The Ukrainians are kicking the shit out of the Russians!

WSJ has similar take

WaPo

Love it!! The sooner this bullshit is over, the better.

BBC

Ukrainian soldiers are hot and very smart and resourceful.

Oh YAY. Let’s send them another $40 BILLION so they can keep that wretched hellhole Donetsk!

The more important question: are Ukrainian soldiers hung?

R6 - this will be good for you and Natasha - you can get legit tech jobs once Putin is gone

Maybe Ukraine should invade Russia.

They would be ripe for the picking right now.

The Ukrainians are very impressive. Good, tough fighters with a strong alliance to their country. Yay for them! Not like other people in another region, who for years were supplied weapons and we trained them....but ran off when the going got tough. That was a huge waste.

[quote] The Ukrainians are very impressive. Good, tough fighters with a strong alliance to their country.

Well they have lots of practice from their white supremacist militias that have trained around the country for decades.

I meant to say....*allegiance to their country....not alliance.

GOOD

We should have nuked the Russians in 1945 when we had the chance. They are a bunch of nasty fuckers.

Apparently far right nationalist Russians are unhappy about this and are openly criticizing Russia on Telegram and other social media. They want full conscription and for generals to be killed.

Putin doesn't dare risk full conscription because he thinks that might turn people against him. Russians are fine with this as long as they and their kids don't have to die.

Here's a gif showing the gains Ukraine has made. Caveat is that there's still a very long way to go and a lot more to have to take back.

I think it's a trick. There's retreating but will leave a nasty surprise (nuclear?)

R17 No, not a trick. The Ukrainians took took Kupyansk which meant that logistics were cut off from Izyum, making it undefendable. That's why the Russians were forced to flee Izyum.

The Russians use rail for a lot of their logistics so the loss of two rail hubs - Kupyansk and Izyum - means that they won't be able to conduct offensive operations in the Donbas unless they reconfigure their logistics.

Now we need to watch Kherson. If the Ukrainians can isolate Kherson and cut the bridge connecting Crimea to Russia that would be very bad for the Russians because Crimiea is their strategic center of gravity.

The Russian soldiers were given rusty, shoddy weapons and equipment, and clothing that couldn't withstand the elements. They also weren't briefed on their mission until they arrived at the front. Naturally, when faced with a better equipped foe, they took off running.

No no no. You have it all wrong! Putin is a genius! A genius I tell you!!!

How humiliating for Russia!

Only if they learn about it.

Russians need to retreat and focus on the steppe

R19 The Russians had the world's second best army (on paper at least). They were definitely 'better equipped' than the Ukrainians. They had tons more tanks, planes and so on. But they still managed to fuck it up.

R23, at this point, the Mongolians could probably manhandle Russia's weakened military if they tried to control the steppe.

Would now be a good time to get that gold medal back for team figure skating from the last Olympics?

I saw a good joke: The Russians have the second best army... in Ukraine.

Who is next in line if Putin were to accidentally fall from a window? I’m sure there are a few quietly vying

Haha! Beat their asses, Ukraine and then kick them in the balls while they're down!

Putin being overthrown or assassinated seems like a big fantasy. I'm more worried about Zelensky being killed. That would seriously demoralize the Ukrainians.

OP, that's why the Russiapublicans are trying to stop aid to Ukraine.

I have a bit of a crush on Pavel Filatyev, the Russian soldier who exposed the terrible conditions in the Russian army and eventually managed to leave Russia altogether. Bad skin but dreamy blue eyes -

(sorry about the link to the NY Post but it had the best picture)

Ukraine IS kicking Russian ASS! Keep going, y'all! Don't let up on the invaders!

Foreseeable, really. I mean, the Russians are being led by a PEDOPHILE. Poor dumb fuckers need to clean house. By house I mean the Kremlin.

Mightily impressive. The Ukrainians show a tenacity that their fellow millennials in the west no longer possess, myself included.

This war represents a tragic miscalculation on the part of the Russian political and military leadership, and has revealed their great army as a poorly led, obsolete paper tiger.

Sneaky Japan should steal back Sakhalin while Russia's army is bogged down in Ukraine.

The Russians have also lost an unprecendented 9 generals. Even losing two is rare.

I don't blame the Russian troops.

I remember watching a WWII documentary. It was mentioned that the U.S. took care to bury its soldiers in individual, marked graves when possible. Russia, however, chose to bury their dead soldiers in mass graves such as in Germany. They were just nameless cogs in the machine to Mother Russia.

[quote] Oh YAY. Let’s send them another $40 BILLION

It’s funny, Matt-facto, back in late February you were hyperventilating about Ukraine was going to fall in 24 hours. I said, “we’ll see — it all depends on how determined the Ukrainian resistance is.”

Well, we saw, didn’t we, Matt-facto?

[quote]  Let’s send them another $40 BILLION

I'm okay with that. We can repeal all the right-wing tax cuts over the last few decades and have plenty to cover the cost.

Several observers I've read have noted that the US/NATO have been pleasantly surprised to see how bad Russia's army is, little things, like the Russians never invested in the tech that allows their communications to be encrypted, so the Ukrainians are able to listen in on all their phone calls and other communication, which is how they were able to pinpoint the generals to kill them.

Worse than that R39

In WWII there were NKVD troops behind the regular troops who would shoot them if they tried to retreat.

OTOH, the Russian soldier knew that the Germans weren't friendly liberators, but rather, wanted to enslave them.So they had motivation.

OP, the NYT headline reads "Ukrainian Offensive Seen as Reshaping the War’s Contours". But I was under the impression that the Ukrainians had always been shaping the war's contours. This headline makes it seem that the Russians had been shaping the war's contours but now the Ukrainians have the opportunity to reshape them. That would suggest that all the previous western media coverage of the war, which constantly put the impression across that the Ukrainians had the upper hand, was wrong.

That would be better addressed in a Letter To The Editors of the New York Times, R44

R39 mmmmm I mean, in WW2 Russia had something like 27,000,000 casualties versus the US that had around 150,000. Its not exactly comparing like with like.

" But I was under the impression that the Ukrainians had always been shaping the war's contours."

Even when the Russians took the nuclear power plant?

When they took most of the Donbas region?

Or only for the purposes of your idiotic strawman argument?

[quote] [R19] The Russians had the world's second best army (on paper at least). They were definitely 'better equipped' than the Ukrainians. They had tons more tanks, planes and so on. But they still managed to fuck it up.

The issue is that pretty much everybody in Russia is corrupt. All the good military stuff was sold off on the black market and soldiers and generals pocketed the money while the weapons and trucks are still in the records and logs. So, on paper, Putin's army had high quality weapons and vehicles, but Putin never bothered to check in person if they are still there and the generals didn't bother to inform him since they were the ones selling them off, and now they are hemming and hawing about the Ukraine army taking all the supposed high quality gear calling Ukraine's reports "fake news" that the gear is total shit.

Putin himself created his own undoing by being a bad role model to his direct underlings. They followed his lead and made everything they got their hands on to money and hid that money somewhere.

The Ukrainians fooled the Russians into thinking there would be a big push for Kherson, to hide their real intentions further north. Now the Russians will never be sure where the Ukrainians are going to strike next. A brilliant move. It also show the Russians' intelligence is pretty crap.

How would this all have gone down with Trump as President? Think about it...

Another notable thing is that pretty much everyone welcomed the Ukrainians - Russian-speakers and Ukrainian-speakers alike - when the Ukrainians took back territory. So much for the Russian claim that they're 'liberating' people from Nazis. I'm braced for more stories of atrocities committed by the Russians, to be honest.

Well, apparently they've just shipped another 1300 Chechen forces into the region, r51, so I'd say more atrocities are a safe bet.

R52 interesting, I can't say that I've been impressed with the Chechens military-wise. They seem better at the propaganda videos portraying them as fearsome warriors.

I've seen that Kadyrov has been criticising the invasion and says that urgent changes are needed - although of course he doesn't blame Putin - cracks are appearing.

I don’t trust this.

R54 Trust what and why?

Good. I hope the advances continue right back to the pre-2014 borders.

Putin will cut all energy sales to Europe. And here comes winter...

R57 The problem with that is that the Ukrainians are all-in and pretty much will never surrender now because of all the horrible death and destruction the Russians have committed against their people. It is impossible for Russia to occupy Ukraine with a hostile population long term - it would mean millions of people and resources that they don't have. So it doesn't even matter if Europe and the U.S. capitulates because of 'energy prices' (unlikely also) - the Russians are fucked and can't really win this either way.

As an example of how it's clear the Ukrainians won't play ball - Zelensky advisor Mykhailo Podolyak's 3 terms for negotiations:

1. Liberation of all territories

2. Reparations payments by Russia

3. Punishment of war criminals

it is propagada, guys, chill out

R60 What is propaganda?

I agree R60.

R62 What is the propaganda you're referring to?

R61 first question :who lives on east Ukraine?

[quote]propaganda

Datalounge.

R57 and thats what USA wants. Make Europa weaker

Bravo Ukrainians! Moar!

R65 Vague as fuck. What propaganda exactly?

Note that they don't want to say exactly what they mean by 'propaganda' because then people will give solid, reasoned arguments to refute it.

R69 what solid argument you have that is not propaganda?

[quote]in WW2 Russia had something like 27,000,000 casualties versus the US that had around 150,000.

U.S. deaths were around 418,000. Bear in mind that the term “casualties” includes wounded and missing as well as the dead.

"We should have nuked the Russians in 1945 when we had the chance."

Should this have been done before or after the United States was begging the Soviet Union to attack Japan, so the US wouldn't have to start a land invasion of Japan (to prevent the inevitable loss of thousands and thousands of American lives).

We won every battle in Vietnam. These Russians can't even defeat a few Ukrainians on their doorstep. Most American soldiers did not believe in war but still roasted the viet Cong.

R73 how many civilians you killed in vietnam? And Russia didnt come to ukriane to kill, they went there to protect their people. Because it is one thinf you dont know - on east Ukraine there are millions and millions of russians

I think I read here that the old soviet union got their best officers and soldiers from Ukraine. Pooty obviously forgot this.

[quote]And Russia didnt come to ukriane to kill,

Yes they did. They went to invade and kill.

R75 Putin believes that Ukraine is part of Russia. I don't think it's about forgetting - that's a good reason why he wants to make this valiant people part of the Russian 'empire'. Too bad that they don't agree. Oops. He did not win hearts and minds before invading.

R76 no , they didnt. Ukraininas want to be part of Russia there. Why people in mariupol dont mind at all being under occupation of russia?You are from Ukraine?

R77 No, many russians on ukraine agree with Putin , but you dont expect hear such people, right? It is not right with agenda. Why people right now are running to Russia, not west Ukraine?

Sorry, dear little Russian, your people have serious issues with truth in the western world.

You sound too much like boris badenov.

R76 R77 killing russian ukrainians has started since 2014 in odessa.. here you have a video when ukrainian journalist say that they HAVE TO KILL 1,5 millions people from Donbass

R79, refute that post. I’m interested in your rebuttal, not just calling people “Boris”.

R79 I'm polish

R78

[QUOTE]Why people in mariupol dont mind at all being under occupation of russia?

This has to be the craziest comment on this thread that I've seen. Have you even *seen* Mariupol after what the Russians did to them. The entire city is destroyed. They have no water, electricity, dead people have to be left in the streets, and so on. It's insanely cruel and horrible that you make such an argument. It's just demonstrably untrue if you even look at the footage of what Mariupol looks like now.

You still sound like boris. The video...well, I can't decipher wtf he's going on about.

R83, don’t try to have a logical debate with a propagandist.

