- #351
Fervent Freyja
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They’ll be quaking in their Prada boots.morrobay said:Chechens - Bad News https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSeTurNpu/.
They’ll be quaking in their Prada boots.morrobay said:Chechens - Bad News https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSeTurNpu/.
This. The initial plan seemed to try and clear the way for a takeover in Kyiv. They experienced more resistance than expected, but that won’t make a difference.artis said:3) Russians so far have sent their youngest and weakest soldiers to purely use them as "meat" to weaken the Ukrainian forces (there is some evidence for that, most of the captured soldiers in the videos are very young, 18-20 years) It wouldn't be the first time Russia uses such a tactic in war.
That was my first thought when I read about the Russia suggestion for a peace talk in Belarus.artis said:Or they want to lure him out of Kyiv and simply murder him
Some unconfirmed reports from within Russia that some "professional army" soldiers , the ones that get paid , have refused to go to fight in Ukraine.Ukraine has Europe’s third-largest shale gas reserves at 42 trillion cubic feet (1.2 trillion cubic metres), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, behind France and Norway.
The rationale that we are witnessing across the board is disturbing. The UN Security Council actually allowed a charged party to vote in their own trial, which halted further action. That’s fine and dandy, because this allowance can be used again if another permanent party is brought into question in the future. Tit for tat.DennisN said:That was my first thought when I read about the Russia suggestion for a peace talk in Belarus.
russ_watters said:I don't think we need to guess what Putin's motivation is, because he's truthful where it matters. Facts don't matter to him, what's important is what he wants. He's told us, and we should believe him: He wants the USSR/Russian Empire back and Ukraine was part of them. That's it. Everything else is tangential or noise.
econreader said:I would like to ask you to give a quote from any public statements made by Putin saying that. Because I don't think you will find one.
artis said:Well he doesn't say it directly as you would like to hear it but that is because he is a world leader and a former agent, he speaks in parallels
In case anyone's forgotten Raman Pratasevich: Belarus literally delivered a bomb threat against an airplane flying over, then forced it down with fighter jets, just to put a random media critic in jail. It also doesn't help that Russia guaranteed Ukraine's territorial integrity and announced repeatedly that they were just doing military exercises before invading with no pretext but claims that Ukraine was always theirs due to Putin's direct line of succession from the Varangian prince Rurik. (I may have made up the last part, but it makes more sense than any other explanation I've heard)DennisN said:That was my first thought when I read about the Russia suggestion for a peace talk in Belarus.
This is basically a fact now, no citations or quotes needed. He wants to restore something similar to the Soviet Union and calls for a triune Russian nation to form. Refuses to accept that Ukraine is an independent nation at all.econreader said:I would like to ask you to give a quote from any public statements made by Putin saying that. Because I don't think you will find one.
Yes. And let me add poisoning of political opponents and persecution of journalists by the Putin regime to that list.Mike S. said:In case anyone's forgotten Raman Pratasevich: Belarus literally delivered a bomb threat against an airplane flying over, then forced it down with fighter jets, just to put a random media critic in jail. It also doesn't help that Russia guaranteed Ukraine's territorial integrity and announced repeatedly that they were just doing military exercises before invading with no pretext
I can't understand this way of thinking. Putin has invaded Ukraine, in case you hadn't noticed. But, I doubt you'll find him saying that either. He'll say it's "special military operations" or "liberation from neo-nazi drug-addicts". It's insanity to imagine that Putin will say honestly what he's doing, let alone what he's planning.econreader said:Well he is not saying what you attribute to him. To make it clear, here is an example. I think everyone will agree that WWII was a major geopolitical catastrophe for the world, but this doesn't imply that anyone wants to go back to 1938 and restore the British Empire or Nazi Germany.
Toddlers have better reasoning ability here. Negotiations are shotMike S. said:I know S&P reduced their credit rating to "Junk" ... that's a start
Even more disgusting, he is sending in 18 year old boys on the fricking front lines to be slaughtered and not even informing them. Most of them being captured are saying that they had no idea what had happened and why.PeroK said:I can't understand this way of thinking. Putin has invaded Ukraine, in case you hadn't noticed. But, I doubt you'll find him saying that either. He'll say it's "special military operations" or "liberation from neo-nazi drug-addicts". It's insanity to imagine that Putin will say honestly what he's doing, let alone what he's planning.
Through the whole build up of forces against Ukraine, he lied the whole time to everyone about his intentions.
R.I.P. Boris Nemtsov (##\dagger## 2/27/2015).DennisN said:Yes. And let me add poisoning of political oppents and persecution of journalists by the Putin regime to that list.
Putin has set the Russian nuclear strike forces on alert.DennisN said:No, I do not trust Putin, and I don't expect civility from him either (unless it suits him).
