Russian invasion of Ukraine

[Gorsameth]

Russia is willing to confirm they have no intention of doing the thing that no one thought they would do anyway (openly attack NATO, trigger article 5 and get obliterated)

wow...

As for why, to keep the 'peace deal' talks going and offer something to not seem unreasonable in the eyes of the orange orangutan. The entire peace process is just Ukraine+EU/Russia trying to make the deal unacceptable for the other so they can blamed by Trump for saying 'no'.

[Dontrike]

Russia has lost more soldiers in this war than they had before the war started. It's equal to the population of Estonia.

In early 2022, just before launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the size of the Russian armed forces was estimated at between 900,000 and slightly over 1 million active-duty troops, excluding reservists.

By the end of 2025, Russia’s total military losses in Ukraine will reach 1.2 million. In less than four years, the Kremlin has effectively destroyed its own army—entirely—and rebuilt it from scratch, even expanding it to a new force of 1.5 million active personnel.

Russia’s military casualty rate

The scale of Russian casualties in the war it started is staggering—and they continue to grow year over year:

2022 — 105,960

2023 — 359,230 (+250,000)

2024 — 789,550 (+430,000)

2025 — 1.2 million (+410,000)

These totals include both those killed and severely wounded who will never return to combat—hence the classification as “irrecoverable losses.” Sources within Ukraine’s General Staff told UNITED24 Media that the proportion of killed Russian soldiers is rising each year. Early in the war, more troops were wounded than killed. That trend has now reversed.



The Kremlin shows no concern for its military losses. Several key battles illustrate the scale:

In the Battle for Bakhmut, the Wagner Group was virtually annihilated, with tens of thousands of its fighters killed.

In the Battle for Avdiivka, Ukrainian forces eliminated 40,000 Russian troops.

The fight for the small town of Chasiv Yar has dragged on for 18 months. Russia has failed to capture it and lost nearly 12,000 troops in the process.

Another grim example is Andriivka, a tiny village in the Donetsk region. Over two years of trying to seize it, Russian forces lost 427 soldiers killed or missing, and 798 wounded. In nearby Ozarianivka, 343 were killed and 300 wounded, including 42 officers. In total, Russia lost nearly 900 troops killed and missing, and another 1,226 wounded—amounting to an entire regiment—for just two villages.

These losses are even more striking when compared to the amount of territory Russia has actually managed to seize since 2022:

2023 — 530 sq. km gained, 250,000 troops lost (equivalent to the area of Warsaw, Vienna, or Budapest)

2024 — 3,600 sq. km gained, 430,000 troops lost (Moscow, by comparison, is 2,500 sq. km)

Russia’s total losses are now equivalent to the entire population of Estonia.

How Russia’s losses compare globally

Despite staggering losses, Russia continues to push forward, relying on relentless infantry assaults. With drones rendering armored vehicles less effective, Russian commanders are knowingly sending soldiers to die, aware they’ll be targeted by FPV drones.

The scale of the losses becomes even more astonishing when placed alongside World War II casualty figures:

Italy — 242,232

Hungary — 200,000

Japan — 1.3 million

Germany — 4+ million

The key difference: within a year of Hitler’s war in Europe, only the UK continued to resist and refused to surrender.

The only country with greater losses than Russia is the former Soviet Union (8.5 million)—and that comes as little surprise. The brutal tactics used by Stalin during WWII—mass infantry assaults and total disregard for human life—remain embedded in Russia’s military doctrine today, with its meat-grinder assaults.

[alach]

Heres a progress update.

Zelensky moves towards demilitarised zones in latest peace plan for Ukraine
This is a little different, Kyiv is willing to give up terrority.

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky has given details of an updated peace plan offering Russia the potential withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the east and the creation of a demilitarised zone in their place.

Detailing the 20-point plan agreed by US and Ukrainian envoys in Florida at the weekend, Zelensky said the Russians would respond on Wednesday once the Americans had spoken to them.

Describing the plan as "the main framework for ending the war", he said it proposed security guarantees from the US, Nato and Europeans for a co-ordinated military response if Russia invaded Ukraine again.

On the key question of Ukraine's eastern Donbas, Zelensky said a "free economic zone" was a potential option.

Zelensky reveals full 20-point peace plan draft backed by Ukraine, US

After weeks of talks, Ukraine and the U.S. have prepared a draft of the revised peace plan to end Russia’s full-scale war.

The initial 28-point plan, which effectively pushed Ukraine toward capitulation, has been reworked into a 20-point framework, which President Volodymyr Zelensky presented to journalists on Dec. 23 for the first time.

In addition, a three-party security guarantee draft between Ukraine, the U.S., and Europe has been developed, as well as a bilateral security guarantee agreement between Ukraine and the U.S. Another document between Kyiv and Washington is focused on economic cooperation and was described as the "roadmap for Ukraine’s prosperity."

He is suppose to meet with trump tomorrow, and as much as trump keeps proclaiming how russia wants peace, I haven't seen any sign of it. In fact, putin has been even more belligerent to Europe in general lately. Now, what will trump do if, as I suspect, putin rejects this. That is the big question.
Someone should remind trump that russia has been killing Christians for a decade in Eastern Ukraine, maybe that will get his attention.

[Corvus]

Russia have already rejected the plan. Trump will still blame Ukraine and nothing will change.

[Elder Millennial]

Russia have already rejected the plan. Trump will still blame Ukraine and nothing will change.

I've been saying this for a while now, Russia won't stop because it can't stop.

Whenever it does stop, whether because it is stopped or because people refuse to keep the charade going, there will be a pretty nasty period of insane instability.

