is a kleptocratic society in which all the wealth is concentrated among 0.00001% of the population while large parts of the society are starving and with a regime propped by the church that foments bigotry and extreme xenophobia. Does that sound like a leftist, socialist society? Their supporters are anarchist contrarians who piggyback on the far right's coattails in order to destroy the liberal democratic system. Case in point: Glenn Greenwald.

Say goodbye to American media concern for Ukraine.

Abortion über alles

Real people with functioning brains can be concerned with more than one thing at once.

That is rich coming from a US citizen, R295... 🙄 Haven't you heard abut the legions of homeless people in most major US cities, the tens of thousands of people who go bankrupt or die every year because cannot afford healthcare, the cases of extreme poverty and child malnourishment, the constant reductions in food stamps and the people who must work 3 jobs in order to survive? The US isn't exactly a model of prosperity, unless you're part of the top 1%. And the same is applicable for the UK and most Capitalist countries (which includes Russia).

And I cannot, for the life of me, imagine how you can categorize a serious, inquisitive and impartial journalist like Glenn Greenwald a "destructive anarchist", when he has revealed some of the biggest and most important stories of the last 30 years, and has merely pointed out that the so-called left are the ones attacking him for not adhering to their noxious herd mentality.

Oh please far, leftist have always loved Russia and China. Anti Americanism is what drives them into the arms of influencers from those countries. Far leftists, like far right morons really, have very simplistic and opportunistic minds.

What R295 said. The "far leftists" who support Russian colonialism and kleptocracy again western democracies and prattle about "NATO's proxy war" (as if Ukraine had no right to self-determination) are only giving lip service, at best, to any "leftist" policies. When push comes to shove they're authoritarians who will ditch social programs and civil rights just out of spite.

Their logic goes something like this

Unbridled capitalism and America's interventionism are bad (OK, some argument can be made there) -> This is all fault of neoliberalism -> Liberal democracies are bad and that system needs to be destroyed -> I support everyone who's opposed to liberal democracies -> Well, I have a lot in common with these guys wth Pepe cartoons -> "We will not be replaced!"

R295^^

Russia’s current progress is lethargic, but why? It’s possible that Russia is planning a huge escalation—or, alternatively, it just doesn’t have the resources to escalate.

Pope Francis Says NATO caused the war.

It was “others who created the conflict” in Ukraine.

He said that the real “scandal” of Putin’s war is “NATO barking at Russia’s door,” which he said caused the Kremlin to “react badly and unleash the conflict.”

“The clear thing is that weapons are being tested there. The Russians now know that tanks are of little use and are thinking of other things. This is why wars are waged: to test the weapons we have produced. Few people are fighting this trade, but more should be done.”

Coup rumors going around.

"You have destroyed the myth of Putin's invincibility. The supposedly irresistible force of Putin's military machine has crashed against the inflexible barrier of Ukrainian patriotism," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a video address to the Verkhovna Rada:

[quote] Coup rumors going around.

Spread by the same people who pushed the surgery story two days ago ?

Has the surgery story been disproven?

Interesting that the rumors are *former* generals and KGB officers. At first glance I didn't see that and thought 'no way' because I've read that it's actually the military and FSB officers who now want escalation, full mobilization, are pissed off that Putin ordered a retreat from Kyiv to focus on the Donbas, etc.

But if it's former generals and officers then that could be true. However, how on earth are they going to pull that off? They are not in power, they don't have control over the military, not to mention Putin's private guard of 3,000 people.

So even if I think it's believable that they want to, I have a hard time seeing how they can..

[quote]Putin's private guard of 3,000 people

I wonder if each and every one of that 3,000 is fiercely loyal to their pygmy psychopath of an ageing failing boss. Plenty of latitude for a range of opinions there.

R310 When their money and position depends on it, yes. Plus he is reported to have replaced his entire household shortly before invading Ukraine.

Talks of coups are wishful thinking for the most part. It's possible sure, but it's unlikely. Most dictators stay in power.

The last Russian coup didn't work out too well so I don't think you'll see that again. But enjoy your fantasies.

People say that guy, Nikolai something, Vlad's designated successor, is very hardline and much, much worse.

Russia is going back to the stone age.

RUSSIA Faces Years of REVERSE INDUSTRIALIZATION Due to Lack of TECHNOLOGY Says BANK OF RUSSIA

But the ruble rate is amazing! /sarcasm

[quote]Vlad's designated successor

Next time it'll be no more Mr Nice Guy! Fair notice for what intelligentsia remain to make their plans for a saner cleaner new life elsewhere, anywhere.

Has Poots actually designated a successor? I'd have thought that a paranoiac like him would have considered that to be tempting fate.

An AP investigation has found evidence that points to that 600 died in the Mariupol theater.

Congress slips in provision to ban arming Ukrainian Nazis

FYI, R319's article is from March 2018.

Did they include the GOP in their ban on funding Nazis?

Vladimir Putin goes to the art gallery: By Nugzar Metreveli

The Russians have reportedly stolen 400,000 tons of grain reserves from occupied territories - about a third of all grain reserves there. Exported it to Russia of course.

^ Why? Russia produces more grain than Ukraine.

To make $$$ and hurt Ukraine at the same time. The Russians were stealing everything they could get their filthy hands on.

Russia has a long history of starving the Ukrainians.

Oh, bless your heart, r319. You do try.

"@O_Ostapchuk

A document #Russia issues for Ukrainians from occupied region after 'filtering'. After receiving it survivors are sent to economically depressed areas of Russia, often without passports, phones, money and permission to leave region of destination for two years"

A REUTERS SPECIAL REPORT.- Love letter, ID card point to Russian units that terrorised Bucha.

Eyewitness testimony, discarded documents and social media posts point to the Russian soldiers and chain of command in the bloody occupation of the Ukrainian town of Bucha.

By MARI SAITO in BUCHA, Ukraine

Photography by ZOHRA BENSEMRA Filed May 5, 2022, 11 a.m. GMT

This is a fascinating round table debate about the economic causes and consequences of the war in Ukraine, and how the dollar will collapse as America loses power and Europe crumbles into irrelevance. However, there is a warning - America is going to wage war agaiunst the entire world before it is forced to acknowledge its weakness... It's too bad that they are going to drag the EU down with them, especially because in Europe, we always end up paying for all of America's acts of folly and very grave mistakes.

What happened to our drunken Polish poster?

Fuck off, George.

Galloway is another professional propagandist for horrible regimes.

[quote]In an overview of the broadcasting organisations Galloway works for, Tom Rogan in the National Review in April 2014 described him as being "a Western puppet for tyranny's propagandists". In the register of members' financial interests published at the end of January 2015, Galloway disclosed that he had earned £293,450 from his television broadcasting in the previous year and had received almost £70,000 in travelling expenses and hotel stays. For the period November 2013 to February 2015, Galloway was paid £100,000 for his appearances on RT, the highest payment to any British politician working for the channel.

Galloway has worked as a presenter for Press TV, a London-based news channel controlled by the government of Iran and which lost its British broadcasting licence in 2012 for breaching the code on impartiality.

