Russian invasion of Ukraine

[Corvus]

Bakhmut has held out longer than the Battle of Stalingrad. russia has been throwing waves at it for over 8 months. And it is largely been defended by reservists, not regular troops.

[Iphie]

Bakhmut has held out longer than the Battle of Stalingrad. russia has been throwing waves at it for over 8 months. And it is largely been defended by reservists, not regular troops.

While true we probably shouldn't get complacent, the situation IS hard. But so far Bakhmut stands.

[YUPPIE]

A flurry of drone attacks on Monday night and Tuesday morning targeted regions inside Russia along the border with Ukraine and deeper into the country, with one drone crashing just 100 kilometers away from Moscow, according to local Russian authorities.

While Ukrainian drone strikes on the Russian border regions of Bryansk and Belgorod that lie north of Ukraine's Sumy region aren't unusual, the hits on the Krasnodar and Adygea regions further south are noteworthy.

While some Russian commentators described Tuesday's drone attacks as an attempt by Ukraine to showcase its capability to strike areas deep behind the lines, foment tensions in Russia and rally the Ukrainian public, some Russian war bloggers described the raids as a possible rehearsal of a bigger, more ambitious attack.

Source

[Edge-]

https://www.thedailybeast.com/matt-g...op-ukraine-aid

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) brought literal Chinese propaganda to a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday in his push to cut off U.S. aid to Ukraine. The Florida Republican looked like he thought he was going in for the kill as he whipped out an “investigative report” by the Global Times to enter into the record.

He cited the report to grill Colin Kahl, the under secretary of defense for policy, on whether Ukraine’s Azov Battalion—the Kremlin’s favorite bogeyman—was getting access to U.S. weapons.

But Wahl reacted calmly to the congressman’s spiel, asking: “‘Is this the Global Times from China?” “No, this is... ” Gaetz said, before admitting, ”Yeah, it might be. Yeah.” After Kahl told the congressman that he doesn’t “take Beijing’s propaganda at face value,” Gaetz conceded: “‘Fair enough.”

The newspaper, popularly referred to as “China’s Fox News,” is a well-known government mouthpiece. Before speaking to Kahl, Gaetz spent several minutes unsuccessfully trying to get Defense Department Inspector General Robert Storch to admit that the Biden administration somehow lost track of funding sent to Ukraine.

In which some Republicans are so desperate to find ways to criticize US support of Ukraine and push to end assistance because they prefer Putin, get called out for falling for actual, obvious propaganda.

[Heathy]

not even 100 years later and history is repeating itself, instead of angry moustache man we got angry bloated dwarf. I can't even reconcile the propaganda machine has been churning out incredible round-about rationales. I suppose at a certain point you just decide what reality is but since its Russia I guess they have the most practice at this what with the soviet union being run the exact same way. 'ignore all the death, poverty and ppl being mass hauled off to siberia to break rocks into smaller rocks' 'everything is fine comrade'.

I find it funny that Putin seems to think the west is on a crusade to conquer Russia, no one wants that frozen tundra, only Russians have evolved to live in that refrigerator of a country. no country has been gearing up for conquest and no politician would last long in any European country if they tried to draft a Russia invasion force. no one wants a war with Russia and yet this is what they are being told. its extremely sad that ppl are dying for nothing worst yet it seems that they are being blatantly lied to and not in a sort of subtle way.

ironically if it comes to a war involving Nato, Russia is going to get obliterated. their paper tiger of a military has been hilariously out matched by Ukraine. they made themselves to look like girl scouts. they've set their economy back decades and have become the laughing stock of the entire world. even xi wants nothing to do with putin. it'll be very interesting to see how this ends. hopefully it doesn't go on for too many more years. this whole thing has got to go down as one of the greatest military blunders in recent history. imagine whelping 200,000 men and getting fuck all. what a shit show.

[Voidism]

imagine whelping 200,000 men and getting fuck all. what a shit show.

*and losing Crimea

They went in and will lose more than they came in with.

