Russian invasion of Ukraine

[jonnysensible]

What's the point? He will say same shit as waffles: "it's a planned fallback to stretch Ukrainians thin". This people are hardcore brainwashed.

cmon i wanna see 'actually ukranians are russians so russia is winning'

[Makabreska]

cmon i wanna see 'actually ukranians are russians so russia is winning'

Ooooof, the spiciest 5Head reasoning!

[MCMLXXXII]

Another poster shared his Schalcker's Twitter account with me. If you really want it, let me know.

[jonnysensible]

Another poster shared his Schalcker's Twitter account with me. If you really want it, let me know.

we are now bellingcat

[Iphie]

Ukrainian troops have supposedly taken Donetsk Airport and are preparing to assault the city proper. Russia has melted away.

Holy balls...I hope our resident Donbass dweller has managed to stay safe and out of the forced conscription. Haven't seen him in a while so I hope he's ok.

[Jastall]

most people there are apathetic.
the big incentive obviously is whoever scalps him gets to steal all of his money. But it would be a free for all.
I don't see it happening and a coup would come from the right wing which wouldn't be much better.

That's something which must be said. If Putin is removed (big if at the current time), whoever replaces him might not be better for either the Russians or the rest of the world.

[Kaleredar]

Russians are gullible sheep who willingly believe all the shit they're fed. Putin still has support from the vast majority of the populace. The only way he'll be "removed" is him dying.

Do they "support" him... or do they simply not care enough to speak out against him?

My general appraisal of the Russian public is that overall they're apathetic to things that don't personally affect them immediately, and even if they believe the war is "wrong" they know what kind of punishment they can incur on themselves or their families for disapproving of it too loudly. So why risk their own lives when by keeping quiet they're "only" risking the lives of Ukrainians or some Russian soldier they don't know?

Now from a moral sense supporting the killing of Ukrainians and not caring if Ukrainians are being killed aren't markedly different, but from a practical sense these kind of people might not oppose the war, but remember, they're apathetic, meaning they aren't going to move too strongly to keep Putin in power if others start to make moves on him.


Now, of course I'm sure there are also war hawks in Russia who absolutely love the idea of this war or who have indeed come to believe Ukraininan Nazis are being funded by CIA chemical plants that want to invade Russia so they should rape, torture and kill every last Ukrainian they can. But I don't know that they actually make up the majority of the Russian public, any more than say hardcore MAGA trumpsters make up a loud but small minority of Americans.

[Makabreska]

That's something which must be said. If Putin is removed (big if at the current time), whoever replaces him might not be better for either the Russians or the rest of the world.

Sure, he will most likely be another ex-soviet apparatchik who values brute strength. But this time we may actually get a more pragmatic, less lost-Cold-War traumatized and not fixated on some deranged unite-the-Slavs dream guy.

Plus, change of leadership now would most likely cause internal turmoil that could even make them withdraw their forces from Ukraine.

[Gorsameth]

I also question, what does someone worse then Putin look like? Aside from trying to press the big red button.

Russia is already using its gas supplies to Europe as a weapon, They are already invading neighbouring none-NATO countries. Invading NATO would be a death sentence.
What exactly is 'worse'.

[Jastall]

Sure, he will most likely be another ex-soviet apparatchik who values brute strength. But this time we may actually get a more pragmatic, less lost-Cold-War traumatized and not fixated on some deranged unite-the-Slavs dream guy.

Plus, change of leadership now would most likely cause internal turmoil that could even make them withdraw their forces from Ukraine.

OR you'll get Stupid Putin who thinks his country didn't go far enough and would rather burn the ship than see it arrive at the wrong port. I'm not saying it's 100% what will happen, or that it means NOOKS unlike some other poster here, but being careful what one wishes for is a prudent practice when it comes to those things I've found. We, or at least I, thought the Arab Spring would be a good thing after all and, well...

Anyway such talk is premature. Putin isn't out yet, even if his position is definitely more tenuous than when the war began.

[Makabreska]

I also question, what does someone worse then Putin look like? Aside from trying to press the big red button.

Russia is already using its gas supplies to Europe as a weapon, They are already invading neighbouring none-NATO countries. Invading NATO would be a death sentence.
What exactly is 'worse'.

Dunno, going full Stalin mode on Russians? Fat chance of being able to do that, though.

[Gorsameth]

Dunno, going full Stalin mode on Russians? Fat chance of being able to do that, though.

A callous answer but the West doesn't care how many Russians Russia kills.

A Russian leader that butchers his own population but doesn't invade neighbours is preferable to one that plays nice with his people but does invade countries seeking better relations with Europe.