Then shortly after that he became a presenter for the Al Mayadeen TV station which reportedly has connections with Iran and the Assad government in Syria.

In November 2013, Galloway and his wife Gayatri began to present Sputnik for the RT network, a Russian government-backed station formerly known as Russia Today and regularly worked for them for years. RT has now also lost its UK broadcasting licence.

[quote] Galloway is another professional propagandist for horrible regimes.

For which datalounge adored him when he was criticizing Bush in defense of Saddam and the Ayatollahs

R335 You know, it is possible to be against both the US-led Iraq war and what Russia is doing. I myself have been against both. I don't think that's the 'gotcha' you think it is.

Sad, angry Glenn.

Reports of the Russian Admiral Makarov frigate being on fire near Snake Island, possibly from a Neptune missile.

I thought that the guy was a parody account looking at R331. Like Titania McGrath. But, no, he isn't. Though really he is - he just doesn't realize it.

She *isn't* sad, r337, Sunset Blvd *will* go in front of the cameras!

Working link for the Admiral Makarov Twitter.

Nice. Hope that ship sinks too.

"@KevinRothrock

Despite the Kremlin spox saying full-scale mobilization rumors are “nonsense,” Russian state agencies (from the post office to the tax inspectors) have started flooding online job portals with listings for “mobilization experts.”

Good chance the pictures of the ship burning are from yet another video game.

Doesn't mean the ship was not hit. Question is still open.

They need to hit it again to be sure it does, R342.

Who knew the pockmark face Tulsi is on DL.

They are now openly admitting US intelligence helped sink the Moskva. We are just a trigger away from open conflict with Russia and NATO.

R346 "We"? You're Russian and posting from Russia. Don't make me laugh.

^ I'm actually posting from Italy, but OK.

^ And not Russian.

Hope they're paying you in enough beets and vodka to make that 200 comments per day you have to post worth it. Disgusting, stinking piece of shit.. you're the 21st century version of the Nazis. You are the bad guys and history is going to judge you very negatively.

r350 you are so tiresome

R351 Not as tiresome as Nazi-sympathizers like you.

Poor Glenn Greenwald. All his underage boywhores must've been dodging him and his, ehm, husband.

R353 He's in Brazil right? Coincidentally many Nazis found their way to various South American countries after WWII.

Well, he's earned his far right credentials.

Seriously, r350? Re-read your post and tell us that came from a stable person. Seek help. And please block me, because I don't believe in doing it myself.

The first video has been proven to be false, r357.

r358 you can find their contact page and tell them. they have a few social media accounts as well.

You're arguing with a foaming at the mouth troll, R358.

The Guardian.- Despite Putin, Ukraine’s traditions live on – as does the threat from Chernobyl.

"While we tend our graves, vanquished Russian troops are heading through Belarus in a cloud of radioactivity after literally digging up the past."

Ukraine needs to bomb the hell out of Russia.

Twenty years ago Ukraine scrapped the remaining bombers they hadn't already traded to Russia

r362 has never looked at a map.

Thanks, r360. Another one on ignore!

Can someone please summarize the post at R355? The Daily Kos piece finally diverted into a Twitter thread, which blocked me before I got to any connection between Greenwald and white supremacists.

I use to read Daily Kos in the 2000s, but now their writers seem to just ramble aimlessly without any expository sense.

R366

As a lawyer Greenwald defended the civil liberties of a militaristic anti-Semite and neo-Nazi called Matt Hale. Hale had gone to law school, passed the bar, and wanted to use it to deprive minorities of their civil rights. However, a special panel of the Illinois bar refused to admit him or issue a license. Hale sued and Greenwald was his lawyer for the case.

So, Hale and Greenwald lost the case. Two days after losing the second and final appeal, Hale's second-in-command, a man called Benjamin Smith, went on a rampage shooting Orthodox Jews (wounding nine). Driving somewhere else Smith then shot dead a Black man (former Northwestern U. basketball coach) who was walking with his children. Went somewhere else and shot at an Asian-American couple (missing them). Then the next day Smith wounded two more Black men and an Asian man before murdering a 26-year-old Korean student.

The Center for Constitutional Rights filed a lawsuit on behalf of the victims against Matt Hale and his organization.

Glenn Greenwald defended Hale and commented: "I find that the people behind these lawsuits are truly so odious and repugnant, that creates its own motivation for me."

Then Matt Hale was arrested and convicted of conspiring to murder a judge. The evidence was audio and video collected by an informant.

He was given a 40-year prison sentence. Glenn Greenwald told the NYT that Hale had been 'wrongly convicted'.

Neiwert's conclusion is "I just believe [Greenwald's] sort of principled rigidity on free-speech issues blinds him to the real-world effects of fascism – particularly how it manipulates free-speech principles in order to destroy them. Fascists use people like Greenwald to leave a trail of wreckage."

So it seems to be that Greenwald's blindspot is that he doesn't take an ethical stand and is an useful idiot for fascists. Neutrality allows fascism and tyranny to thrive.

Thanks, R367. Greenwald's dogged lawyerly commitment to narrow tenets really does make him unreliable concerning the big picture (understatement).

Benjamin Norton at Multipolarista reveals the financing channels that have always existed between NATO, the US government and nazi organizations - with Operation Gladio being just the beginning of a relationship that has culminated in Western support for Ukraine's nazi political factions and various battalions.

Any reference to Glenn Greenwald needs to be prefaced with "former lawyer, gay porn producer and alleged journalist Glenn Greenwald".

Re: R368 Ben Norton left... our favorite the Grayzone to set up Multipolarista: "a new independent media outlet reporting on end of US unipolar hegemony. Ben Norton creates a new channel dedicated to anti-imperialism, and the rising multipolar order led by China, Russia and Iran."

Funny how Russia's invasion of Ukraine doesn't count as imperialism though..

I meant R369, sorry.

These pro-Russian trolls think that by exposing American misdeeds and sleazy contacts they discredit any American or NATO policy and exonerate any Russian policy. They have a rather black-and-white mindset, don't they? Not useful for thinking about global politics (or anything).

The WWII memorial in Berlin's Tiergarten contain the first two Soviet tanks entering Berlin during the assault in April 1945. Ironically the tanks were built in Ukraine. A Ukrainian group built an amusing video where they "steal" the tanks.

R369, that is one shit YouTube channel.

R373, look up "accelerationism" in order to understand their mindset. It started out as a fringe philosophical theory which got coopted by white nationalists and far right and now seems to include a lot of the enemies of liberal capitalism, such as those who blindly embrace everything that Western democracies are opposed to.

All women, children and elderly have been evacuated from the Mariupol steel plant. The soldiers are still there, number unknown.

US-based military analyst Andrei Martyanov offers and extremely interesting analysis of how the Russian and Donetsk People's Republic army operate, as well as the Western media's misconceptions and the US government's and EU lies.

[quote]the US government's and EU lies

And yet.

And yet neither of those two entities actually invaded Ukraine.