The western world is being torn apart by the divide between rightwing nationalist authoritarians and the rest of us. Trump certainly didn’t cause this — he just channeled into it as a grifting opportunity.

People who support thuggish white-identity strongmen like Putin will lie and distort reality on social media to support the rising wave of neo-fascism and when you prove their talking points wrong and ridiculous, they’ll just shrug and keep making them.

It’s what Matt-facto does of course. While his Twitter was public that’s the sort of thing be posted 24/7.

Sure, r74, that’s the ticket… protect the Russian people in another country by killing the people and occupying that other country. Yeah, people will accept that!

R83 you re brainwashed, thats why you think it is impossible.. Why russians NOW are re buiding it if they destroyed it before for purpose? In maroupols , rusians live, thats the common knowledge. Ukrainians hate that city. It was always russian city, full of russians. Now people can live that in peace

R85 YOU now KNOW what is wrong or good , who said that to you? washingtom post? ukrainska PRAVDA? lol you heard about Odessa?

I believe R87.

R86 whos is killing the people? You dont have to believe russians but please dont trust ukrainians. They are two faced

R85 "don’t try to have a logical debate with a propagandist."

Why do people like you tell people like me this when it means that the propagandist has the room to themselves? Yes, I won't change *their* mind but at least I can give the other point of view for others who may be watching/reading.

[quote]I can give the other point of view for others who may be watching/reading.

Or living near by.

R89 Thank You .Those people are brainwashed, i dont blame them, They trust mass media. russians never FOR PURPOSE bombed Mariupol to destroy city and kill people. Ukrainians did , blaming russians for it. That was their agenda . And whole wolrd believed that. Ukrainian SOLDIERS HIDE in schools, houses, hospitals, kindergardesn, there are many pictures and they WANT AND PROVOKE russians to bomb

These pro-Russian trolls remind me of the Dump apologists coming up with arcane, ridiculous talking points to explain away Dump’s total traitorous betrayal of the U.S.

R94 i am pro peace, not pro russian. You send more weapon to kill more people and keep going with war

Nobody is pro-Russian here.

R95, if you’re pro peace, you should be condemning Putin. But you’re not because you’re a puppet.

R96 see R93. Delusional.

R97 and let ukrainians keep killing russians on east ukriane? that means peace for you?

I read it, they’re not pro-Russian. They live over there. I think Dataloungers who are close to this war should be heard.

There is so much misinformation on Datalounge, it’s nice to hear perspective from someone who is close by.

I suggest putting Boris, er I'm sorry Polski, on ignore. He's pro-Putin and talking to another rightwing tard I have blocked.

Bye, bitches.

R102 You're absolutely right. I've blocked them both now and looking at my ignore list it's the right call.

what's bizarre is that I don't understand why the Pole isn't angry at Putin for driving millions of Ukrainians to Poland because he's bombing their homes, as well as driving up energy and food prices on top. This is something Putin chose to do! Not Ukraine. Ukraine would have been happy to stay in Ukraine otherwise, producing wheat, sunflower oil, and so on.

Well, r48, that’s EXACTLY the same sort of grifting, lying libertardian culture the GQP wants here.

Privatize everything so they can grift, rip off the government and leave everything they touch with shoddy equipment, stupid vatniks, people too poor to leave while they buy mega yachts and mansions.

That’s EXACTLY the libertardian “utopia” they want here.

See r88 is here to help prove me right. It points to sources it argues are biased, when what sources is it relying on in stating its facts? Putin-controlled media?

The same media that keeps arguing that “everything’s going according to plan” in Ukraine as all other media show evidence Russia is being routed and humiliated in its foolish invasion of Ukraine.

Yep, highly believable!

Yet r88 will never stop making its “corrupt western/Ukrainian media” arguments. Never. Because that’s what propagandists do.

I read an article yesterday where they were talking about the a group of Russians fleeing in a tank that was on fire as they were making their escape.

I want to say "dirty bastard Russians", but I know most of those soldiers don't want to be there and are only doing what they're doing because to refuse would mean execution.

The only thing more wearying about this Polish troll's blatant propaganda is his baffling English. Fortunately some of us are experienced enough to evaluate news reports and can easily ignore this freak.

Putin's army is failing and now his troll factories are failing.

R109, borscht and vodka are being rationed for the glorious troops defending Donetsk from Ukrainian fascists! Cannot spare a drop for the paid trolls, who have all slunk back to their krokodil dens! Let's hear it for the freelance Polish troll on this thread, who's spreading the propaganda with no expectation of even the most modest remuneration!

[quote]There is so much misinformation on Datalounge, it’s nice to hear perspective from someone who is close by.

*A* perspective, Natasha! Use your damn articles!

Go, Ukraine! And go, sexy Zelensky!

Fuck that cunt Putin and fuck Russia.

There's *no way* the troll is a Pole!

Polish people hate Russia for invading them, and forcing them to speak Russian.

Fuck you, Boris. No one believes you, and knows your puppet master, Putin, is a doomed sicko.

For the record the Putin-licking troll claiming to be a Polish hater of Ukrainians (for sending so many refugees into his country this spring, inter alia) was on these threads earlier this year, too. Sadly, his English has not improved since then.

Who do you think started this war R94? Should the whole world not fight back while Putin tries to take over every country that exists?

* oops I meant that for R99

Ive got my fingers crossed that Pooty's treatments for window cancer finally stop helping, this week.

Seventh or eighth floor, please.

Window cancer, lolz. That seems pretty common amongst high-ranking energy executives and Russian leaders. I wonder if it's contagious?

R107 Well, that's simply not true. Going to fight in Ukraine is optional. They choose to sign up. It is illegal otherwise. Putin is having big problems recruiting people even though he is offering several times the average Russian wage to. He is being urged by far right nationalists to conscript but is resisting because he knows that could mean the end of him as people revolt.

Those soldiers have pretty much all chosen to be there and do what they do.

Poots thought he'd waltz in with his state-of-the-art military, the Ukrainian government would crumble before them, and Ukraine would be digested into greater Russia before the Western democracies knew what was happening. Instead, he revealed to the whole world that his country was an incompetent paper tiger that can barely even hold the Donbas.

Well put, R120.

I hope he dies as painfully as he's made others painfully die. Fucking war criminal.

And when Putin finally does die, please take his orange haired American stooge/puppet buffoon with him, as well as all of said stooge's MAGAt supporters.

R119, there’s probably an element of compulsion. A Ukrainian from a town the Russians abandoned said that a Russian soldier told him that they’d been given a choice, fight or go to jail. So Russia has that to hold over the heads of men convicted of crimes.

Russia has just fired Lt. General Berdnikov, its commander of the western military district. He’s been in post for 15 days.

"Sources close to the Kremlin told Meduza that the Russian authorities have indefinitely postponed plans to hold sham referendums on annexing Ukrainian territories, and that there's only one reason for the decision: Ukraine's successful counteroffensive."

Zelensky on Russia’s strategy: “gradual, very slow dinner. They are dining, they are eating you piecemeal bit by bit. Russian cannibalism, I would call it this way. And I don’t want to play this game. I don’t like this game… we will not be standing still.”

Zelensky: “Our goal is to de-occupy our whole territory."

R123 I would personally choose to go to jail, but that's just me.

Russia retaliating against its military defeat in Kharkiv by hitting the power grid across eastern Ukraine, denying Kharkiv, Dnipro, Poltava and other cities - and millions of civilians - basic light, heating, internet and so on.

Zelenskyy gave a powerful answer to that, R126.

R127 Such a great speech. And underlines that the Russians have completely failed to win over hearts and minds. The Ukrainians are now all-in to fight back against the invaders.

Putin is still denying the developing world access to basic food supplies.

[quote] "On 07 September 2022, President Putin said that only 60,000 tonnes of the grain exported from Ukraine since August had been sent to developing countries, and that the majority had been delivered to EU states. Putin's claim is not true. According to UN figures, around 30% has been supplied to low and middle-income countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Russia is pursuing a deliberate misinformation strategy as it seeks to deflect blame for food insecurity issues, discredit Ukraine and minimise opposition to its invasion." (UK Ministry of Defence)

R128, Russia, like North Korea, is a pariah to the civilized world.

Did you hear that the Russians are buying millions of rockets, artillery shells and small arms rounds from North Korea (according to US intelligence).

Yes, R131. And it's preety bad when a first-world power like Russia has to go to fucking North Korea for weapons.

[quote] a first-world power like Russia

Oh, my sides!

Well, R133, it's a nuclear power.

R134 North Korea has nuclear weapons as well... wouldn't call them a first world power.

True, R135, but clearly the world and Russia thought Russia would bulldoze over Ukraine. And yet, not happening. The Russians are dissipated and demoralized. Good.

Yes, I would call Russia a second world country. High corruption, poor democracy, badly developed economy (it's a petrostate), poor infrastructure outside of the major cities (lack of asphalt roads, traffic lights, indoor plumbing), etc.

Shithole Russia.

And of course r137, instead of doing fuck all about those problems, why not invade a neighbor and drag more people into your mess?

Sadly, that is a very old, very tiresome story throughout history.

"poor democracy"

No democracy, R137.

[quote] For the record the Putin-licking troll claiming to be a Polish hater of Ukrainians (for sending so many refugees into his country this spring, inter alia) was on these threads earlier this year, too

Wouldn’t be surprised if it’s Matt-facto role playing again like he did with Gay German Guy and Greg. Yes, he’s that desperate, and obsessed with this forum.

The best leader Russia had in the last century was Gorbachev, the last leader of the USSR . He tried to bring the country democracy. Instead it's now ended up with a murderous oligarch bent on power over country. Russia deserves to die. I only hope it can be reborn. I pity the Russians and always have. Not as much as I pity the Chinese or North Koreans, but a lot. They seem to ask for it, the Russians.

Russia fired 12 missiles, worth nearly $100 million in total (according to Forbes Ukraine), to shutdown electricity in four Ukrainian regions for several hours.

Instead of using that money to give Russians outside of major cities a sewerage system.

This is an old strategy. Draw troops in deep across battle lines with "retreats" - create pockets, or bulges - and swing back in on the flanks and cut off masses of men and take huge numbers of prisoners or worse ...

R144 They don't have the manpower to create new offensives or surprise attacks. They are using all their reserves to make a new frontline after the fall of Izyum and Kupyansk.

That's why so many nationalists are calling for conscription / general mobilisation - the only way they can restore their manpower because even throwing lots of money and benefits at recruitment isn't working well.

And they're wasting money and ammunition to bomb electrical supply plants or whatever.

What sweethearts. And I thought Russians considered Ukrainians their brothers and sisters, their countrymen?

Russia is one big cunt.

Another problem the Russians have is that they don't have air superiority.

Anyway, the ISW assesses that the Ukrainians have won the battle of Kharkiv. Here's their new map (blue is the regained territory).

I hope this destroys Putin.

Globalization and liberialism seems to be failing. Even in a family there is no harmony. There will always be Putin's and Hitler's. We need trump!!!!

No, we fucking DON'T.

Russia is the largest supplier of tanks to Ukraine. Ha ha.

Some small cracks are showing (usual suspects but they are risking prosecution/worse):

Deputies in 18 districts of Moscow and St Petersburg have signed a statement demanding that Putin resign. "President Putin's actions are detrimental to the future of Russia and its citizens."

I guess this is why he wont dare leave his county for Lizz's funeral. That and having to face Western leaders. of course they wouldn't dare talk to him and vice versa but if he was a victorious leader, I'm sure he'd gleefully stroll into London next week.

Quite a haul!

That, and he can't take his green-screen reality with him R154.

Has Putin been to the UK since the poisonings?