[P for Pancetta]

Whatever happened to the Kremlin's constant threats earlier this year of "scorched earth" should Americans, or any Western foreigners really, be on-field participants in this war? That sounds much more direct than just supplying weapons. That's why I don't believe that general's claim.

I think he's wrong too but not completely.

Since the start of the war tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and recruits where trained in NATO countries for months, not only the soldiers but also their officers. Very recently these guys started returning back to Ukraine. It's highly likely that these troops who employ NATO strategies and tactics are at the forefront of Ukraine's recent pushes into their occupied territories. These guys have been training for at least 6 months, are highly motivated and unlike their Russian counterparts are not exhausted and underfed while carrying modern equipment.

If you followed the foreign legion in fighting in the eastern part of Ukraine since the start you'd know that many of the Ukrainians they are fighting with are not modernized and they use very similar tactics and strategies to the Russians both originating in Soviet military doctrine. As a result the casualty rates among the Ukrainian soldiers there was much higher then that of the foreign legion itself during offensive operations.

When the Russians go for a large assault they push in a big line, if along that line the enemy has a weak spot and breaks and the Russians can push in they do or don't on predetermined orders, if it was dictated that the army should not break out in case of an enemy route they won't. If there is a part along that line that's particularly hardy, and proves very costly to take, the Russians commanders on that part of the line will still push forward even if another commander might have broken through somewhere close and it'd be much smarter to encircle the position instead. Not until they have reported the situation to their superiors and they decide upon a change of plan.

The NATO's focus on decentralized command means that commanders on the field not in direct contact with their superiors are allowed much greater freedom when it comes to how the battle is fought. In practice this means that there are generally a lot less casualties during offensive operations. Before Ukraine couldn't really attack Russia because the human cost was unsustainable for Ukraine. Now that has changed. And based on the latest reports it is looking grim for Russia as they seem to have routed and are retreating near Kharkiv. And Ukraine seemed to have opened another front in the Luhansk region with multiple breakthrough across the line.

[Makabreska]

Not sure if that was mentioned, but Baltic states neighbouring Russia are disappointed with EU indecision and want to fully ban ruskies from crossing the border anyway.

[jonnysensible]

A callous answer but the West doesn't care how many Russians Russia kills.

A Russian leader that butchers his own population but doesn't invade neighbours is preferable to one that plays nice with his people but does invade countries seeking better relations with Europe.

i care man, humanity wont be free until the last dictator and last king are hanging by the neck from the entrails of the last priest.

[D Luniz]

I mean, once the front lines are breached if there are no deeper, manned, lines of defence and no reserve forces to plug the gap, because they all got redirected somewhere else or simply never existed (remember Russia is short on manpower) then what is there to stop an advance once it has broken through the front? Empty uncontested ground is really easy to claim.

the other issue is, they are leaving quite a bit of material as well
abandoning conscripts is one thing, trained soldiers another,
but tanks and heavy weapons that thanks to embargo and years of lets say "creative retirement funding" of post soviet officers, cant be replaced, taken by people trained to use said equipment.

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seems like Putin is facing another civil revolt not long after mutilating and killing the last batch. You can only kill or disappear so many dissenters before this only ends one way.

It seems the reality Putin may be deposed is not some far-off fantasy. But like Syria, is this what you people want?

Russia isn't a land of tribes cobbled together into a nation by distant powers, will some piece break off, sure, but it wont be the brutal civil war of syria, it would be places going "we free to go now? cool, cya cyka blayts"

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Russians are gullible sheep who willingly believe all the shit they're fed. Putin still has support from the vast majority of the populace. The only way he'll be "removed" is him dying.

so this
https://youtu.be/-jm55XVe4QM

[Mazza]

Ukrainian troops have supposedly taken Donetsk Airport and are preparing to assault the city proper. Russia has melted away.

Everybody that is reporting this is adding a big "This is very very VERY unconfirmed" asterix to it, but IF it is true this means Ukraine forces are actually crossing the februari 24th positions and are moving inside the "self declared" republics.

[Fuiking]

i care man, humanity wont be free until the last dictator and last king are hanging by the neck from the entrails of the last priest.

Be careful there, that aint some sensible things to say and a threat to people too.

[Iphie]

Be careful there, that aint some sensible things to say and a threat to people too.

It's a paraphrasing of this quote:

https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/d...0last%20priest.

[Mazza]

Now there's reports on Pushilin (the Russian appointed leader of the DPR) both fleeing Donetsk and resigning as leader.

If that all is true... maybe wishful thinking but we might see the DPR actually surrendering?