Russia: Ukraine is fake country! Has only been “independent” since 1992! Belongs in great Russian motherland!

Also Russia: Sovereignty of totally independent (since 2015) Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics is most important geopolitical goal of entire world! Must be preserved at all costs!

R380, do not forget glorious Republic of Transnistria! Its independence from Moldovan barbarians is sacrosanct! Glory to Transnistria!

And glory to our great President Putin for liberating people of Kherson, which will vote 98% to have also sovereignty like Donetsk and Lugansk!

I wonder how many of these splendid performers singing the glorious national anthem will be present in Red Square on Monday.

LOL, Biden is a master troll!

He will sign Lend Lease Act on Russian Victory day.

Love it, R384

I strong doubt that that intellectually deficient, untalented pathological liar who, on top of it all, is both incontinent and demented, has ever had enough intelligence to come up with something like that, R384. It's probably his handlers who have thought about it, and fittingly so: it's also the date when Ukraine's economic future is entirely destroyed by the US, by turning it into a deeply indebted vassal state that will probably be a satellite of the not-so-wealthy Poland.

By the way, 20% of the US energy is generated through nuclear plants, and guess who is the main seller of uranium to the US market? Yes, you got it right: Russia! Good luck with getting online after your electricity bill is so expensive, that you cannot even afford to switch the lights on! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

You sound like a nut.

Well, he is. Where do you think he's posting from at 5am Eastern Time?

Plus, empty supermarket shelves and the steady diet of rotting beets will make you nutty.

DL favourite Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in Ukraine.

The politician has already visited Irpin.

And social media is tearing him apart for it, R390.

Jill Biden met with Mrs Zelensky in Ukraine.

Everyone hates Trudeau it seems, especially on Twitter. Canadians are calling for him to be arrested and detained in Ukraine, hoping Putin drops a bomb on him, saying he's fake for being there, accusing him of paying attention to anything but problems in Canada and criticizing him for using a plane to get there (his carbon footprint). People really, really hate him.

Trudeau is basically the most hated world leader ^^

R394, by Canadians (or "Canadians") on Twitter, maybe.

True, R395, but he's really, really hated. It's quite incredible. I mean, people are hoping he gets killed over there. That's pretty extreme.

[quote] Everyone hates Trudeau it seems, especially on Twitter. Canadians are calling for him to be arrested and detained in Ukraine, hoping Putin drops a bomb on him, saying he's fake for being there, accusing him of paying attention to anything but problems in Canada and criticizing him for using a plane to get there (his carbon footprint). People really, really hate him.

No, they don't (and I'm a real Canadian, unlike most of the KKKonvoy supporters here and on Twitter.) This is almost comically predictable: every time there's federal or Ontario elections approaching, these trolls try to make you think there's some huge backlash against Trudeau and/or Libs. I guess someone will buy it.

We'll see worse trolling if Biden shows up in Ukraine.

Am I surprised that R394/R396/whatever is also braying about the Azov battalion? No, not at all. Probably some Bernier supporting cretin.

I hope you're right, R397. It's depressing reading this shit all the time. I'm not a huge Trudeau fan, and I hope he steps down before the next federal election (10 years is a long time), but I don't hate the guy or even dislike him. I don't understand the rabid hate though, I just can't wrap my mind around it.

Look at the comments on this.

So what are we wearing for Most Glorious Victory of Red Army Against Hitler Day?

I'm wearing my Saint Javelin tshirt.

So there was supposed to be a media embargo on Trudeau's vist.

[quote] Trudeau is basically the most hated world leader ^^

Deservedly so for his lifetime of racism

[quote] his lifetime of racism

Mary!

We interrupt this Two Minutes Hate against Justin Trudeau with some actual war news.

By blocking the poster who will be along in a moment to insist that the school bombing a false-flag incident, you will see all the hysterical Trudeau-haters magically disappear too.

I wonder if Melania scheduled a shopping trip to Lviv, hoping to meet up with the Canuck loverboy.

Lee Camp mentions how many times the US has arranged coups and invasions all over the world - and yet, they now have the nerve to claim that Russia is invading Ukraine in what is a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty, and not a preventive measure to impede NATO from encoraching of them - especially if we take into account that the UK already tried to invade Russia during the Anglo-Russian war (1807-1812), and Woodrow Wilson sent US troops to Siberia in a cover mission to initiate an invasion of Russia in 1918.

No matter how you present this, Russia's fears are legitimate and they have been backed into a corner.

Here's the article about the US trying to chance the course of the Russian Civil War and facilitate a possible invasion of Russia.

Russian stooge, Lee Camp? Yeah, no thanks. Somehow everything the US does is evil imperialism but poor, shook Russia has simply been PUSHED to invade another country and commit horrific war crimes. Oh no, but I thought it was about Nazis? No it's NATO. No, don't tell me, it's Ukrainian biolabs! The firehose of horseshit isn't working.

I thought it was that they were really all one big Kiev Rus family and Russian family relations are predicated on domestic violence, rape and theft of indoor plumbing?

R413 Underrated comment - this is essentially fratricide after all if the Russians see the Ukrainians as family. They are killing, starving, raping and stealing from 'their own people'. It has been jaw dropping for me from the start and even more so that ordinary Russian people are going along with it.

Yesterday I saw a video of tiny little kids dressing up as planes, tanks and Red Cross medics. What people said would be 'never again' after WWII is happening all over again. I still can't get over it.

[quote]I thought it was that they were really all one big Kiev Rus family and Russian family relations are predicated on domestic violence, rape and theft of indoor plumbing?

Lubricated with enough alcohol to float a seized oligarch's yacht.

Somehow, arranging a coup isnt quite the same as an all-out invasion. That said, Russia and its previous incarnations have done plenty in that realm. It's telling that the other members of the Warsaw Pact didn't stuck around with Russia when they had a chance to split, while the United States continues to respect Mexico's neutrality and, of course, has a long, peaceful border with Canada.

Russia has a very, very long history of imperialism--which it defends on the basis of poor-widdle-me. It's also made a habit of moving large groups of people from their native lands and replacing them with Russians in an effort to squelch and sense of regional identity. It did this not only in the Soviet Republics, but also in the Baltics and other countries in Eastern Europe.

It also, of course, enslaved a huge portion of its own people--the serfs weren't freed until after the U.S. Civil War and, yes, they could be bought and sold. The Ukrainians are fighting for their nation because they know exactly how cruel, inhumane and careless Russia is to even its own people.

Speaking of yachts, Scheherazade which is heavily rumoured to be Putin's yacht (Scheherazade is what his rhythmic gymnast mistress was called by the press) was seized by the Italians just before she was due to sail away to Dubai or other safe harbours after completing repairs.

Is Putin going to announce full mobilization tomorrow (May 9) or some other evil?

R418 Mobilization initially sounds great but comes with political risk for Putin e.g. if he announces it the Russians will be expecting a victory - what happens if there isn't one. And they'd need weapons, military vehicles, uniforms, etc. So I'm not convinced. But I think that the Russians are definitely thinking about it because of the job ads for mobilization co-ordinators and researchers.