[Heathy]

the Russian ppl deserve a better leader, its such a shame the country was on the cusp of being a legitimate world player, they have so much land they could be leaders in renewable energy. its the largest single country on the planet and yet i'm sure it has one of the smallest population densities, they have so much space for things like solar and wind farms. they could be leading the charge. but instead they'd rather eat glue. worst yet it might not get better even if putin is gone. apparently we all hate russians and yet I watch https://www.youtube.com/@roman_nfkrz < romans videos quite frequently and have no ill will toward any average russian. it bothers me that putin spins the hatred aimed at him as a generalisation against all Russians. its pretty easy to dislike a single person without hating an entire population.

[Rustedsaint]

Member the good ol days when ussr simps were rounded up and put into camps?

[Breccia]

not even 100 years later and history is repeating itself

About that.

Russian deaths in Ukraine surpass all its war fatalities since WWII combined

CSIS tallies the number of Russians killed or missing in Ukraine since last February at between 60,000 and 70,000, a figure that tracks with recent United Kingdom intelligence.

The next-highest recorded counts were as many as 16,000 in Russia’s wars in Chechnya in the 1990s and early aughts, and as many as 25,000 in the Soviet Union’s involvement in Afghanistan in the ‘80s.

Including injuries, CSIS estimates Russia has suffered as many as 250,000 casualties in the last year of warfare.

“While some types of authoritarian regimes are willing to accept high casualties in interstate conflicts, Russian casualty numbers are unprecedented since World War II,” the report found.

The report notes that the number of Russian soldiers killed in the first year of the Ukraine war is around two-to-five times the casualty count in nearly 15 years of fighting in Chechnya.

“The Ukrainian military has also performed remarkably well against a much larger and initially better-equipped Russian military,” the study says, suggesting Kyiv’s success is due in part to “military innovation” facilitated by “a military environment that encourages and enables junior officers to seek innovation.”

So according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, it's 60-70k dead and/or missing, and another 175kish wounded.

WWII holds the record and isn't going anywhere. The deaths were around ten million soldiers (and many more civilians).

[Rustedsaint]

I dunno if that was aimed at me but, no I don't remember those good ol days, do they have a date or did they happen in your head. if you live in a democratic country then you have all political parties even if some of them are an extreme minority they exist. I live in the UK and we have nazi parties and communist parties and all parties inbetween. because in a democracy you're allowed to believe whatever the hell you want without being put into camps. so again, if this was aimed at me, I don't remember 'ussr simps' being put into camps. because I don't live in a dictatorship that does that sort of thing.

That was aimed more at edge post about Matt gaets and how he’s obviously is on Russian payroll. Admittedly the days I was referring to were during the cold war at the height of anti communist, comments that Matt gaets makes would have probably ended up him being removed office.

[Heathy]

That was aimed more at edge post about Matt gaets and how he’s obviously is on Russian payroll. Admittedly the days I was referring to were during the cold war at the height of anti communist, comments that Matt gaets makes would have probably ended up him being removed office.

then I apologize for sounding condescending. I know I did mention that Russians deserve better and I thought the ussr simp was a dig at me, but if it wasn't then thats fine. I don't want to see Russia annihilated because of the ego of one man. at the same time I do want what is best for everyone.

[YUPPIE]

the situation in bakhmut is why I always am cautious of the stories of Ukraine's successes. We don't know of the bad shit going down, only ever of them shitting on Russians. I understand the need to keep morale up, though.

[Xyonai]

the situation in bakhmut is why I always am cautious of the stories of Ukraine's successes. We don't know of the bad shit going down, only ever of them shitting on Russians. I understand the need to keep morale up, though.

I mean, even when Bakhmut falls (The situation's not looking good for them in terms of holding it on) they still managed to stall Russia's advance there for almost an entire year because Wagner fuckboys couldn't adapt to tactics beyond throwing bodies into a wall of bullets and artillery. Like yeah they'll take the city, but only after sacrificing way more soldiers then any reasonable military would waste on such an operation. And then what? Could they use it as a staging area for other offenses? Probably, but with what men and what equipment? They've stranded themselves with severely diminished capacity for a symbolic victory that only they care about.