Doesn't Pooty --awash in his megalomaniacal batshittery-- consider Europe one of his many, many nemeses?

Plus, hasn't Pooty been fitted for a cell at The Hauge prison? He can't just go limping about like he used to, staring up at other leaders with his cold, dead, soulless eyes. He has to make his threats via satellite from his bunker, in front of a green screen.

As I said before, Putin's body will be dragged through the Kremlin by Troika.

The Russians are poetic that way, and then, the last Russian Revolution begins.

Matt is Greg and ggg? Makes sense. Time to ignore.

No, r160.

GGG is Defacto, and all of those Defacto accounts of various spellings are owned by Davida Rochelle. We've known this for years.

We have another troll named Matt A. who is not Defacto but another person altogether.

Bootsy Gumdrop has been spamming us with this "Matt-facto" stuff for a while now, and if you ask why they think Defacto ISN'T Davida, they have no answer, they just accuse you of being Davida. They've caused a lot of confusion about who our trolls are, and I suspect that's very much what they're trying to do.

R160 I've had all three of those troll accounts on ignore for a long time.

Um R163 who the fuck is that and why should anyone trust a YT source for facts? You can also find alien autopsies and mothman sightings on YT.

R163, whom I had blocked (but can read thanks to R164), is a hopeful Putin-licker whose idea of an "expert" on the Ukrainian war is Scott Ritter, a former US intelligence officer who, after convictions of impropriety with minors, is relegated to outlets like YT. He has no expertise on Eastern Europe in general or the Ukraine war in particular, and basically has set up shop manufacturing quick takes geared to give saps like R163 the delusion that, despite acres of abandoned tanks and weaponry, Russia is winning.

Today in defenestration news: Russian energy executive "falls off" a boat.

[quote] kicking the shit out of the Russians!

An ugly expression.

And that region must be better equipped than unsanitary India.

Boris, really? This is your diversion? Indian toilets? Honestly, I'm not angry, just disappointed.

What's with all the defenestration and de-speedboat-ation deaths lately? Is Russia running out of polonium?

It is getting awfully basic bitch, r169. You no like Putin? I push you out window!!!

Where there is will they find many way, R169.

I love that Boris has figured out that the way to sound like a Hisstopher is to call other posters "Dearest"

Well, shit Rasputin, you. just. wouldn't. die. I wish we had high rises, cause seriously, bitch!

looks like it's dangerous to be a collaborationist with the invaders. Learning fast that they chose the wrong side.

Izyum assesses damage left by the Russian occupation: at least 1,000 civilians dead and 80% of the city’s infrastructure destroyed.

It appears that energized Ukrainian warriors with superior Western armaments against demoralized, unfed, dirty conscripts funning for the hills bodes well for the Ukrainians.

Time to launch Putin from a window into a well?

One to watch. The Ukrainians say that Russian troops on the north bank of the Dnipro have started negotiating their surrender with Ukrainian forces. Apparently, their logistics aren’t working after Ukraine hit the bridges on the Dnipro river and they are quickly running out of ammo.

This is the Kherson front where there's a lot of fighting going on. Here's an ISU map. (The river Dnipro / Dnieper runs through Kherson.)

On to Moscow!!

Next stop, Crimea. Kick those orcs out!

Me thinks Putin is going to be disposed of fairly shortly. He has basicly killed off the majority of childbearing age men and destroyed his country. Russia was already suffering with low birth rate issues. He's done.

Now Azerbaijan is attacking Armenia, taking advantage of how everyone is focused on Ukraine.

Armenia is calling on Russia to fulfil their bilateral defence treaty obligations which is fun..

[quote]He has basicly killed off the majority of childbearing age men and destroyed his country.

That's nowhere near being true. Russia has a population of over 147 million. And men don't bear children anyway - a few men can impregnate tons of women.

[quote]He has basicly killed off the majority of childbearing age men and destroyed his country.

No, he hasn't, you idiot. Putin isn't Stalin and this isn't WW II. There are still tens of millions of Russian men capable of producing children.

R181, Kazakhstan has also been turning its back on Russia. Oh, this is all blowing up in Russia's face and it's also very delicious to watch!

I am fascinated by the few Putin stans on these threads who insist a Russian victory is inevitable, if not imminent, all 'proven' by sketchy YouTube videos.

OK, so what would this victory look like, absolute Russian military triumph and Ukrainian surrender? Seven months in, a quick look at the situation map should disabuse any sane person of this idea. Perhaps acceptance by Kyiv of massive territorial concessions and a puppet government? The entire Ukrainian nation is fully mobilised, militarily, politically, and culturally. There is no way that, even if this mythical crushing Russian victory somehow comes to pass, an occupation force could hold the country.

The Russian military has been exposed as a ineptly led, shambling wreck. Hopeless logistics, no tactical air superiority, a navy hesitant to approach the coasts for fear of missile attacks, and an army seemingly utilising 1990s strategy and equipment. But I am sure YouTube hard right randos know best!

Russia has reported a fairly big monthly deficit. Their budget surplus is now 137 billion rubles ($2.1 billion) and in August it's estimated that they posted a 300 billion ruble deficit. If this is because Europe is getting off their gas, new pipelines to Asia would take years and billions of investment so diverting gas isn't simple either.

The Russian army is a mess. I'm stunned by all the pictures of the liberated areas. It looks like Russian soldiers live like pigs. Every place is full of trash, feces and filth. I'm not shocked they have zero moral and decide to just leave. Who let's their soldiers live like this for months?

Well said, R185. But you have a lot of "YouTube scholars" nowadays, who have "done their research" by watching videos done by "experts" (loser randos) that their algorithm has chosen for them. But they are INFORMED!!!11!

They are pigs, R187. Disgusting, trash pigs. Let them go back to their "glorious" Russia and wallow in the shit, there.

From the link at R184:

[quote] The Russian oligarchs present also appeared uneasy.

And probably sat well away from the windows!

Seriously, Putin gave up a lot with that furious answer that Kazakhstan and all Soviet territories belong to Russia forever. Who can trust Russia? How is that openly expansionist attitude going to help him build alliances with the Chinese, Indians, Iranians, etc.? Especially when his army can't even hold all its very marginal gains.

Still can't belive he hasn't been killed yet.

Why is Putin getting military hardware from North Korea instead of China?

The stuff he jot from China turned out to be shit.

Part of it is that North Korea has Soviet stuff and part of it is that China doesn't want to be sanctioned by the West for supplying Russia.

Didn't realize so many young Russian men have been killed.

Russia is buying back the shit it sold NoKo years ago.

Russia is becoming its own vassal state.

r194, they have been cremating them in the battlefields as to give the appearances of lower numbers

R193, it would be funny if North Korea sold back some of the stuff they bought from Russia at a profit.

For you, special price!

R196, they brought mobile crematoriums, who knows if they’re still functioning.

But you make a good point. We know Russia lies about casualties. Who knows if even the Ukrainians know the true number. Whatever number Russia is putting out, it’s a lot worse.

Is there any wonder why most of the Soviet States (save Belarus) are supporting Ukraine? If Russia had managed to roll over Ukraine, they knew they would be next. Ukraine is effectively fighting for the freedom of all of those countries.

Of course, R200. Russia would not stop its Hitler-like expansion; it will continue to invade other nations. If Putin is allowed to get away with this, he will be a living nightmare and a global threat beyond what he already is. The stupid fucking GOP wants to deny Biden funding the Ukrainians, which is the dumbest thing it could do.

[quote]Didn't realize so many young Russian men have been killed.

Lots of the fodder troops are older ethnic recruits and conscripts from distant parts of Russia. White Russians from Moscow and St. Petersberg aren't usually the ones in the trenches.

[quote]Kazakhstan has also been turning its back on Russia.

The Kazak people are harassing Russians who show up with the "Z" swastika on their cars and trucks, including calling the police who fine them. Sweet.

Interesting NY Times article about what was behind this move.

-Zelensky wanted a big win before winter when high energy prices could potentially sap European support, and to shore up Ukrainian morale as well.

-They shared intelligence with and spoke to the US more who also shared intelligence about Russian positions.

-A south-wide counteroffensive was first suggested but a wargame concluded that it would mean huge losses and wouldn't work.

-So the Ukrainians came up with the idea of two smaller counteroffensives - Kharkiv and Kherson. The Kherson attempt is still underway and is expected to take longer. (It wasn't a feint.)

The Russians were told for years that the Ukrainians were their backwoods cousins from the sticks who now needed to be liberated from their Nazi oppressors. So these Russian Army soldiers from Russia's hinterlands march into Kherson and are surprised by these locals living contently with indoor plumbing, fully functioning kitchens, top quality electronic gadgets and conveniences, etc., stuff not readily available to them back home. They've been duped.

Omg

Could you elaborate, R206?

As a Canadian, I side with the Russians. We have the same problem with Quebec. We conquered Quebec and let some residents live. Unfortunately, they bred like rabbits and took even more land expanding Quebec. It's a tumour that has to be killed if Canada is to survive. At least Putin tried. Hopefully, the USA will help us defeat the french someday.

r205 - I recall reading that during the earlier phases of the invasion, intercepted calls from Russian soldiers to relatives back home revealed that some troops saw street lights and paved roads for the first time in their lives. Others were shocked that homes had wifi, well-stocked kitchens (including Nutella!), washing machines, indoor toilets, etc. The troops luck to survive are going to bring back tales that will only serve to corrode Russian society's self-perception. That's a start for societal change.

Excellent point, R209. Russians will hear first-hand just how shitty they have it, compared to their "poor cousins" who need to be liberated! Oh, my sides!

Also, Zelensky is hot. Putin is an old, washed-up dictator.

To the dipshit at R10 trying to compare this to the withdrawal from Afghanistan - for one, the US practically left in the middle of the night with zero warning to Afghan-trained generals on the ground. And that was just one of a multitude of things we mangled in that withdrawal process. Secondly, while I certainly applause the Ukrainian effort thus far in kicking Russian ass, it’d be very naive to think these successes aren’t due in large part to western aid and backing (all of which I fully support).

"for one, the US practically left in the middle of the night with zero warning to Afghan-trained generals on the ground"

Hardly in the middle of the night, R211. It wasn't anything that sudden. They knew it was coming. And yes, of course, the west is helping the Ukrainian effort, which is to the very large benfit of the west as well.

I remember reading a few months ago that after Russian troops were ejected from the area around Kyiv, returning homeowners found that some of them had made off with their refrigerators and other appliances.

Add looting to the long list of Russian crimes.

r208, Bien essayé, Boris. Canadien mon cul.

R213 -- There's footage of convoys retreating to Russia or trucks going over the Belarus border (where the loot was put on Russia bound trains.) loaded with appliances. It was surreal to see military vehicles carrying Samsungs and Maytags. I've also seen pictures of soldiers looting second hand clothing stores and walking away with mountains of clothing in their arms.

Oh, R208--that cunty old troll. I blocked that one ages ago. Happy not to see their shit stains on threads.

Why are Righties supportive of looting now? They don't like it when it's done here in the States, but if Pooty's goons do it...oh, well!

Could it be, because Pooty's Goon Squad aren't black? Or, is it because FIX News tells them who to cheer for? Both?

R209 I'm actually shocked by that. I guess I naively thought that when the wall fell that the average Russian life would improve with modern, western conveniences.

I imagine that life for city-dwelling Russians improved substantially, but the vast majority is rural or very small towns and villages. If Russia even bothered to earmark funds for infrastructure, probably very little trickled down with all of the graft and corruption. If their military is a shambles, you can bet that the Russia not seen by outsiders is in even worse condition.