Alejandro Kirk from TeleSur interviews survivors of torture from the nazi Aidar battalion.

No big announcements on Victory Day. Putin's speech whined about how he supposedly had 'no choice' but to invade Ukraine. But no announcement of mobilization nor any announcement of victory of any kind in Ukraine. It's failure for the Russians so far.

It's only 3 pm in Moscow right now. Still plenty of time for great leader to announce total war against fascist vermin of Ukraine, I mean Lesser Rossiya. Happy Victory Day to everyone!

Ukraine is rebuilding cities as fast as Russia destroyed them.

[quote] But in about the same amount of time as the Russians occupied Bucha, the city has remade itself. The market is open, and Trotsenko has restocked. Huge divots in roads where the shells fell have been paved over. The suburban train to Kyiv is running again. Water and electricity have been largely restored. Families are returning.

If Putin's war is headed to defeat, Putin levels Kiev with a nuke, and then he wins. Nobody is going to challenge Russian with their own nukes.

How exactly would he "win" that way, R424? By annexing a radioactive country, with radioactivity wafting into his own country? Galvanizing even more global opposition to Russia and more economic sanctions? Whoever is left alive in Ukraine would just put up a stiffer fight; Russia would be saddled with a toxic quagmire for generations.

Btw Poots IS headed to defeat. He wanted an autocratic, top-down, graft-ridden government and that's what he got, along with the inevitable weakening and rigidity of the Russian military. Too bad all that money and effort didn't go into actually building up their armed forces instead of propping up Potemkin villages.

In a dictatorship, winning is whatever they say it is, to the stupid masses.

R424 is a moron.

Economist Michael Husdon reveals that the two primary objectives of the Ukraine war and the sanctions imposed on Russia (and later on, China) are:

1 ) To economically devastate the EU so that it can be entirely subsumed to the USA's own economy, while destroying the euro as a viable currency that could compete with the dollar. Thus, they aim to create a Western economic block that will perpetually threaten Eurasian stability.

2 ) To destroy and break Russia into small, more "manageable" republics that do not have the power to challenge US hegemony. This would leave China completely isolated and facilitate its own destruction and division, which would leave the US as the sole hegemon in the world, and the main beneficiary to all the capital and resources siphoned out of Asia.

The problem is that China and Russia are far too prominent (Russia as a provider of raw materials that are entirely essential not only for industry, but daily life; China as the main industrial power in the world), and they have developed very strong ties with the rest of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Thus, in order to try and tip the balance of power in USA's favour, they want to engulf the planet in a multi-faceted war that will be a drain on Russia first, and then China.

Good luck achieving this, when the US economy collapses because the dollar has lost its power as the main currency for trading raw materials, and the yuan and ruble (which are backed by gold), become the main fiat currencies in the world... And let's not even talk about the currencies that are being developed by Brazil and Venezuela!

So, the destruction of the euro will provide very few benefits to America, but neither Trump (who started this mess) nor Biden's handlers (who have made it MUCH worse) can see that, in their quest for short term profits and hollow PR victories.

Top sniper Wali survived! He's back in Canada.

I don't understand how someone is a "top" sniper. Just point a gun and shoot. It's not brain surgery.

R430, snipers have to shoot over distance at moving targets. Plus they’re often shooting at people who are armed and/or have armed protection—they don’t have to opportunity to just walk up to someone and shoot or to take multiple shots.

R428 "Russia’s preemptive defense of the two Eastern Ukrainian provinces and its subsequent military destruction of the Ukrainian army, navy and air force over the past two months" you can at least try to make your point with an argument that isn't hopelessly biased

I had that poster blocked—is someone really talking about Russia's "military destruction of the Ukrainian army, navy and air force over the past two months"? Talk about through the looking glass.

R432, the use of “preemptive defense” as a euphemism “unprovoked attack” is almost amusing. He knows he’s lying his ass off.

Don't they use automatic guns though, R431?

R435, no. Automatic guns, the kind that spray bullets, are not accurate enough. Sniper rifles fire special long-range bullets and are manual or semi-automatic.

One would look great hanging over the fireplace

I'm beginning to think Ukraine might succeed in kicking Russia out of all of its territory, including Crimea.

It's too bad Russia's cold war era nukes don't detonate in their silos.

Another $40 billion to Ukraine.

Lack of computer chips is hitting the Russian military.

The Russians don't even care about their dead - thousands of dead Russians have been stacked in body bags in refrigerator trains but the Russians won't take them.

Enjoy how Ukrainian military engineers anticipated in advance by reconnaissance the spot the Russians would set up a pontoon bridge for vehicles to cross to try to encircle Lysychansk... The Russians tried to hide the moment of crossing by smoke grenades but the Ukrainians identified it was happening by the noise of motorised boats.

Heavy artillery and bombing by the Ukrainians at that point destroyed 50 or so vehicles/tanks and up to a thousand troops...

Sometimes a river crossing works and sometimes it doesn't

Killing a battallion a day keeps Pootie away.

Amazing photo of a Russian tank's turret blown into the air. I've seen them pop off before but never this high.

Shocking Discovery In Russian Technology!

Unexpected betrayal and Rebellion in the Russian army!

That drine technology screams, " Russia is so ghetto!"

It's brilliant. Throw in an off-the-shelf camera, water bottle, and some sheet metal and voila! WHy spend millions on design and manufaturing when a couple afternoons with a sheet metal bender will do?

And this is why the world's 2nd most powerful military in the world (on paper) is struggling against.... Ukraine.

The Russian military has always been like this. Their most advanced fighter jets used vacuum tube-based avionics and fire control radar well into the 1990's.

First Russian soldier appears in court accused of war crimes. 21-year-old Vadim Shysimarin, a commander of the Kantemirovskaya tank division, appeared at Kyiv's district court No 3.

He's charged with premeditated murder of a an unarmed 62-year-old man on a bicycle. He faces 10-15 years in prison if convicted.

The Times published this story a few days ago: an unnamed oligarch was recorded saying that Putin is "very ill with blood cancer."

Grain of salt and all, but I love all these mad rumors of Pootie's imminent demise. If he does go, they can blame it on one of those things rather than a discreet samovar of polonium tea.

Man asked on the street in Russia what he’s willing to do for his country, he says “everything”, interviewer asks if they can take his contact information in case of mass mobilisation, he quickly walks off.

The Institute for the Study of War says that Ukraine 'appears to have won the Battle of Kharkiv. Ukrainian forces prevented Russian troops from encircling, let alone seizing Kharkiv, and then expelled them from around the city.'

The battle lasted from February 24 - May 11.

It means Ukrainian artillery can now threaten the town of Vovchansk, which contains a key highway and rail line supplying Russian forces in Donbas.

There is a real possibility that Russian forces could collapse at the end of the summer. One to watch..

Big symbolic win for Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra at Eurovision (kitschy, Eurotrash song contest, but Europeans love it). They got a landslide from the public vote which clinched the win after the jury vote placed them fifth.