[Rustedsaint]

then I apologize for sounding condescending. I know I did mention that Russians deserve better and I thought the ussr simp was a dig at me, but if it wasn't then thats fine. I don't want to see Russia annihilated because of the ego of one man. at the same time I do want what is best for everyone.

I understand I kinda just drop that post with directly mentioning edges mostly cause of not hitting refresh between when I read their post and when I posted, and yes I agree the average Russian citizen deserves better, and yes different political parties are important even if some are extremely different in ideology.

[YUPPIE]

with what men and what equipment?

don't know of how Russia is going to replenish its bodies, but as far as equipment is concerned, I don't think it's gone unnoticed here that China has been preparing to send lethal military aid (i.e, bullets, missiles) to Russia.

[Lynarii]

That was aimed more at edge post about Matt gaets and how he’s obviously is on Russian payroll. Admittedly the days I was referring to were during the cold war at the height of anti communist, comments that Matt gaets makes would have probably ended up him being removed office.

To be fair, the Red Scare days with McCarthy's communist witch hunting were not exactly a high point in the more recent US history that one should feel nostalgic for. Gaetz is an evil clown who has no business in government, but if they're not going to remove him from office for soliciting underage sex, there's not much else that will do it.

[jonnysensible]

don't know of how Russia is going to replenish its bodies, but as far as equipment is concerned, I don't think it's gone unnoticed here that China has been preparing to send lethal military aid (i.e, bullets, missiles) to Russia.

are they?

[P for Pancetta]

no one wants that frozen tundra

I think that in due time that frozen tundra will become extremely valuable, if the global average temperature keeps rising those tundra's will turn into fertile plains. While the land of most of their neighbors desertifies more and more. creating their much desired buffer zone. The fact that Putin has shown zero interest toward developing inner Russia was always proof to me that the man didn't care for the future of his country. By weakening Russia the way Putin is doing right now he's not only destroying his own reputation but also setting up Russia for future conflicts.

[Heathy]

oh totally, I think the point was mostly that no country is plotting to invade Russia while this is exactly what putin claims is happening. it just doesn't seem to mesh with reality. there is a hell of a lot of double think going on over there just baffling mental gymnastics. the level of cranial distortion you need to pull to make these talking point seem like an actual possibility. they've fooled themselves into believing everyone sees them as their enemy. I mean putin knows everyone in the west is not his most popular supporters but he seems to portray the hate aimed at him as some sort of vendetta against Russia as a whole. to me it seems perfectly valid to dislike a mentally deranged dictator for throwing his own ppl into a meat grinder for absolutely nothing. its absolutely profound to me that russians haven't gotten rid of this guy. elect someone who won't send you all to die maybe. seems like the better option for the majority of russians, geez has the brain drain hit them that hard. anyone with a double digit IQ left in russia. I guess not?

not going to pretend like we the west are complete saints and aren't doing our own propaganda shtick but I can't see it being as blatantly untrue as the smoke hes been blowing up everyones ass. it puts things into perspective when you live in a part of the world where your leaders are actually accountable. (at least to some degree) i mean if our propaganda started being half as bullshit as whats being spun over there, it would be far too easy to point out that it is indeed, bullshit. meanwhile no one will get gulag'd for doing that.

[YUPPIE]

are they?

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cia-dir...ia-lethal-aid/
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-sees-ev...a/6977611.html

Some citations since you're not caught up.

The United States has seen evidence that the People's Republic of China is considering sending lethal weapons to Russia for its use in the war in Ukraine, and has directly warned China of consequences, according to a senior State Department official.

"We obviously have a reason to be concerned," Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman told VOA in an interview on Thursday. She stopped short of elaborating on details when asked if there is evidence that Beijing is considering sending lethal aid to Moscow.

Sherman sat down with VOA State Department bureau chief Nike Ching on Thursday as Russia's war on Ukraine neared its one-year mark.

The State Department's second most senior official said the U.S. has warned China directly of consequences.

"If the People's Republic of China provides lethal support to Russia, then it becomes a co-belligerent in many ways, and … there would be consequences," Sherman told VOA.