You can get a great glimpse of what current Russia is really like from this British guy's fascinating YouTube account of his travels throughout the former USSR (and how he finally got kicked out). His attempt to visit the old hangar for the Soviet space shuttle at Balkinor is amazing.

I’ve heard this before.

I’ll just wait

Tucker Carlson probably had a heart attack over the weekend. Just last Friday he assured his uneducated viewers that Russia was winning this war and Biden was a fool to support these corrupt Ukrainians and now they've started to kick these Russian pigs out of their country in record time.

I think that western countries such as the US, UK, France etc are supplying weapons and logistical support to Ukraine is their payback to Putin for interference in their elections. When Putin stole parts of Ukraine in 2015 it didn't cause much of a ripple in these countries.

R212:

Tucker is a fifth columnist who openly supports Putin, Orbán, and other dictators over American constitutional government.

R212 I would vote for Biden again in a heartbeat but this uncritical, blindly partisan support for the absolute mess that this admin created with the withdrawal is on par with a Trumpanzee mindset.

Trump had US abandon Syrian airbase & hand it over to the Russians when a US airman sabotaged the base from within.

I wonder how that airman was able to sabotage it and why it was abandoned double quick?

Trump left the Kurds to be slaughtered too. I'm not sure why they focus on Biden and Afghanistan when it was a huge fuck up to ever go in the first place. Of course it was always to be a fucking mess.

Exactly, R229. Biden actually had the balls to do what no president since Bush, who got us into the whole mess, had the guts to do. It was messy and it was brutal, but it was never going to be anything else. We should have left years ago. The corrupt leaders of Afghanistan were, in fact, sitting on their asses letting us do the protecting for them. It was a terrible outcome for Afghans, especially the females, no question. But Biden gets a bum rap for doing a hard job no one else would do.

R203, you're not kidding!

Reprisals against collaborators are happening as Ukraine takes back Russian-held territory. And some weirdness.

The Russia-installed rector at Kherson State University in southeastern Ukraine, Tatyana Tomilina, has reportedly survived an assassination attempt and is currently in the hospital.

Russian news agencies reported late on September 12 that a handmade explosive device detonated, killing a man thought to be her security guard and injuring Tomilina as they were entering her apartment block.

----

Since Russia launched its attack on Ukraine, there have been several assassination attempts conducted against Russian-appointed officials in territories occupied by Russian troops.

Several officials are reported to have been killed, though on September 12, the Russian-appointed deputy mayor of the city of Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region, Vitaliy Hura, and the city's de facto deputy police chief, Serhiy Tomko -- who were reported killed by unknown attackers -- turned out to be alive and said in televised interviews that their assassinations were faked by Russia’s Federal Security Service.

They said the move was made to prevent real assassination attempts allegedly planned by Ukrainian intelligence.

Visa restrictions for Russians need to be strengthened, says Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin.

"Sanctions should also reach the daily life of Russians," the head of the Finnish government stressed.

^Good for them. The Finnish don't play around when it comes to Russia.

What nonsense. Russia has used restraint. There is no way Ukraine can win this war. It's only being prolonged to enrich the arm's dealers.

Is it not coincidental to some of you that the West is forced to pull out of Afghanistan, but there's a new war waiting for us?

This is all a Neo-Con game. Don't fall for it. The Ukrainian oligarchs are no better than the Russian oligarchs.

Yeah, all those Ukrainian "oligarchs." Oh, my sides, R235!

R235 Russia is getting their ass kicked and are the laughingstock of the western world.

R235 Putin wants the Russian "Empire" back together as his history-book legacy. He wants to be Alexander III. So if he gets Ukraine, then Baltic States, maybe even Kazakh and other stans. Maybe fucking Poland / Finland? Before Ukraine escalated, the Russian were buzzing Swedish air space !!

Him's widdle pwide is hurt - since the Soviet breakup. Think Hitler's pride after the WWI treaty humiliated Germany. He will not stop unless he is made to stop. Already has Belarus and Crimea before the West even woke up and noticed - oh shit!!

Russia: a paper tiger, with a dissipated, dispirited, retreating, failing army,a delusional over-the-hill dictator, and with practically the entire world arming ideologically and/or literally against it.

I wonder if his time with Trump made Putin think - America has gone down the drain and NOW I can destroy NATO and take ("re-take") eastern Europe which really should be Russia's sphere of influence (Lebensraum!)

History doesn't repeat but it rhymes.

I think a lot of the invasion had something to do with Trump not being elected. Maybe Pootie thought that Dump had done more damage than he really did and we'd just sit back and do nothing or maybe Trump unknowingly passed fake intel to Pootie. Shit, maybe our intel only allowed Trump to keep fake documents.

[quote] Russia is getting their ass kicked and are the laughingstock of the western world.

And don't forget about us, R237!

Putin wouldn't want to invade during Trump's watch and damage that relationship. He believed Trump when he told him that "Sleepy Joe" wouldn't take any action. Putin also thought the invasion would be very easy under the leadership of a former actor

R235, I was going to post a counter, but it’s like posting a counter against a toddler. They won’t get it.

R244 I think Putin would have invaded and Trump would have sat back and said "go for it" and probably helped.

Exactly, R246. Of course he would.

Also COVID - people forget it's impact on Russia as much as anywhere in 2020-1. Putin couldn't have gone in earlier.

A lot of these former Soviet countries must be sick and tired of being bullied and playing 2nd or 15th fiddle to Russia and her special interests ever since the formation of the USSR. Weren't Russians always given preferential treatment during the Soviet era?

It's nice to see countries like Ukraine, the Baltic countries, Georgia, Kazakhstan pushing back a little bit.

Please f&f R235 and his "Ukrainian oligarchs" out of the Milky Way. TIA

Remember when we were being told Putin was absolutely positively on his deathbed? Who the fuck was behind that pack of lies?

We're not getting rid of him that easy.

*that easily

They absolutely need to try to take Crimea back R179. They will never have another chance.

[quote]There is no way Ukraine can win this war.

Replace "Ukraine" with "Afghanistan" and say that again. The Ukrainians are better armed and equipped and have stronger backing than the Afghans ever did.

R254 If nothing else, at least firebomb the fuck out of Putin's new $200M Crimean summer palace.

Putin also invaded Georgia. I think he was always going to do something like this. His worldview is deranged.

[QUOTE]There is no way Ukraine can win this war.

Why don't we let an actual knowledgeable expert enlighten r235?

[QUOTE]The biggest shock is not Ukraine’s tactics but Russia’s response. “What really surprises us,” Lieutenant General Yevhen Moisiuk, the deputy commander in chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, told me in Kyiv yesterday morning, “is that the Russian troops are not fighting back.”

One of Putin’s methods of control in Russia was to encourage average Russians to disengage from all politics. As a result, most Russians are indifferent to the war in Ukraine—there’s no deep vein of patriotic fervor to draw on. No one, even his soldiers, can be bothered to care. Only a relatively small group of hard-core nationalists are invested in the war effort, and they’re furious that it’s going poorly.

Ukraine’s military say that they've captured over 200 Russian vehicles from the Kharkiv counteroffensive. Many were just abandoned as soldiers ran away.

Thing is, this shouldn't have been a surprise - Russian nationalist military bloggers knew of the Kharkiv operation and were writing about it before it happened. So clearly there is something wrong with the Russian chain of command and making decisions if this is the way they handled it.

[quote] The Ukrainians are kicking the shit out of the Russians!

We love to see it ♥

The fact that Russia hasn't provided military assistance to Armenia (because they're bogged down in Ukraine) is going to make countries going forward think about whether Russia is able to keep their security guarantees. That seems like another subtle loss of power.

[quote] The fact that Russia hasn't provided military assistance to Armenia (because they're bogged down in Ukraine) is going to make countries going forward think about whether Russia is able to keep their security guarantees.

Those Armenians are going to hate Russia if she reneges on her promises to them. They are a people with a [bold]very[/bold] long memory.

There is no way Putin can win this war, as things stand. He doesn’t have the firepower, or the people. He would need a HUGE influx of both. So the question is—what’s next?

The Russian army is so ill equipped and there seems to be no discipline or morale. Their soldiers live like pigs with no healthy food or fresh supplies. All the military equipment seems outdated and ineffective. They don't even have proper air support. They use 20th century combat strategies that are hugely ineffective with western arms and technology.

I'm not sure why everyone is still in awe of this Russian army. NATO would anatomize them within days.

No one has been in awe of the Russian army since the first few days of the invasion. They tipped their hand when the tank column stalled short of Kyiv and the supply lines disappeared. The unity and determination of the Ukrainians was also a surprise for them, like the unity of NATO and allied countries.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky went to the British Embassy in Ukraine to mourn Queen Elizabeth II on September 12.

[Quote]They tipped their hand when the tank column stalled short of Kyiv and the supply lines disappeared.

Yeah, NATO would have destroyed them with a couple of drone strikes. They were literally sitting ducks waiting for a bunch of hellfire missile to hit them. I was sad the Ukrainians didn't have proper weapons and equipment to deal with that tank column.

Good of Zelinsky to be so respectful, R267. Meanwhile, is Pooty hiding in his mountain bunker or making sci-fi films in front green screens these last few days?

I want to give Zelensky and his strong cut kosher cock a nice, sloppy blowjob for Ukraine’s valiant war efforts. 🫡

Only leaders of Russia, Belarus and Myanmar haven't been invited to Queen's funeral. Even Iran is to be represented at ambassadorial level while North Korea can too (but probably won't).

Those poor Russkies. Everything, everywhere, is starting to hit them all at once. It's almost like other intelligence agencies are just starting to fuck with them in retaliation for their meddling.

Gotta love the Asian republics like Kazakstan. Harass those Russians!

Putin is so clever and educated. Why is he so twisted?

[quote]that's all great but did you ever liberate your own mama's village

R275, that was incredibly emotional. So happy for him and his mom.

R274 Putin had two older brothers who both died during childhood, one in infancy and one of diphtheria AND starvation during the siege of Leningrad in WWII.

He wasn't born till 7 years after the war - to a mother who was a factory worker (father military & severely wounded.)

All that sounds pretty traumatic for mom (and dad) - so who knows what his home life was like. He did graduate university and seems to have been a good student (going by Wikipedia anyway). And at age 12 he studied martial arts. Isn't he small? Even in his free time, he read Marx, Engels, Lenin - so I think the fall of the Soviet Union was extremely devastating for him.

Don't know much beyond that. Maybe a chip on his shoulder from being little and so much trauma in the family he was born into.

And he had gay relationships in his youth - not particularly accepted in the Soviet Union - so that adds to his paranoia and chip on the shoulder. Maybe adding to the feeling he has to "prove himself" more than other men -- and having been an only child might have made him more focused, the Napoleon stayed to himself as a boy (and dreamed of military glory, imagining battles, etc., because he was shunned by the other boys due to being Italian more than French)

*LIKE Napoleon WHO stayed to himself...

I can't write worth a damn without an edit function.

The Belorussian army is full of blond hawties!

Okay, did someone just say Putin is gay? Lol.

R267 and R271 no one fucking cares about Elizabeth Windsor. This thread is about something actually important, Ukraine hopefully continuing to win against Russia

R281 he's a closetcase homo. And this is a gay board, Boris.

Thank you R282. These fucking BRF lunatics cannot help but insert those cunts into every conversation.

R281 I blocked you yesterday for being a troll. Log in from another browser today?

R258 There are too many U.S. government propagandists out there to blindly accept anything said by these "experts".

A few weeks the Russians we on the offensive.

No, there is no way Ukraine can defeat nuclear Russia.

This war is not over. And the arms dealers don't want negotiations.

R285, give it up troll. This is DL and you aren't fooling anyone.