The song mixes folk music with rap and is dedicated to the matriarchs of Ukraine with lines such as “I’ll always find my way home, even if all roads are destroyed”. Lead singer Oleh Psiuk shouted: “Please help Ukraine, Mariupol. Help Azovstal right now” from the front of the stage after the band performed.

The message is clear: Russians are pariahs of Europe right now.

The UK usually does terribly but came second this year. Spain were third and Sweden fourth.

Ukraine are saying that they will hold the next Eurovision in Mariupol. I'm guessing that Russia won't be invited again. 🤣

Mariupol will take awhile to be rebuilt. If haunted places are true, that would surely be one.

Largest mortar in the world

McConnell makes surprise trip to meet Zelenskyy in Ukraine

Biden nowhere to be seen

[quote]Biden nowhere to be seen

Oh, go fuck yourself.

McConnell would seem to be courting the outrage of the MAGAts, who generally support Putin (along with Tucker, Marge, Madison, et al.) and loathe Ukraine for reasons even they don't understand.

My impression is those people you lump all together either support Ukraine (with louder cheering when a Russian tank blows up than you see here; or feel its not our war at all either way ( like Noam Chomsky) .Looking at their boards actual support for Russia is quite marginal.

Russia has now likely suffered losses of one third of the ground combat force it committed in February.

They do not support Ukraine. These quotes are from Feb. and March, but they're still repeating pro-Putin propaganda and (in the case of legislators) voting against aid to Ukraine for spurious reasons. Tucker Carlson:

[quote]Has Putin ever called me a racist? Has he threatened to get me fired for disagreeing with him?

Marjorie Taylor Greene:

[quote] NATO has been supplying the neo-Nazis in Ukraine with powerful weapons.

[quote] the hard truth is … there is no win for Ukraine here. Russia is being very successful in their invasion

Madison:

[quote] Remember that Zelensky is a thug. Remember that the Ukrainian government is incredibly corrupt and is incredibly evil and has been pushing woke ideologies

Max Boot, a conservative, is among those who have their number.

Russian TV has been using Tucker a lot because he serves their propaganda well. Which should tell you everything. Tucker is scum. It's at times like this when you learn who would have been cheering the Nazis on and admiring them.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

This is sonewhat eye opening. The Colonel is telling home truths but the anchorwoman cunt will have none of it. I hope she gets shanked by a grieving mothet brandishing a broken vodka bottle.

A massive missile attack upon Lviv is being reported now. Russian military specialists and bloggers in particular seem to know that this is going badly for them and are speaking up but Putin is deluded and won't stop. You can tell that he doesn't really have military training - he's micro managing, making decisions that would normally be made by people on the ground.

Are the remaining Ukrainian forces in Mariupol surrendering tomorrow? 260 today.

From Mariupol into the DPR.

They didn't surrender. They were evacuated.

[quote] They didn't surrender. They were evacuated.

They surrendered.

The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that it is providing safe passage for wounded Ukrainian personnel to leave the besieged Avozstal steelworks in the southern port city of Mariupol. Despite reports framing this as a humanitarian evacuation, there are indications that these individuals are being transferred to a Russian-backed separatist-controlled military hospital and detained in the process. There are also unconfirmed reports that this may be part of a larger deal to finally surrender Azovstal, which has been the last bastion of Ukrainian forces defending Mariupol for weeks now.

The battle of #Mariupol and the defense of #Azovstal is likely close to its conclusion. #Russian forces are now taking ground in the main plant complex, which likely means the defenders are running out of enough ammo, manpower or both to hold the plant.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has now confirmed certain details about the agreement that has allowed 266 Ukrainian personnel to leave Azovstal. Of those individuals, 53 are seriously wounded and being taken to a military hospital in Novoazovsk, while the others are headed to Olenivka, both of which are in Russian-controlled territory.

What exactly will happen to Ukrainian forces now headed to Russian-occupied territory, as well as those that remain at Azovstal, is still unclear. The Ukrainian president indicated that a possible prisoner swap was on the table to secure the freedom of all of the Azovstal defenders.

In his statement, Zelensky acknowledged that there was ultimately no hope of Ukrainian forces breaking through Russian lines to create a corridor out of Mariupol and that the "most important task is to save the lives of the defenders of Mariupol." He added that "Ukraine needs Ukrainian heroes alive."

Maybe for prisoner exchanges? Hearing these wounded soldiers are being transported to a hospital is the most humane thing the Russians could do. A Russian-occupied hospital but still a hospital.

This is our very informative media. No one's buying it in the comments.

Yeah everyone gets it. It's about morale. The comments are funny.

Hilarious.

Who the fuck is this horrible troll gloating that Mariupol has finally been taken? Great, the Russians now have.. a completely ruined city. The long stand off kept troops and weapons from being used in other places.

Defense analysts seem to widely agree on that the Russians are likely going to lose ability to conduct offensive operations in the coming weeks/months. They have already failed to take Kharkiv (Ukraine's 2nd biggest city) and appear to be retreating from that attempt. And that the Ukrainians may then force them to take defensive positions in the territory they have taken in the east.

R481, who's gloating? The focus is on the media's behavior.

Look at what the "freedom fighters" and "defenders of democracy" of the Aidar battalion were doing to the civilian population.

Ukraine declares 'combat mission' over in Mariupol amid "evacuation"

I'm far more bothered by this media's behavior. Carlson's latest propaganda collab with "No immediate threat" Gabbard.

Finnish Parliament’s vote on joining NATO: 188 Yes, 8 No.

Over to Turkey now. Will Erdogan veto Finland (and likely Sweden) joining Nato?

Easy fix, R486. NATO just needs to expel Turkey on the grounds of ASSHOLISM.

Let Russia invade Turkey next. That should cool Erdogan’s jets.

Western media are finally acknowledging reality.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to Cannes Audience: “We Will Win This War”:

Does that speech qualify him to win Best Actor?

I love Zelensky but he really is like the Lin-Manuel Miranda of politicians. He’s fucking everywhere.

They have already lost it, R489. Most of the weapons sent to Ukraine by NATO countries have ended up in the black market, and the liquid assistance has already been syphoned into bank accounts in tax havens - I'm sure that Zelensky's personal fortuna has significantly risen from the $500 million he had at the beginning of the war.

Ultimately, Ukrainians and the West have wages an excellent war in the media, but military competence and evidence trump social media campaigns and the hyperbole of propaganda. Also, these people do not understand the fact that anyone can register what's happening with a phone and track false evidence to its origin, can easily invalidate their spurious claims. Studio trickery and melodramatics can only take you so far in the face of indisputable evidence.

Anyway, look at what ethnic Ukrainians in the Donbas say about what the Ukrainian government has been doing since 2014. There's no way to deny this.

NYT article on the Colonel and the Cunt:

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Russia bans CBC

Russia’s defense ministry said Wednesday 959 Ukrainian troops have surrendered this week at the last stronghold in the besieged port city of Mariupol.

A ministry spokesman told reporters that number included 694 who had surrendered during the past 24 hours.