I read that a while ago. Stunning. I have no words to describe how I feel*.fresh_42 said:Putin has set the Russian nuclear strike forces on alert.
The Guardian said:Zelenskiy: Ukrainian and Russian delegations to meet without preconditions
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the Ukrainian and Russian delegations will meet without preconditions.
Breaking news, details to follow.
I don't think the Ukrainians need to apologize for exercising their freedom of speech here. I looked at some of those clips and they seem to be calm conversations, no abuse in what I saw. It's not unusual for captured soldiers to end up on the media. If anything, such footage discourages any brutal treatment that would leave traces visible on film, or as per Jeremiah Denton, allows it to be reported.Fervent Freyja said:Videos of captured Russian soldiers are being uploaded on most social media platforms. This is the most grotesque that I’ve encountered thus far- this one should have not been uploaded in this manner.
Why? Because Putin was better than this!hutchphd said:How can anyone today be suprised by Putin?
fresh_42 said:Putin has set the Russian nuclear strike forces on alert.
DennisN said:I read that a while ago. Stunning. I have no words to describe how I feel*.
*Update: Yes I do. Very, very angry. And frightened.
Svenska Dagbladet said:Expert regarding nuclear threat: "Can be interpreted as desperation"
While delegations from Russia and Ukraine are to meet for negotiations in Belarus, president Putin raises the voice about nuclear weapons.
Joakim Paasikivi, lieutenant colonel and teacher of military strategy at Försvarshögskolan (Swedish defence academy), comments the reports about Putins order about putting nuclear deterrence forces on high alert.
– It can be interpreted as a sign of desperation and an action because things are not going as planned in Ukraine. Then the regime must remind that there is a real threat in the background. But it would be devastating if it becomes real, for Russia as well, says Joakim Paasikivi to SvD.
By threatening with a limited nuclear attack you can force the opponents to the negotiation table, Paasikivi continues.
– The war in Ukraine is not going as Russia thought. The sanctions are massive and surely hurts. Europe has said it can handle the lack of Russian gas. And then they advance with a nuclear threat, he says.
Indeed. The message itself is void since nuclear forces are on alert 24/7 anyway. A journalist put it this way:"Can be interpreted as desperation"
The Guardian said:The announcement was also tentatively welcomed by Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg, who told the news channel he had “absolute and full confidence” in Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s judgment on “whether it is right to sit down and find a political solution”.
But Stoltenberg also expressed concerns about Russia’s motivations. “It remains to be seen whether Russia is really willing to make some serious compromises and also to respect the sovereignty of Ukraine.”
The Guardian said:Stoltenberg characterised Putin’s decision to order Russia’s nuclear deterrence forces on high alert as “dangerous rhetoric” and “a behaviour that is irresponsible”.
“Of course if you combine this rhetoric with what they’re doing on the ground in Ukraine, waging war against the independent sovereign nation, conducting full fledged invasion of Ukraine, this adds to the seriousness of the situation.”
He added, with reference to recently increased Nato presence in the eastern part of the alliance: “We have to realize we are now faced with a new normal for our security … there will be some long-term consequences and this is just the beginning of the adaptation that we need to do as a response to a much more aggressive Russia.”
The Guardian said:“This is a war between president Putin and the people of Ukraine,” he said, adding: “We are determined to defeat Russia, the same way we defeated the previous monster in Europe 80 years ago.”
He urged allies to provide more military supplies in the battle against Russia.
Kuleba, responding to questions about nuclear attacks, said that if Ukraine was attacked with nuclear weapons it would be “a catastrophe”, but said it would not break the Ukrainian spirit. He said Putin’s order to put nuclear deterrence on high alert was a strategy to raise the stakes ahead of the talks.
In case of a nuclear war? Don't we both live close to primary military targets?ergospherical said:I wonder if this is the point where we're supposed to start stocking up on bottled water, tinned food, medical supplies and batteries.![]()
Albert Einstein said:I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.
The Guardian article said:It is not immediately clear what the “special mode of combat duty” entails. Pavel Podvig, a Geneva-based analyst and head of the Russian Nuclear Forces project, said it was “hard to tell” what the order meant but that it may be a “preliminary command.” It “makes a retaliatory strike possible,” he told the Guardian. “But does not mean preparation for a first strike.”
It does not appear to be the highest level of readiness, including bombers being loaded with weapons and taking off. “It is an action that makes the command and control able to react if necessary,” said Podvig. “But it’s a pretty high level.”
Just for you, some gallows humor from long ago:ergospherical said:I wonder if this is the point where we're supposed to start stocking up on bottled water, tinned food, medical supplies and batteries.![]()