I'm pretty sure Putin isn't gay. He genuinely seems to like that fugly gymnast who is old enough to be his granddaughter. (To be fair, in video she seems to have a bright, upbeat vibe.) I really don't see why a gay man would bother getting a female mistress. Just keep the existing wife on hand for functions.

At least 90% of people are straight. I don't get why DL tries to make everyone gay especially a piece of shit like Putin.

Putin knows that if he uses nuclear anything (like a reactor) he has attacked NATO.

Game over.

Russia CAN'T use nuclear weapons and continue to exist.

Yeah, using nuclear would be end game. I think the only issue is: is Putin mad/deranged enough to say fuck it and do it anyway. However, I've also read that there is a chain of command to use nuclear and that it's probably likely that someone will refuse to do it along the way.

I like how for these Putin trolls, the vast preponderance of reportage and commentary is "propaganda" on behalf of "Western arms dealers," and the only outlets getting the genuine facts out are Russian government media and the odd vlogger.

That conspiracy theory doesn't make sense. How would 'Western arms dealers' make Putin invade Ukraine? Sometimes things are as they seem. Occam's razor.

R289, Russia won't want to create a nuclear catastrophe in a country next door to it; radiation poisoning won't stop at the border.

And a great reason for NATO to determine it has been attacked.

R291, I think the reasoning of the trolls is that Ukraine should have capitulated, and the only reason we're helping them fight is to enrich "arms dealers." Remember, any opposition to Russian colonialism is "warmongering."

In Belgorod, locals are complaining about the smell from train loads of refrigerated wagons from Ukraine, likely full of dead Russian soldiers.

As we approach Autumn then Winter: How will the changing seasons affect the war? If the Russians are having supply problems, I'd think that harsher weather would make things yet worse for them (more supply problems, etc.). You'd say that the weather is the same for both sides; but the advantage would be to those on their familiar home turf.

R295, yikes!

There's a video circulating of Prigozhin recruiting Russian prisoners to fight in Ukraine as part of Wagner private military company. NGOs say that about 7-10k prisoners have been recruited. From what Prigozhin tells them, they're effectively cannon fodder and have a high risk of dying but the pay off if they live would be a pardon.. quite a big pay off for serious criminals!

I've linked to a thread with a translation of what Prigozhin says to them.

Russia shot 7 cruise missiles into Ukraine today. I wish Ukraine would try to take back Crimea now.

Russia/Putin is going to exact revenge in horrible ways. I fear for Kiev. Putin will knock out power and freeze remaining Ukrainians in the dark. I don't know how the West will be able to stay out of it when that happens.

"@Reuters

Exclusive: Vladimir Putin's chief envoy on Ukraine told the Russian leader as the war began that he had struck a provisional deal with Kyiv that would satisfy Russia's demand that Ukraine stay out of NATO, but Putin rejected it and pressed ahead"

Russia and Kazakhstan not sending Armenia military assistance = meaning the CSTO, Russia's answer to NATO, looks to be exposed as a paper tiger.

Zelensky visited Izyum and was photographed with soldiers. Russian bloggers were unhappy with this - great PR, good for motivation, complaining that the secret services and Russian military doesn't take him out.

R300 brings me back to the rough-and-tumble days of early spring, when the trolls were endlessly concerned about events that would certainly, indubitably, dare I say inevitably draw the West into the war. In this case, since Putin knocked out power in eastern Ukraine the other day and the Ukrainians had it back up again the same day, I'm not too worried.

R301, this is the full story:

Russian officials are demanding Putin step down and the Russian people strongly agree.

Sheesh!

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's car was involved in a traffic accident in Kyiv, but he is not seriously hurt, his spokesman Serhii Nykyforov said in a Facebook post early on Thursday.

Nykyforov - who did not say when the accident occurred - said Zelenskiy's car had collided with a private vehicle.

"The president was examined by a doctor, no serious injuries were found," he said, adding the accident would be investigated

R306 Only a few officials (on the level of local councillors) and the majority of the population truly doesn't care/are apolitical. People both strongly for and against what Putin is doing are both minorities.

Remember how it was when USA committed a bloody criminal massacre in Iraq? Strong protests for a couple months then bupkis throughout the occupation.

R275, mama's boy is a handsome fella with dimples for days.

I do feel bad for all of these reluctant twinks being used as cannon fodder in Putin's power-grab. Surely their families -- especially the ones killed -- must hate Putin?

R275, I forgot to mention, your guy is also mayor of that town.

Fuck off Vatnik trolls. Not even Russian TV believes the shit you're still obsessively peddling.

[quote]"Where was our damn reconnaissance? All of their heads should be laying on Putin’s desk, hacked off at the base."

Now, whatever you may think of him, that's a sentence you won't hear pass Jake Tapper's lips on a weekday broadcast.

r286 Huh? Damn, fools get upset when you diss Saint Zelenskyyyyyy. Lol.

Putin-licker at R315, if you'd actually read The Republic you'd have a better grip on who's a tyrant and where justice lies in this situation. Unless you're satisfied with your cave.

I don’t recognize r315 at all, he’s only been on this thread licking Putin’s ass. Best to block the troll, he’s obviously Putin’s Friday night girl.

r317 Because anyone who disagrees with you on the war in Ukraine is a troll? There's only side and it's yours! Got it, troll.

Translation in this case: Disagreeing = Russian Propaganda

r316 In which book of the Republic does Plato discuss NATO missiles in "Little Russia" pointed at Moscow?

Plato would agree with me that Russia is acting in preemptive self defense. So would Socrates lol.

Lets stop World War III before it happens, Cold Warrior.

Datalounge is like r/theDonald, R320. It’s the hard left version. You’re the minority, and you’ll probably end up getting banned, unfortunately. There’s a lot of censorship here.

Bullshit.

^If you're so unhappy here on DL with our liberal, anti-Putin rhetoric why don't you just leave. Seems like uou would be more happy on a pro Russuan board. Don't waste your time trying to convince a bunch of gay Queens of your Putin love.

Also, did you see the videos of these Ukrainian women and grandmothers kissing and hugging the Ukrainian soldiers when they arrived? Do they look like people who want to be liberated by the Russians? I don't think so.

Meanwhile the Russians are gang raping young girls and children in every town and village they "liberate".

[quote]^If you're so unhappy here on DL with our liberal, anti-Putin rhetoric

Who’s unhappy?

[quote] Lets stop World War III before it happens,

We're probably the furthest from Russia starting WW3 we've been since Putin was elected. The Russian army is caught in a meatgrinder, NATO has been arming Ukraine for going on a year without any reprisals, and its even been a few months since they mentioned something impractical like dropping a super nuke in the Atlantic.

r323 Since when did the definition of left wing change to mean one supports a return to the Cold War?

Unbelievable to me that there are fools here who only want to hear one side and silence anyone who disagrees. That's democracy?

Jeezus, chill and respect the right of others to disagree with you, you fascists.

^Why do you think you have the right to spoil this thread with right wing propaganda?

Just block r326. He’s a ass-licking, Putin-loving moron who’s probably paid by vodka bottle. Yes I disagree with him. Doesn’t change the fact that he’s a moron.

[quote]Lets stop World War III before it happens

The best way to do that is to drive Putin and Russia back out of the territory they stole and send them back home, alive or dead. If Putin should succeed in Ukraine, it wouldn't end there.

Before we all move on from the gentleposter (and Plato’s BFF!) urging appeasement, could we stop for a minute to contemplate the term “preemptive self-defense?” Very few phrases in the English language can sound so benign and yet contain so much evil.

I know Elde Lez. Use of those words to justify anything shows who the real Nazi is. Like I said—block him.

I'm starting to think this will all end with Putin getting Gaddafi'd.

r327 Spoil this one-sided mob action by giving the other side? Oh perish the thought! Are you guys so delicate that you can't even listen to an alternative view?

And I'm a left wing anarchist, hardly right wing, fooooooool.

Any disagreement is “rightwing” here, R333. This is a hard left site.

^Proudly so. And gay.

r330 Dame Lez, preemptive self-defense that came on the heels of an American coup and Ukraine's bid to join NATO. NATO was wise enough to stall any attempt by Ukraine to join. NATO knows that was the set up for a nuclear holocaust.

Sorry, I care too much about my own family and my own country to allow a break-away province of the Russian Empire to start World War III.

R336 Russia does not want to start WW III, dear. USA does.

so fans of Bandera,how is it going? Ukrainians already killed civilains ,those who wanted be part of russia, anyone wants pictures?

r337, America knows WW3 is not winnable. Gad, you are an asshole.

R326 agree, they dare to call Putin fascist but they behave like one

R338 America lives by selling guns, making wars.Of course far away from USA.

^Obvious Russian troll—a real RUSSIAN troll. You can tell by the syntax.

R342 again , I'm polish..

[Quote] ,those who wanted be part of russia

Should have left and moved to Russia then. After all they even got fake Russian passports and everything. Why did they stay?

So 326, one side invaded a sovereign democratic European state and the other one didn’t. The invaded state is defending itself from that invasion. Seems straightforward to me. I hope the Ukrainians keep giving them hell.

r343, how many times do you have to post that. You are not doing Poles a service, right down to not capitalizing Polish. Not all Russian Trolls are Russian. My favorites were the 2019-2020 Macedonians. Macedonia, where 25¢ is a dollar.

R345 Ukrainianis don't give them hell, that's the problem. I would give you tons of videos with burning ukrainians.

Suuurrreee you are r433. And I’m the king of Spain.

R344 yes, most of them left with russian soldiers, but not all of them. Ukrainians kill people who has stayed because they KNOW that they are russians, you get it? So they bomb everything there and kill people, blaming russians and people buy it with ease.

R346 no one will force me to love ukrainians. They are like ISIS. AZOV are new SS galizien and polish president welcome them in Poland and scream slava ukraina! Country who FOUGHT against nazis now help them. it is disgraceful.

YAY! Another thread where I can instantly see who I need to block

The vast majority of Ukrainians want a multiparty, democratic form of government with ties to European democracies and economies. But according to our Putin-lickers, self-determination counts for nothing; Ukraine is just a "break-away province of the Russian Empire" (how would that sound in Attic?) and any support for self-determination and social democracy amounts to Western aggression and "liberal fascism." How very Orwellian.

No one cares if you love Ukraines r350. But you can’t go invading them because you don’t like them.

R351 has it right. Block these idiots.

where the FUCK are these Putin whores coming from?

R354, it’s probably just one changing his login.

R352 you just dont understand that Ukraine is not democratic country, will never be. There is massively large corruption out there, selling organs, children on west Europe. People are there very poor while there are tons oligarchs , like zhelenski for instance. USa paid Ukraine for building bio labs, right? They admitted it. Bio labs are not legal . You can buy everything in Ukraine, drive license, diploma, vaccine certificate. Ukraine came here with multiple fake vaccine certificates. you cane buy it with ease on ukriane. You cannot not cheat on Ukraine.

^I noticed both trolls have only commented on this thread.

"Bio labs are not legal."

THEY'RE GETTING STUPIDER

R353 Putin didnt invade ukriane because he doesnt like them> He help Russians ON UKRAINE, this is very simple.. HAVE YOU READ ABOUT MASSAVRE IN ODESSA?????? Like nationalists from Kijów MURDERED many russians and odessa civicilians? Women raped and strangled.

R357 not true, I post on many threads, stop lying

R385 You are all stupid here because you dont know that there was something like SOVIET UNION and now ukraine is full of russians who BELONGED TO SOVIET UNION> This is pure history.

This is in polish but just LOOK AT THE PCITURES< PLEASE< what ukrainians did to their OWN PEOPLE!!! They are animals!!