Ukrainian officials have not confirmed the figures. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar said Monday more than 260 fighters had left the ruins of the Azovstal steel plant and turned themselves over to Russian forces, in line with numbers given by Russia.

Russia called the operation a mass surrender. The Ukrainians, in contrast, said its garrison had completed its mission.

The head of NATO has said that he is sure that Turkey’s concerns over the admission of Finland and Sweden could be addressed. In other words, Turkey has made certain financial demands, and some negotiations remain.

Just expel the Turks. Leave it to defend itself.

Turkey being in NATO is a moderating influence on Erdoğan. If they'd gone ahead and joined the European Union, it would have been even moreso.

I'm not sure about that, R499.

Turkey gives NATO its list of demands

Pay off, or else

Remove our airbases, eject Turkey, and let them enjoy their cooperation from Putin. After Putin dies, GO CANCER!, how long does he think Assad stands?

Are you really that stupid, R502? Turkey is an extremely strategic area that allows NATO (and the US by extension) to control the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia and all trade in the Black Sea and part of the Eastern Mediterranean region. If Turkey leaves NATO and aligns itself with China, Russia and Iran (with which it shares a long border, by the way), a very important realignment would take place in Asia that would affect European and US interests in a VERY adverse fashion.

Turkey has a right to make demands, as would any other member of NATO. Especially if we take into account that incorporating Sweden and Finland to NATO is a severe escalation of the conflict against the pan-Asian alliance and it would legitimize forces within Turkey that would change the country's current political landscape, which is volatile enough as it is. Also, Turkey is having severe economic problems and they cannot afford to be dragged into a war with a giant like Russia (and by extension China, Iran and very possibly, India).

You idiotic children should learn to engage your limited brains before typing. This is a very grave situation that could devastate the entire planet and you seem to think that it's just a matter of playing video games... You fucking retards, it isn't any wonder the world is in such a terrible state and the US is in a steep and fast decline, if imbeciles like you are members of the electorate.

[quote] the US is in a steep and fast decline

Not as steep and fast as the Russian Federation!

I was gonna give r503 a WW but then I continued reading and realized he is just a condescending ass-hat so I didn't bother.

R505 Just have a look at his post history. Vatnik who calls the Ukrainians nazis and posts shitty youtube links to propagandists.

R506, doesn't mean he's not correct in R503. At most it says you're triggered by him.

R503 is absolutely correct about Turkey’s strategic importance and then goes on to show that being knowledgeable about Turkey doesn’t necessarily translate to being knowledgeable about other subjects. We all have our deficits.

R507 Like others have said, he's partially right but the last paragraph totally gave away what his real goal was. Pathetic.

503 is like all these Putin-lickers who see the slightest resistance by the US, NATO, and the East Asian social democracies to Putin as "dangerous warmongering," but don't seem to have any issue with Putin's invasion of a sovereign country.

Turkey is a strategic partner they control who can enter the Black Sea. They have prevented Russia from adding more warships to their Black Sea fleet.

It gave me extreme pleasure to block R503.

Anyway, the Russians seem to have total control of the Black Sea. Now what?

[quote]Anyway, the Russians seem to have total control of the Black Sea. Now what?

The Ukrainians pound their asses to smithereens to get it back. No way in hell the Russians can actually hold any land in UKR they take over.

Did you know that the mighty and well-funded Russian army is having to crowdfund equipment?

Corruption is one of the reasons why the world's 2nd most powerful military (on paper) is struggling against the Ukrainians.

R514, that's called sending goodies. Same thing happened in Iraq.

R515 Just checked your post history and pretty sure that you're a new vatnik account to block. Token regular post or two, then a string of anti-Ukraine, pro-Russia posts. Fuck that.

[quote][R503] is absolutely correct about Turkey’s strategic importance

Hi ElderLez @ R508! Your #1 Fan here!!

Turkey's (geographical) strategic importance is also it's greatest vulnerability; Turkey would have been overrun decades ago by either the Soviets or the Iraqis or the Israelis or the Syrians had it not been a member of NATO. Turkey knows that it would be invaded within 2 years if it were booted from NATO. Poland is very much in a similar situation.

Erdogan needs to shut up and sit down.

"@jimsciutto

Wow: German Ambassador Emily Haber tells me Germany’s “fundamental assumption” that engagement with Russia would produce “stability, predictability and…even alignment” has been “pulverized.”

R516, I don't think that troll is all that new, since I already had them blocked.

New York Times. Editorial Board -- Ukraine must cede land to Russia

The New York Times editorial board spark some sharp reactions from critics on Friday after it published an editorial suggesting that Ukraine cede some territory to the invading Russians.

While everyone from Lawfare Editor in Chief Benjamin Wittes to the Dispatches’ Stephen Hayes tore into the editorial as promoting a kind of appeasement, the argument also created some strange bedfellows as Fox News host Laura Ingraham offered faint praise for it.

Ingraham, a one-time hawk turned America First isolationist, wrote on Twitter: “Even the @nytimes realizes that we’re getting in too deep in Ukraine.”

The editorial notes the “messy” situation the U.S. is in with Ukraine and laments the hard choices that must be made, while slowly backing into calling for Ukraine to consider giving up some territory to Russia.

The writers argue that Biden and NATO must stand up to Vladimir Putin and show the West is “able to resist his revanchist ambitions.”

“That goal cannot shift, but in the end, it is still not in America’s best interest to plunge into an all-out war with Russia, even if a negotiated peace may require Ukraine to make some hard decisions,” the editorial continues.

“A decisive military victory for Ukraine over Russia, in which Ukraine regains all the territory Russia has seized since 2014, is not a realistic goal,” the editorial argues, the line that critics were quick to pounce on.

“Though Russia’s planning and fighting have been surprisingly sloppy, Russia remains too strong, and Mr. Putin has invested too much personal prestige in the invasion to back down,” the writers argue, noting previously in the article that Putin’s threats of using tactical nuclear weapons should be taken seriously as he becomes more desperate.

Confronting this reality may be painful, but it is not appeasement. This is what governments are duty bound to do, not chase after an illusory “win.”

“In the end, it is the Ukrainians who must make the hard decisions: They are the ones fighting, dying and losing their homes to Russian aggression, and it is they who must decide what an end to the war might look like,” the editorial adds, concluding, “If the conflict does lead to real negotiations, it will be Ukrainian leaders who will have to make the painful territorial decisions that any compromise will demand.”

-----------------

The Establishment has spoken

I don't think many people disagree that ultimately Ukraine will ultimately have to give up the "breakaway" eastern districts. Or at least, that was the sense early in the war. At this point, how do the people in those regions feel? Is there a majority that wants to be part of Russia, or has the invasion changed their minds?

Ukraine needs to retake Crimea.

Or what's a war for?

Ukrainians officials trying to provoke Russia against US.

The US is working on a plan “to destroy the Black Sea Fleet” with powerful missiles in order to unblock Ukraine’s ports, according to a high-ranking Ukrainian official.