[quote]no one will force me to love ukrainians

No one give shit u lov ukrainians. U no get to invade other country if u no like people.

I hope these Russians are safe!

R363 So you let them kill other people? Thats your logic? Ukrainians WANT to be part of russia, simple and clear.

Ukraine has a lot of problems and corruption, no doubt (so do other countries), but it has a popularly elected government and a functioning system of social democracy and free enterprise. That's a lot more than one can say for the avowedly colonialist kleptocracy that our trolls here insist have the right to invade and annex it.

R366 when you did invade Iraq , it was ok? pathetic. Oh ,yeah democracy

What about? What about? What about? See, I can change the subject all day

it is so funny that americans are so sensitive about invading a country! Hilarious. Have you felt sorry about 130, 000 civilains you killed?

No, I don’t, r369.

I don’t like DL. Let’s invade it!

We killed civilains? Are those exotic birds or something?

S370 so why are you here? putin cannot kill people according to you, but Bush could have?

sorry R370

the "two wrongs make it right" troll is using a 5th grade school yard trope. Ignore her and just go to another thread

R375 of course, you are the smart one. You know everything. You just love harrasing people.

"We are all living in America...coca cola and sometimes war.."

In other (real) Ukrainian news, Putin says China’s concerned. Ya think??

I'm beginning to see the Putin-lickers' logic here. Your government invades a sovereign country = you have to support the invasion. For obvious reasons it would never occur to them that those of us opposing the invasion of Ukraine also opposed the invasion of Iraq with our voices, feet, money, and votes ...

Hahaha. I really do love posting here with my queer brothers and sisters. Glad I discovered this joint.

Though most of you have been duped by Western media into supporting these corrupt thieves in Ukraine, I still love ya!

[quote]^Proudly so. And gay.

Being hard left is nothing to be proud of, gays, especially gay men would never survive a hard left society. They wouldn’t even be allowed to exist.

Exactly r379. When Bush invaded Iraq, millions protested here (me included).

R381, that’s ridiculous. The right wing nuts are the ones who want to take your rights away.

Zelenskyy is not an oligarch, he is a kleptocrat. Let's use terms correctly.

Interesting that the pro-Russia trolls went completely silent in the first days of the Ukrainian offensive, but since yesterday they seem to have found their (repetitive, factitious) voice.

R385 I havent seen that topic in first days of ""offensive", sorry. Your theories are bullshit.I was posting here already , this week, so again you re lying.

It's because it's all going so badly for Cunt Russia, R385.

Agreed, r387. Putin is getting desperate to change the narrative. Trolls are getting time and a half vodka to post.

Poor, sad old drunk losers.

R387 so how russia "invaded "so much land if it is going so badly? why you werent so loud when ukriane was losing so much country? Now they are getting back empty townships because people escaped and yo re so pround?

"why you werent so loud when ukriane"

Oh, dear, R390. English not your strong suit, comrade. Have another drink.

R390 can't even spell "Ukraine"! 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂

R391 it doesnt have to.. I dont drink,thanks. Answer, why you werent so loud when your beloved country was losing so much land? It was success according for ukrainians? Why so amazing army like Ukraine's lost Mariupol?

This is such a catastrophe for Russia that China wants no part of this.

What a loser Russia is! 😂 😂 😂

R394 hahahahah hm more shit like that cnn ,washington post, ny times..does anybody from those shit media says about mutliple crimes in Georgia which is in total control over america?

sorry, by america.

Sure, Mary R395. Sure.

Who's laughing? WE ARE! Especially watching the coward Russians running away! 😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂

R397 yeah you dont know even where geogia is

"you dont know even where geogia is"

And you can't spell it, R398! What an idiot! 😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂

"geogia"

"ukriane"

😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂😂 😂 😂

R380, lecturing on “thieves” while posting from Putin’s $100 billion yacht.

I type fast on phone , you idiot. Stop ignoring facts , you re dumb as typical american.

R380 do you realize that zelensky rents his big, big house in Italy to some russians?

I can’t take you seriously because your grammar sucks, r402.

R404 so tellin lies with perfect grammar doesnt bother you? You wouldnt take me seriously if my grammar was perfection, lets face it

Hey r402, I’d quit while I was ahead, er, actually, miles and miles behind. And it won’t get better.

[quote][R381], that’s ridiculous. The right wing nuts are the ones who want to take your rights away.

Eric Adams needs to dump all gay men in Venezuela. He will. He just needs to be persuaded. Gays would be happier there.

killed ukrainians by ukrainians

people killed in part of Kupiańsk by nazist

"nazist"

From the "oh, but I type fast on phone" troll! 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂

There is a massive slump in the stock market in the US. The securities of all major companies lose between 3% and 7% of their value. The Dow Jones index continues to decline and is currently trading below Biden's first full day of business. Incidentally, even the "successful "Ukrainian counteroffensive does not help US arms dealers too much. Even Boeing and Lockheed Martin are going down.

[quote]nazist

From the "oh, but I type fast on phone" troll! 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂

russians were ordered to withdraw(if i ca use that word correctly, school troll will harrass me again) . This confirms yesterday's hypothesis that the intention was to trap the Ukrainians. that is the case, ukrainians doesnt take back anything, russians are reatreating

You’re the one lying, r405. And it’s “if my grammar were perfect”. BTW, the dead person in r408 is not Ukrainian.

R414 yeas you re right he is russian

I mean, how can you take anything these bozos post seriously when their grammar and syntax is quintessential translation from Russian?

The "I type fast on phone troll" is really worked up, isn't she? She can barely pause for breath before posting the next hidesously misspelled post with misleading images.

"hideously"

True, R416, but she's asking for it.

R416 I am polish.

R417, that’s what happens when you rush Google Translate.

R417 misleading images? because it doesnt fit your narrative is misleading?if I said that is some ukrainian killed by russian, you would believe

[quote] Your government invades a sovereign country = you have to support the invasion.

very faulty judgment. from day ONE, I didn't support Bush's invasion of Iraq, it was a total fiasco in my book. I said so at the time. More russians need to do the same

R415, he may have been from Russia, but he was not ethnically Russian or Ukrainian. Anyone with a brain can see that.

Oops. Look who I am addressing.

R422 and it helped that prince like you didnt support invasion of irag? They didnt give a shit

R423 MOST UKRAINIANS ON EAST UKRIANE ARE RUSSIANS, this is ex soviet union, you understand? thats why Ukriane has been killing people there (donieck'Ługańsk )since 2014

Hah I ignored two Putin girlfriends and half the thread is gone.

R426 yeah keep reading western propaganda

No, you are wrong about that r425. There are enclaves in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, next to the border with Russia, that are ethnically Russian, but even those two oblasts have majority Ukrainian populations.

Crimea is predominantly Russian, ethnically.

R428 so it is okay that ukrainians killed some man ,russian or not, that is corrent?

Block the Pole, you won't be disappointed.

Moose and Squirrel.

It’s a WAR. Enemy combatants die. He should have surrendered if he wanted to live.

R428 and it IS not majority, stop lying. Russians are mostly there...

R432 so it is a war, so ukrainians can kill anyone, ok got it

You’re the one lying. Go read some census data.

R428 so why russian language is FORBIDDEN on west ukriane? because ukraine nationalists hate russians, thats why they kill them, simple

It’s not forbidden. I have been to L’viv and heard Russian being spoken. No one cares.

Of course, I haven’t been there since the INVASION.

R427 it is forbidden in schools, media, tv idiot , work people have to learn ukrainian language ..zhelensky wanted last year to forbbid polish language in POLISH schools, but of course now he cannot. Better tell AMOUNT of refugges who went to russia running away from war !

OK, which two posters do I block? This thread is off the rails.

R438 is one to block. It's mostly him on this thread, been here from the start, says he's Polish but is full-on gagging on Putin dick. Not even interesting because can't formulate an actual argument beyond "Ukraine bad! Russia good!"

One down.

R440 americans are so stupid that one american has to tell other american what is going on and what to do. hilarious

It is not forbidden.The children of my relatives in Kyiv attended a Russian language school until the invasion. The language most commonly spoken on the streets of Kyiv was Russian.

Oh, you mean the children forcibly removed to Russia? Sure. I am certain they’re happy to have been forcibly removed to a real fascist state.

R443 no, tell us about Ukrainian refugees WHO Went to russia running away from war! You know there are millions of them,,,No way children in kijow attented russian languge shool...

over a million it say here. And i know that more than in Poland

It says as fuck Refugees from ukraine recorded in country Russia 2,593,209 !!!!!!! so what will you say!!!!

Up until the war, there definitely were Russian language schools in Kyiv, and my relatives attended one.

My SIL speaks Russian as her primary, everyday language in Kyiv. Even now, no one cares.

The UN has determined that Ukrainians have been forcibly removed to Russia. So your lie on this is easily disprove.

^disproven

E447 forcilbly!!! of course forcibly they cannot admit that people are russians and they went there because they want to...it is not 1939 !! do you think putin forced 3 millions of people to go to Russia? and where are they?? in concentration camps???? people have phones !!! where are the video s when they re crying that thez moved bz force to russia???? fucking christ you re s dumb

R447 forcilbly!!! of course forcibly they cannot admit that people are russians and they went there because they want to...it is not 1939 !! do you think putin forced 3 millions of people to go to Russia? and where are they?? in concentration camps???? people have phones !!! where are the videos when they re crying that they re moved by force to russia???? fucking christ you re s dumb

I know I’ve said it before, but I think it deserves repeating that it is entirely unacceptable that Russia has been allowed to squat in the UN Security Council seat reserved for the USSR for three decades. Either the seat should be rotated evenly between the former USSR Republics or the Republics should vote every few years on which country will be their representative for the next term. Between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, mistreatment of Georgia and failure to defend Armenia I think any assumption that all the former Republics are OK with the status quo deserves to be challenged.

3 millions of refugees went to russia and they believe ukraine who says that they were forced to do so yeah right what else can they say?... jesus fucking christ I cannot believe it ..

Block the one with the Platonic user name and the one with atrocious English who insists he's a Pole. If more of us had done so earlier, we wouldn't be closing in on the end of this thread with nothing but repeated, unsubstantiated assertions of Russian superiority to show for it.

R453 yeah block anything what doesnt fit your narrative, thats what fascist does

Ukraine has never stated all refugees were forcibly removed to Russia, r452. But definitely, some were, including tens of thousands of children.

I have relatives who crossed into Estonia through Russia.

I'm in touch with people in both Ukraine and Russia, as well as having access to an independent press, and it's this alleged Pole's narrative that's out of whack. Put down the Kool-Aid.

R455 prove it, those kids you re talking about were saved from you know who, but prove it that they were taken by force

I don’t block anyone, I’m not Pol Pot.

Here you go. Plenty of these reports.

R456 yeah? independent press? so we have to believe you just like that

R459 lol no there no proofs , they just say it is forced relocations , the media make everything what russia does look like crime, murders, raping, forced relocations...Those children were saved most probably from being sent to european pedophiles. They use everything to show russia as monsters, but in this conflct someone else is monster

Drink the koolaid r461.

I have a relative who lives in Bucha. She’s an old lady, and didn’t leave. Her stories would make your hair stand on end. Not just theft, but random executions if people just walking, looking for food, torture, rape.

R462 hahah lol no please, no bucza i am sick of listening like ukrainias found 3 days after russian leaving multiple corpses on the street.

and by the way dont you know that there is a new bucza? ukrainians are back and here we go we have another proof of russian cirmes... it seems russians live along with those corpses day by day and when they have to run away lol they leave many bodies. monty python

[quote] I'm polish..