“The effective work of the Ukrainians on warships convinced (the US) to prepare a plan to unblock the ports,” Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs adviser Anton Geraschchenko tweeted Friday. “Deliveries of powerful anti-ship weapons (Harpoon and Naval Strike Missile with a range of 250-300 km) are being discussed.”

Geraschchenko’s saber-rattling tweet — notably written in Russian — followed an exclusive report by Reuters saying the White House is in the process of putting more advanced missiles in the hands of Ukrainians to defeat Russia’s naval blockade.

Three US officials and two congressional sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Harpoon and the Naval Strike Missiles were being considered either for direct shipment to Ukraine, or through a transfer from a European ally.

Beyond the logistical challenges, one unnamed official told Reuters that no one wants to be the first nation the send the missiles to Russia for fear of retaliation if a ship is sunk by one of its Harpoon missiles.

Twitter thread contests some of the NYT eds' basic premises.

'IT'S MEANINGLESS TO HOPE FOR VICTORY' - EX-SPY WARNS PUTIN'S OFFENSIVE IS GOING VERY BAD || 2022

The Russians are burning Ukrainian books on bonfires. Classic.

Sure, R526. That is why you have attached some random image instead of linking to a legitimate article. You warmongers are beyond embarrassing.

Turkey's price for supporting the admission of Finland and Sweden to NATO seems to be F-16 fighter jets.

The Russians took down the Ukrainian/English road sign for Mariupol and put up a Russian sign. Like with the book burning, the goal is to wipe out the idea of being Ukrainian. Pure imperialism.

Russia bans 963 Americans, including Biden, Harris and tweeters like Julia Davis — but not Trump....

Maria Butina is telling Russians that the U.S. might fall apart as a country by itself before the midterm elections and that that Russians won't even need to defeat the Americans...

Maria Butina should have been mercilessly beaten up when she was in US custody.

These retired colonels and so on who are allowed to give morale-deflating assessments on Russian tv are probably there to prepare Russians for what their military leadership knows is inevitable.

A bill banning use of symbols of the Russian invasion has been passed in Ukraine.

The letters ‘Z’ and ‘V’, which are now prohibited, have widely been used to show support for the Kremlin’s actions.

The symbols will still be permitted in Ukraine’s museums, libraries, scientific works and textbooks, the BBC monitoring service reported.

Russians will no longer be able to purchase the high-quality coffee products of Starbucks.

Wow. Bravo.

GENEVA — A diplomat in Russia’s mission to the United Nations in Geneva quit his post on Monday, expressing shame over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and describing it as a crime against both countries.

Boris Bondarev, a counselor in the Russian mission since 2019 who described himself as a 20-year veteran of Russia’s Foreign Ministry, announced his resignation in an email sent to diplomats in Geneva on Monday. His resignation is the most high-profile gesture of protest so far made by a Russian diplomat over the war in Ukraine.

“For 20 years of my diplomatic career I have seen different turns of our foreign policy but never have I been so ashamed of my country as on Feb. 24 of this year,” Mr. Bondarev said, referring to the date that President Vladimir V. Putin sent Russian forces into Ukraine.

“The aggressive war unleashed by Putin against Ukraine and in fact against the entire Western world is not only a crime against the Ukrainian people but also, perhaps, the most serious crime against the people of Russia,” he added.

Mr. Bondarev, who dealt with disarmament issues and was described by Western officials in Geneva as a mid-ranking diplomat, delivered a bitter denunciation of Russia’s leadership.

“Those who conceived this war want only one thing — to remain in power for ever, live in pompous tasteless palaces, sail on yachts comparable in tonnage and cost to the entire Russian navy, enjoying unlimited power and complete impunity,” he said in a statement attached to his email to diplomats. “To achieve that they are willing to sacrifice as many lives as it takes.”

He added: “It’s been already three months since my government launched a bloody assault on Ukraine and it’s been very hard to keep my mind more or less sane when all about were losing theirs.”

I originally thought my stepbrother was going to Ukraine to fight, but he’s actually been schlepping around food and other humanitarian supplies with this group.

Apologies for posting to YouTube and no, he is not on camera in the video.

Well, good for him!

R538, is your stepbrother hot?

How do you feel about tattoos and body modification?

Russian forces appear to have broken through Ukrainian lines along multiple axes on a highly localized front in the Luhansk region. This looks to be part of a large push by Russia's military to close a pocket of Ukrainian resistance that would give it complete control over Luhansk, which makes up roughly half of the larger Donbas region.

It is important to note that the exact dispositions of Ukrainian and Russian forces in the Donbas are fluid, and the two sides have often traded gains in recent weeks. Securing Luhansk would be a significant victory for the Russian government, which has claimed that taking total control of the Donbas is its immediate priority in the conflict.

Zelensky adviser Oleksiy Arestovych grows pessimistic about the war. “We have now lost to the Russian army in terms of pace. The Russian side managed to accumulate its reserves before we did.” He also says Ukrainian society grows more divided. Depression & infighting lie ahead.

Which one will be the result?

I think Arestovych’s comments could be perceived as a ploy to lull the Russians into a false sense of security.

R538 That's admirable.

R545, his words are demoralizing. He should have calmed down before the briefing.

Col. Douglas Macgregor yesterday.

The port of Mariupol is already becoming active, and commercial activity is starting to increase.

R548, you posted a disgraced blowhard hosting a disgraced nutcase. From Macgregor's Wiki on why he wasn't confirmed as Trump's ambassador to Germany:

[quote] Following the announcement, Macgregor's history of controversial remarks received media attention. He has asserted that Muslim immigrants (referred to as "Muslim invaders") come to Europe "with the goal of eventually turning Europe into an Islamic state".[19] Macgregor has argued that the German concept of Vergangenheitsbewältigung, used to cope with Germany's Nazi past and its atrocities during World War II, is a "sick mentality."[19] Macgregor has also stated that martial law should be instituted on the U.S.-Mexico border and argued for the extrajudicial execution of those who cross the border at unofficial ports of entry.[19] Macgregor has also made statements in support of Israel having defensible borders, the annexation of the Golan Heights, and the decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.[20] In a column in The Washington Post he was described as "a racist crackpot who is pro-Russia, anti-Merkel, anti-Muslim and anti-Mexican."[21] His nomination stalled in the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.[22] On January 3, 2021, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate.

More damning info on Macgregor:

[quote]Ukraine and Russia 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea

[quote]In 2014, after Russia annexed Crimea and was engaged in a conflict with Ukraine over its eastern parts, Macgregor appeared on Russian state-owned network RT where he called for the annexation of the Donbas and said residents of the region "are in fact Russians, not Ukrainians, and at the same time, you have Ukrainians in the west and in the north, who are not Russians."[19][34] [quote]2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

[quote]After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Macgregor appeared on three Fox News programs to speak in support of Russia's actions. Russian state television broadcast excerpts of Macgregor's appearances, which included a characterization of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a "puppet," that Russian forces had been "too gentle" in the early days of the invasion and that Russian president Vladimir Putin was being "demonized" by the United States and NATO. Macgregor said he believed Russia should be allowed to seize whatever parts of Ukraine it wanted. After one of his appearances, Macgregor's comments were characterized by veteran Fox News Pentagon correspondent Jennifer Griffin as "appeasement" and that he was being an "apologist" for Putin. After Griffin's remarks, Tucker Carlson — who hosted Macgregor on two successive nights — remarked, "Unlike many of the so-called reporters you see on television, he is not acting secretly as a flack for Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon. No, Doug Macgregor is an honest man." Trey Gowdy, another Fox News host who interviewed Macgregor, said his viewpoint was "stunning and disappointing."[35][36][37][38] U.S. representative Liz Cheney said of Macgregor "This is the Putin wing of the GOP."[39]

R548 is worse than Hitler.