Sure, Jan. Most Poles just LOVE Russians and always engage in such passionate defense over their historical nemesis.

R465 most poles hate ukrainians because of Wolyn but now due to propaganda we are brothers, you get it?

R466, did you find this forum searching for gay porn, our 'Polish' brother? 😅

R467 Nie twoja sprawa, kretynie

Oh I don't know, Caveman (appropriate), invading a sovereign nation seeking to eliminate their legitimate government and annihilate their culture, while stealing their lands and fruits of their labor to appease a need to create a legacy and feel all empirical seems perfectly sane.

^R468, Czy w Polsce jest tylu ukrytych homoseksualistów co Rosja?

R470 hahaha nie umiesz dobrze po polsku za bardzo pisac . Mnóstwo

R458, I get it but I also don’t want to wade through stupid to get to the meaningful stuff.

Wtf is going on in this thread?

Wowza.

Block the two imbeciles r473 (they’re readily apparent) and all is good.

I know we want this to be over soon, and the news from Ukraine is definitely going in the right direction, so DL’ers, what do you think is Putin’s next move? My feeling is he needs bodies to fight (it’s too late to fix the broken weapons), so I see mandatory conscription in Russia’s future… which will be useless. Alcohol is an incredibly insidious affliction that many young Russian men suffer from, and the result won’t be pretty. Drunk soldiers trying to win a war they don’t even have a stake in? Yeah, this will not end well.

It's being reported that the Russian government is cutting their budget by 10% after a larger-than-expected decline of fiscal revenues over the summer (a deficit of close to 1.5 trillion rubles). Pensions and healthcare won't be touched so it won't be a short term political problem though. And, of course, military spending is increasing...

A mass grave containing approximately 440 bodies has been found in the city of Izyum, which was recently liberated by the Ukrainian army after months of Russian occupation.

R475, a draft would bring home to the general public how badly things are going.

Putin and Xi have been at a summit today. Note the coffin of Russian-Chinese relations in between them. And that all the other tinpot dictators (Lukashenko and co) have to wear masks while Putin and Xi get to sit away from them and opt out of it.

Xi is not actively supporting Putin. No weapons, no ammo, no chips, no real words of solidarity. Just a willingness to buy Russian energy at very discounted prices. Putin says that Xi has questions and concerns about the war in Ukraine.

Last time they met, they declared a 'no limits' friendship.

This will give the Putinistas an orgasm.

Geez, r479. That coffin shape is just… someone is going to face the firing squad (maybe for real). Btw, at my post at r475, you’ll see that Russia also has the highest male suicide rate in the world. Nice job, Putin!

Yeah, more soldiers won’t help.

R478 Yeah, I can think of quite a few reasons why a draft wouldn't work well.

The general population is mostly apolitical i.e. they haven't been motivated to want to fight in Ukraine. Putting unmotivated soldiers there won't work well.

The soldiers will need to be trained to be effective which takes time and organization.

Protests will increase once parents see their kids going off to potentially be killed or wounded which could spiral into being a real threat to the regime. And taking workers out of the economy isn't a great idea.

What the Russians need most is competent command and decision-making, really.

R483, if they had that, they would never have invaded Ukraine in the first place. I think the horse has left the barn on that account.

True, r484, and it all starts at the top.

I think we all know the only thing that will end this war. It involves Putin and an open window.

The alternative is a stubborn, nasty old fuck demanding that everybody else pay for his stupid mistakes and for "failing" him.

I got a little nervous when Putin met Xi today. I hope China doesn't jump in and help Russia.

I think China, and Xi, are a lot smarter than that r485. I doubt they're going to jump into this mess, with this mess of a leader, running that mess of an army.

Maybe ElderLez will finally get her wish for Russia to lose their UN seat?

Deputy PM Marat Khusnullin, who oversees Russia's construction industry, says Russian authorities are working on arrangements to employ North Korean labor. Up to 50,000 DPRK workers may be invited, mainly to develop the infrastructure in Rus Far East.

If Russia actually invites North Korean labor, that would be a de facto withdrawal from the UN sanctions regime against the DPRK. UN Security Council resolutions explicitly ban the use of North Korean workers.

Well so much for the brief intrusion of reality on Russian TV:

[quote]Prominent lawmakers on Russian state TV say this is no longer a "special military operation," now it's a real war. They call for Russia to destroy critical infrastructure, "plunge Ukraine into darkness" and drive 20 million Ukrainian refugees to Europe.

They're calling for open total warfare as their economy is collapsing and they're requesting weapons from North Freaking Korea. The Cruise missiles they're lobbing into Ukrainian power stations cost $5 million each. They can't possibly escalate at this point, can they?

If r488 is correct, they're apparently requesting slaves from North Korea as well. We seem to be at the desperate flailing around stage.

R489 Those people have always been ultra-nationalists. They want extreme measures. In a way the nationalists are good sources for information but they don't want an end of the war, they want to win it.

R486, does China seem like a country that jumps in and “helps” other countries? No, no, it does not.

Most of what I read today suggested China has no interest in supporting Russia's war.

Why would NK give up their slaves, though? Russiahas less and less to offer anyone, other than crazy, violence, and degeneracy by the basketsful.

Speaking of baskets...I wonder if Pooty has considered asking his good pal Fucker to send all of the war hopeful MAGAts to him? They would love to kill some people. It wouldn't matter if they weren't American "Libtards". Liberals and the Biden administration care about them, so they hate them.

Hmmmm....if NK tells Pootifer to FO, maybe that will be his next play?

Khusnullin is also recruiting prisoners to work and says that North Korean workers work 2.5 times faster than Russians. It seems like the Russians have a shortage of workers.

Article is in Russian but you can right click and Google translate it.

R495, so what would these slaves do? I don’t see them going to the front line but maybe that’s what they have planned? It doesn’t solve the problem of young Russian men who don’t want to be fighting a war.

I know it's old school meme, but I like it.

R496 Working on construction projects in the far east of Russia.

Re: what's next for the war. Washington Post: "Despite Ukrainian forces’ startling gains in the war against Russia, the Biden administration anticipates months of intense fighting with wins and losses for each side, spurring U.S. plans for an open-ended campaign with no prospect for a negotiated end in sight.

U.S. officials, providing a quiet check to Ukrainian exuberance, said that while Ukraine troops have performed better in offensive operations than even their American backers had anticipated, those forces will encounter a period of intense fighting in the lead-up to winter as part of what they expect to be a “nonlinear” trajectory for the war.

A senior State Department official, who like other officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal planning, said Thursday that while Ukrainian forces had proven they can reverse advances made by Russia following President Vladimir Putin’s Feb. 24 invasion, Russia retained a potent force.

“They have significant equipment and arms and munitions positioned in the occupied territories, not to mention what they have in Russia,” the official said. “And so it is far from over, despite the momentum.”

Did someone say beets??

Did we discuss the British military dude who suggested the Russian military could completely collapse by November?

Kim Jong Un to his slaves:

"You will go from here, where I am slowly feeding you --one by one-- to my pitbulls for my own amusement, to Ukraine --in the dead of Winter-- to fight and probably die painfully for a cause for which you know and care nothing about! If you survive, you will return, and I will quickly feed you to my pitbulls --one by one-- for my amusement. If you refuse to go, I will feed you to my pitbulls --one by one-- for my own amusement!"

Yes. This is a sound, strategic move by Pooty! A big winner of a move

R501 They aren't potentially being recruited to fight but to work on CONSTRUCTION projects in Russia. I only mentioned it because it might lead to Russia losing their UN seat. Although a couple weeks ago it was being touted that they would be recruited to rebuild the Donbas but that plan seems to be screwed for now since the Russians have had to scrap their sham referendums to annex those areas and are still facing fighting.

Refusing to take part in the special military operation now gets your face posted above a urinal. Any cute Russians you'd like to piss on?

Administration buildings in Russian-occupied Kherson are being hit with rockets and missiles.

The Russians are predictably trying to pass it off as Ukrainians hitting civilian targets but those buildings clearly aren't.

R481 lol and those suppposed "tortured" women are paid a lot of money from us,polish citizens. There is a foundation for women who were occuped by russians, traumatized etc etc... They come here to Poland and lie and steal our polish taxes..Interesting that we Poles never got any money for their PROVED tortures in Wolyn. Scandal!! Anywa, my point such whores lie all the time.. like that woman from ukrainian parlament who ADMITTED THAT SHE LIED about rapes. All those ukrainians lie, all the time And the never EVEN APOLOGIZED FOR WOLYN!!!! and they dare to accuse other country for genocide. Ridicolous

R504 why russians would like to destroy Chersoń re bulding it later? Explain

I'm glad they're kicking the shit out of the Russians. Flip side, it only makes him more bitter and crazy and willing to engage in a protracted battle - on the battle field and in the PR sphere. Are the reports of Europe's coming doomed winter due to lack of Russian energy accurate? Not "doomed" like everyone is going to die, but just a super expensive, hard winter looming.

R507 no , they arent. But country who had Trump or pedophile Biden for president believe in everything. You re not too smart

What an incredible folly this invasion was. Btw, is everyone else noticing this thread is loading very slowly?

Yeah, it was Russia and Putin's hubris. And now they have most of the entire world against them.

R506. No, you misunderstood. Those buildings were hit by the Ukrainians. The problem for you Putin-lickers is that they were occupied by Russian invaders/colonizers. The good news is that they killed some of the heads of that:

Reuters: "The prosecutor-general of the Russian-backed self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) in eastern Ukraine and his deputy were killed by a bomb blast at their offices on Friday, the head of the LPR administration said."

Exactly r510. And funny enough, although China “supports” Russia, all they are really interested is buying oil at dirt cheap prices. If Russia didn’t have oil, China would be saying “buh bye!”

India's Modi, who skipped his usual initial hug, to Putin:

"Today's era is not one of war, and I’ve talked to you about this on the phone several times…in the coming days, how we move towards the path of peace – we will definitely have an opportunity to discuss this."

Putin to Modi: "I know about your position on the conflict in Ukraine and I know about your concerns. I know that you share these concerns and we want all of this to end as soon as possible..."

Funny, it seems only months ago that the trolls on these threads were assuring us that whole global south and third world were cheering Putin’s invasion on, telling him to stick it to the West, while the only dissenters were the cosseted few bourgeois Westerners shaking their heads impotently.

If Russia were winning the war they'd be fine with it but since Russia is failing, both Xi and Modi aren't happy. They don't want to face economic sanctions from the West (economic sanctions do work as a deterrent). Xi may enjoy the fact that Russia's failure means that they will become China's vassal but he's clearly perturbed by the instability Russia has caused to the world such as energy and food (wheat, sunflower oil) prices.

And everyone around Putin is drinking himself to death. Well, that tracks, and is probably the only reasonable response. His natural high comes from getting off on death and misery, so he's apparently isn't much of a drinker.

Putin doesn't drink. Nor did Hitler. Or all those Muslim terrorists. As a big drinker myself sometimes I wonder...

Being a drinker is always better than being a murderous, teetotaling despot.

well, you should be more worried about zelenski and cocaine , lately he had car accident. the driver was high

What should we be worried about r519? That Zelensky will invade his neighbors because he has some stupid fucked up fantasy about being the next "great" czar?

R520 he invaded Poland already, at least ukrainians want to be part of Russia , we dont want to be part if Ukraine

of Ukraine

IGNORE THE TROLL.

R511 do you know how many ukrainians were killed by russians during that "kicking the shit out of russians"? And isnt it good that in those houses WERE NOT civilians , only soldiers??? are you fucking kidding me? what are you mumbling about? If it was otherwise, ukrianians would hide ALONG WITH PEOPLE IN THOSE HOUSES and we d have multiple tons of dead people , and of course killed by russians..

I have trollerina blocked but judging by my missing posts I have to question if it ever sleeps. Perhaps another troll farm worker just takes over the keyboard?

R525 what? it 's 7 pm here in poland and last I posted it was 1 am, stop lying

*last time I posted

Mass graves found im Ukraine from Russian murderers. Signs of torture found on some of the dead bodies; some victims as young as 6 years old. They even found a whole family buried. War crimes will be brought against Putin and Russia.

From the Associated Press.

as I said before they did another bucza when russians are gone ..people dont care anymore, no one buys that shit

that was russians mistake that they did retreat, innocent people are dead. There is no mystery why those cities are empty, meanwhile happy zelenski is taking pictures and his bodyguards has SS sings on them. No, there is no nazi on ukraine

Russia will be feeling the brunt of being the world's pariahs for years to come: war crimes, sanctions. Putin will pay the price for this one day. Of course, Russia will suffer, as it always does.

*the world's pariah

Maybe St. Petersburg can be annexed by Finland and we can then write off the entire rest of the Russian Federation.

R532 at this moment, we POLES suffer the most...not russians, not americans, not british, you know shit.. jewish goverment increases taxes for us for nazists. Our country took 450,000,000 euro LOAN JUST FOR UKRAINE, to help them.. We will not pay it in next 50 years! Youd dont know what you re talking about. You just believe propaganda that russia is hurted and everyone else around is happy and we have to suffer for ukraine

Good Lord, you're a bore.

Plase stop indulging this troll. Ignore it like it's not there. Arguing with it is eating up the thread limit.

That said, R536, I totally agree with you.

Hi all, hah I see some gaps in the posts. Good riddance, no one cares what they say. Quick question—this thread is really slowing down, would anyone be averse to a thread 2?

A Polish Putin apologist? Isn't that like a Jewish Nazi?

Ukranians knocked out power in a Russian town today. Although tit for tat might feel good, you can't claim that Russia is using terror tactics against civilians and then do the same thing and keep the moral high ground.

The Ukranians have liberated Kupiansk.

The KRAKEN unit successfully crossed the Oskol River, which made it possible to completely liberate the city.

Just don't get him started on the Jewish Nazis who are apparently invading Poland and taxing it, r540.

Oy vey, r543. Muriel, can't you abolish these trolls?

I've abolished the one R543 is referring to by blocking him—I hope; he seems to spring up hydra-like with new accounts. We'll see when day dawns in Łódź. Meanwhile, I see that Poots is making the best of a bad situation—now it appears that all he ever wanted was the Donbas, and by gum, he's unswervingly committed to holding it.

Thank you R488!

Shamelessly linking to thread I started about what Xi gets out of this before the war started. I didn't anticipate the low priced oil at the time.

The Ukrainians also managed to kill the woman, Lyudmila Boyko, who was in charge of the bogus 'referendum' on joining Russia in occupied Ukraine. Her local official husband, Oleg, was killed alongside her. They died from injuries sustained in an explosion close to their home.

This happened on the same day the Prosecutor General of Luhansk region and his deputy were killed.

Sending a message..

Horoshie vatniki, get potato and not one cow not want to eat!

Pretty funny (and accurate)

What the Hell happened to this thread?

The fascists showed up.

It's time Vlad is pushed out of a window.

here's DefenceHQ's briefing for today:

"Ukraine continues offensive operations in the north-east of the country while Russian forces have established a defensive line between the Oskil River and the town of Svatove.

Russia likely sees maintaining control of this zone as important because it is transited by one of the few main resupply routes Russia still controls from the Belgorod region of Russia.

In addition, this line sits along the border of Luhansk Oblast, part of the Donbas, which Russia aims to ‘liberate’ as one of its immediate war aims. Any substantial loss of territory in Luhansk will unambiguously undermine Russia’s strategy.

Russia will likely attempt to conduct a stubborn defence of this area, but it is unclear whether Russia’s front line forces have sufficient reserves or adequate morale to withstand another concerted Ukrainian assault."

It’s funny how blocking the Daily Mail trolls from the BRF threads makes the Putin trolls here disappear too. Hmmmmm….

r528 war crimes will not be brought against Putin unless they can prove that he ordered such actions. It won't take much to convince people that some Russians went rogue and killed them. US soldiers did similar things in Iraq or Afghanistan, can't remember. They were rightfully tried by the Military, but that doesn't mean their crimes can be placed at Bush or Obama's feet (was before Trump).

[quote]War crimes will be brought against Putin and Russia.

No such thing will happen. War crimes are only brought against tiny, insignificant nations.

You are probably right r557. And honestly, if something happens to Putin, which I suspect it will, I think it will be done by Russians, not by Ukrainians and not by Americans.

No, nothing will happen to Putin. His approvals are sky high and rising as Russians feel taken on by the world. What people should fear is whoever comes after. The hawks around him in line for succession are said to much, much worse. A few even think Vlad is too soft.

R559, of course his approvals are sky high. Those who don’t approve are being tossed out of windows.

R559, Looks like the Serbs all over again.

Also, the fact that many anti-Putin Russians opted to leave the country is in fact diluting opposition politics within Russia.

Can someone link to these extremely reliable Russian opinion polls?

R563, they’re apparently only in some deluded posters’ minds.

r563

That poll was from April. And how reliable are opinion polls under an authoritarian state?

exactly r566. And a lot of wars start out popular, in fact most do, but then gradually the total godawful suck sets in and everyone starts re-evaluating. They were all cheering Nicholas II in the streets of St. Petersburg when World War I started. Later, not so much.

If you're holding out for Russians to revolt against Putin you'll be sorely disappointed. There will be no mass dissent and more than two thirds of Russians will continue to support him.

As for sanctions, they're already dealing back on the predicted collapse of the Russian economy. Josep Borrell likens them to "a diet".

I know this comes from RT which is Kremlin-biased, but literally no media is neutral on this subject.

Borrell's point there, R568, isn't that the sanctions' effect is turning out to be less than a "predicted collapse of the Russian economy" (by "dealing back" do you mean "dialing back"?). He's saying that the "sanctions are effective" in constraining Russia and should be maintained indefinitely. The article says he's specifically responding to the pro-Putin president of Serbia.

In any case, no one expects the Russians to revolt against Putin.

[quote] Russians feel taken on by the world.

What else is new?

A polling experiment by London School of Economics researchers suggests that support for Putin might generally be strong but current polls significantly overstate support for the war.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky called for the creation of a special tribunal for Russian war crimes against the background of the discovery of mass graves in Izium.

As expected Ukraine forces are finding mass graves in newly liberated areas.

"@DAlperovitch Russian MoD now reportedly stamping "DESERTER! Refused to perform a combat mission! Prone to BETRAYAL!" in military IDs of those who execute their fully legal right (for now, at least) and refuse to fight in Ukraine"

Interesting r574. That shit could start to backfire. Start alienating a ton of soldiers and, well, that does not always go well.

Yes, people think they have to be there but Russian law allows a contracted soldier to resign at any time unless Russia is in a declared war. Putin has labelled this a special military operation, not a war. So legally any of these guys can leave when they want. Now, however, it seems that they are tightening the screws...

Like American red states, what's "legal" in Russia and the way things actually work are often very different.

There are lawyers on the case about this in Russia though.

Hope those lawyers are avoiding open windows.

An UN vote about allowing Zelensky to make a video address suggests who supports Putin: Belarus, Cuba, North Korea, Eritrea, Nicaragua and Syria.

China abstained - and Kazakhstan voted in favor....

I know this is off topic but u have to see this pic of Belarusian authoritarian leader Lukashenko’s beloved spitz Umka being driven around Samarkand in a stroller with a massive entourage during this week's summit.

I bet Lukashenko turns into a regular Blofeld when he gets that creature on his lap.

I think that's a rather simplistic inference, r580. Most countries in the world have declared themselves neutral on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Think who most benefits from such a stance? Vladimir Putin. This war could be long and drawn out. Remember Afghanistan lasted 20 years and in the end, the U.S. just decided to cut its losses and flee.

I've never thought that the war would be short. Too many people jump up and down with excitement thinking it will be over suddenly and soon but most wars do last years. However, it is notable that Putin is not getting active support from most of the world. He needs weapons and things like electronic chips while Gazprom's gas exports have gone significantly down. That stuff matters. He needs support for the war on multiple fronts and eventually that will eat into it.

"@IlyaMatveev_

How it started: Russian soldiers bringing their full-dress uniforms for a victory parade and booking restaurants in Kyiv to celebrate (yes!!), trucks with no armor bringing OMON/Rosgvardia to disperse potential far-right demonstrations...

...these demonstrations being the worst that could happen according to the delusional Kremlin dwellers.

How it's going: Z channels on Telegram introducing the new term, "Belgorod front".

Ukrainians shelling Belgorod itself, school classes cancelled in several municipalities on the border."

"Most countries in the world have declared themselves neutral on the Russia-Ukraine conflict."

Not countries in Europe or North America, R583.

It amuses me that people here think Putin will be or is immune to the effects of having many of the first-world nations of the world be against him and supporting the war effort in support of the country he invaded. These countries know he is a danger to a lot of Europe. Even China won't get behind him or Russia. When you have to go to fucking North Korea for its shit weapons, it's not a good sign for Putin.

Good point - a lot of developed countries have sanctioned Russia and are supplying Ukraine with weapons, training, intelligence, etc. For example, the UK has trained nearly 5,000 Ukrainian troops and has set a target of 10,000.

This kind of support helps Ukraine to sustain strong resistance against what was previously the world's second best military.

No, R583, most countries in the world have not declared themselves neutral on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Forty countries support Ukraine in this conflict.

There are 195 countries in the world so I suppose it's technically correct. However WHICH countries matters a lot more.

And they are the countries that are major first-world economies, R589.

Continue the conversation at part 2 below. This thread is getting wonky!

The Russians brought tens of thousands of body bags and portable crematoriums with them in the initial invasion. They intended to begin an immediate cleansing of the Ukrainian population.

Who will suffer more with the decline of Russian energy exports to Western Europe? Russia will easily find replacement markets starting with India and China. Europe might get permanently saddle with high energy prices. That will cause civil unrest and crash economies.

R593 Define 'easily'? Gazprom exports are significantly down so already it isn't that easy. New pipelines will take years and billions in investment to build. Then there's that they will be buying it cheaper than what Europe pays.

As for Europe, Europe seems to have dug in and is committed. Civil unrest and economies crashing, maybe, maybe not. Putin is taking a gamble for sure.

Your enthusiastic and simplistic notion of Russia's might is misguided, R593. Russia depends on Europe as well, and India is hardly in a position to rescue Russia. And China is already backing away from Russia's war effort, proving that it's not the supporter of Russia that Putin hoped.

Europe has pretty much solved their energy issues with Norwegian oil and LNG. Fuel prices are expected to drop by half.

"That will cause civil unrest and crash economies."

Where, R593? France? No. Germany? No. Actually, nowhere in Europe is this going to happen because of Russia.

So far, R583/R593 has falsely stated that most countries in the world are neutral in this conflict, ignoring the fact that all first-world countries are united against Russia. Then, she claims that Russia will singlehandedly "cause civil unrest and crash economies" in Europe, another made-up assertion. Hmmm...I smell an ass-licking Putin troll.

And by the way, R583, the US didn't "flee" Afghanistan. It pulled out abruptly and messily. But it didn't "flee." And you'd really have to be a fool to think the Russia invasion of Ukraine will be drawn out like the 20-year conflict in Afghanistan.

We left after Trump surrendered and released 5,000 Taliban terrorists.