This poster you guys are responding to is an obvious Putin-licker whom I've had on block for who knows how long. A spreader of fascist untruths.

[quote]A spreader of fascist untruths.

And toilet paper stuck to the bottom of their shoe.

Washington Post

Ukrainian leaders project an image of military invulnerability against #Russia. But commanders offer a more realistic portrait of the war, where outgunned volunteers describe being abandoned by their military brass and facing certain death at the front.

If it's true that Putin is dying, there would be no reason for him not to launch nukes anywhere. He would die anyway and instead of going out with a bang, he'd go out with a KABOOM! I wouldn't put it past him.

What makes you think that he doesn't want to be the man who destroyed humanity?

Body count so far: 30,000 Russian soldiers dead. Wounded is usually 3x that number, so that's 90,000. It's a meat grinder.

𝐙𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐤𝐲𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐱

"We are the defensive perimeter," Zelenskyy told Newsmax's Rob Schmitt through a translator in an exclusive sit-down in the capital city of Kyiv on Tuesday. "We are the strong defensive perimeter. It's not something conventional. It's not something natural. That's the physical barrier made up of our people."

Zelenskyy said "God is on our side" and Russia and Putin represent the "dark power."

Putin cannot win, and the world must stop defending him amid his latest "atrocities," according to Zelenskyy, who called out the lack of fully enforcing sanctions.

Zelenskyy thanked Newsmax for making the trip to Kyiv to get the story on Ukraine's fight for freedom and independence.

"The most difficult situation is in the east of Ukraine and southern Donetsk and Luhansk.

"The situation is very difficult; we're losing 60-100 soldiers per day as killed in action and something around 500 people as wounded in action.

Regardless of the script that Zelensky's CIA handlers tell him to recite, the truth is that Ukraine is seriously losing this war and might end up being divided between Russia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, with only about a third left. So much for him being "a great leader" 🙄

Anyway, the video below offers and interesting analysis.

R560, that seems like an economical plan: just merge Ukraine with Slovakia and instantly it’s protected by NATO. Problem solved.

At this point the West has in invested so many millions in the war, it would be hard to walk away and let Ukraine fail. Unfortunately it seems like this war will drag on for a long time.

Wait, R561, can I have some?

[quote]Unfortunately it seems like this war will drag on for a long time.

I'm not so sure, R562. I can envision Russia suddenly declaring it has met its objectives and arranging a peace accord instead of facing certain humiliation as the US' lend/lease program kicks in and other Western donated long-range weapons start to come online and Ukraine really starts to kick their ass. Russia really can't sustain a long-term offensive, they're barely hanging in as it is.

Haven't we had over two months of 'Russia's attack is about to collapse"?

No, R565. You’re being a contrarian.

We've definitely had over two months of "Ukraine's success is exaggerated."

We’ve certainly had a super long time of Russia has failed to take Kyiv.

Cancer>Blindness>Bullet

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday that Russian forces currently occupy roughly one-fifth of Ukraine.

“As of today, about 20% of our territory is under the control of the occupiers,” Zelensky said Thursday in an address to lawmakers in Luxembourg.

Zelensky added that Russian forces occupy some 48,000 square miles of Ukrainian territory — an area larger than the total land mass of New York State.

Ukrainian forces began a retreat Wednesday from Severodonetsk, the last Ukrainian holdout in the Luhansk oblast, one of two states that make up the Donbas region.

BREAKING CONFIRMED: Putin Cancer, Assassination Attempt

More of both, please.

The consensus seems to be that he is dying.

Yeah, well...

China would like to help Russia, of course it would, but feels the crazy need to put its own interests first. There have been “tense” conversations between representatives of the two countries.

Chinas economy is in free fall with covid lockdowns in major cities, real estate crashing and western companies fleeing China as the global supply chain disintegrates. If they helped Russia the western sanctions would cause a major depression in their economy creating more unrest and political instability for the CCP.

China’s leadership must be well aware of Putin’s ill health and are holding back because they’re waiting to see who his successor will be and how it will affect the war.

Interesting observations from a military analyst who got it right about why almost everyone else got it wrong about Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last week warned Germany not to provide further military support to Ukraine.

But Germany has sent only two deliveries of weapons to Ukraine since March, documents obtained by the German publication Welt am Sonntag show. Welt and Insider share a parent company, Axel Springer.

The German government has reduced its military support over the past few weeks, making two arms deliveries to Ukraine between March 30 and May 26, the documents show.

Both shipments included small arms such as anti-tank mines. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has refused to supply German battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles, the German tabloid Bild reported in April.

In a call on Saturday, Putin warned Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron against sending arms to Ukraine, saying it would risk "further destabilization of the situation."

In response, Scholz and Macron asked the Russian leader to hold "serious" talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Scholz has faced harsh criticism over his response to the conflict in Ukraine. Though he has voiced support for the country, he has also held back on approving the transfer of heavy weapons.

Sadly, another Russian general seems to have been killed in the war. Will Putin just keep at it until his entire officer corps is liquidated?

GO CANCER!

When Putin succumbs to mortality, whether by cancer, Parkinson's, or a splash of polonium in his samovar, will they embalm him as a tourist attraction and lay him alongside Lenin in Red Square?

R582, that’s not a bad idea. People will want proof that he is dead.

Is there still a war on?

On June 9, Putin likened himself to Peter the Great and linked the invasion of Ukraine to the imperial expansion of Russia over 300 years ago. (There's nothing like living in the past, is there?)

So, yes, R584, the war is not only on, but may be on for the rest of Putin's life.

[quote]Russia is stealing Ukrainian grain and is burning the wheat it cannot steal. There is little doubt that Russia’s aim is hunger in Africa - hunger that would drive migrants to Europe resulting in the boost for the European far right.

[quote] Russia is stealing Ukrainian grain and is burning the wheat it cannot steal.

That's a new tactic to you?

Generals US Grant , Bill Sherman, and Phil Sheridan did a lot of that. But they were limited in scale by lack of motorized transport.

Was their intent to increase illegal immigration to a region they wanted to subvert?

Russia suffers ‘wild shell hunger’ as Ukraine hits arms depots with long-range Western rockets

Vladimir Putin’s forces face ‘out of the blue’ ammunition shortages as warehouses destroyed ‘one by one’ using Himar and MLRS weapons

See link.

R588, they did it with Syria.