[LeGin v4]

I've been saying this for a while now, Russia won't stop because it can't stop.

Whenever it does stop, whether because it is stopped or because people refuse to keep the charade going, there will be a pretty nasty period of insane instability.

1.2m dead - albeit convicts, the poor, minorities etc. - but still the wonderful Russian people, who we should all respect very highly and take very seriously, don't seem to be objecting.

Nothing better than a good meat-grinder, comrades. Keep up the de-Nazification.

Putin won't stop until he surpasses Stalin

[Elder Millennial]

1.2m dead - albeit convicts, the poor, minorities etc. - but still the wonderful Russian people, who we should all respect very highly and take very seriously, don't seem to be objecting.

Nothing better than a good meat-grinder, comrades. Keep up the de-Nazification.

Putin won't stop until he surpasses Stalin

Russian's will start caring...around the point where the "death bonus" checks stop clearing. Around the time when the injury pensions stop coming.

[Kaleredar]

Russian's will start caring...around the point where the "death bonus" checks stop clearing. Around the time when the injury pensions stop coming.

I think it more simple than that; they’ll start caring when continuing to ignore the war becomes more of a threat to them personally than reprisal from Putin would be.

[alach]

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traded freezing, missile-tormented Kyiv on Sunday for the frescoed dining room at Mar-a-Lago, where he hoped to gain President Donald Trump’s sign-off on a revised 20-point peace plan to end the war in his country.

Emerging after more than three hours of talks, neither man announced any major breakthrough in the grinding effort to end the conflict started by Russia in 2022. Both emphasized the process was complicated and would take more time. And Trump, who spoke by phone earlier in the day with Russian President Vladimir Putin, still offered a relatively sympathetic view of Moscow’s positions.

Yet unlike some previous meetings, Trump praised Zelensky and remained confident that peace was near.

CNN

Maybe someone should tell putin that the war might finally end. I'm sure he will be over the moon about it.

“I think we’re in the very final stages of talking, and we’re going to see,” Trump said, adding, “It’ll either end or it’s going to go on for a long time, and millions of additional people are going to be killed.”

trump with the brilliant, "the war will end or it won't" quote of the day. Or;

He offered a familiar timeline for when clarity might emerge on whether peace is possible.

“It’s possible it doesn’t happen,” Trump said of a peace agreement. “In a few weeks, we’ll know one way or another.”

I'm sure that the Ukrainians living with daily barrages of missile and drone strikes and mass black outs will be happy to hear such a sense of urgency.
Hate to have criticism of any sort of progress, but this is beyond a spinning wheel, it seems so pointless its absurd. If trump was serious about this it wouldn't take very much to do something about it.

Russian's will start caring...around the point where the "death bonus" checks stop clearing. Around the time when the injury pensions stop coming.

About that...
Russian official warns a banking crisis is possible amid nonpayments. ‘I don’t want to think about a continuation of the war or an escalation’

[Gorsameth]

CNN

Maybe someone should tell putin that the war might finally end. I'm sure he will be over the moon about it.


trump with the brilliant, "the war will end or it won't" quote of the day. Or;

I'm sure that the Ukrainians living with daily barrages of missile and drone strikes and mass black outs will be happy to hear such a sense of urgency.
Hate to have criticism of any sort of progress, but this is beyond a spinning wheel, it seems so pointless its absurd. If trump was serious about this it wouldn't take very much to do something about it.



About that...
Russian official warns a banking crisis is possible amid nonpayments. ‘I don’t want to think about a continuation of the war or an escalation’

Again, we know this dance routine.

Absurd pro Russia plan comes out, Ukraine and EU finesse the plan to make it remotely palatable, Russia declines because nothing except total surrender is acceptable. Wait few months, repeat.

This entire process simply exists to make a pro-Russia US President slowly accept that this current plan is not going to happen while stopping him from fully pulling support for Ukraine in a fit of Putin induced anal-handpuppetry.

Anyone who believes these peace plans have even a remote chance of succeeding has been living under a rock.
This war will not end until Putin is dead or Ukraine collapses.

[alach]

Again, we know this dance routine.

Absurd pro Russia plan comes out, Ukraine and EU finesse the plan to make it remotely palatable, Russia declines because nothing except total surrender is acceptable. Wait few months, repeat.

This entire process simply exists to make a pro-Russia US President slowly accept that this current plan is not going to happen while stopping him from fully pulling support for Ukraine in a fit of Putin induced anal-handpuppetry.

Anyone who believes these peace plans have even a remote chance of succeeding has been living under a rock.
This war will not end until Putin is dead or Ukraine collapses.

And with rate russia is advancing, I'll wager putin will be six feet under from old age for a couple decades before Ukraine collapses.

[Veggie50]

Russia now alleges that Ukraine launched a 91 drone attack on Putins summer home in novgorod, and is therefore ‘reconsidering its position in the peace negotiations’

Bull. Shit.

[alach]

Russia now alleges that Ukraine launched a 91 drone attack on Putins summer home in novgorod, and is therefore ‘reconsidering its position in the peace negotiations’

Bull. Shit.

And Lavrov is using that as an excuse to say he will target government buildings and other noncombatant targets. Zelensky is warning the entire country tonight.

Heres an interesting poll,



If you watch till the end, you will see what trump is doing is not good politics. Putin is very, very unliked the American people, and it appears more Americans than not think trump is on the wrong side of this. Another very unpopular move. Hope someone is keeping notes for when he starts to screech "rigged election" next time he loses.

[Gorsameth]

And Lavrov is using that as an excuse to say he will target government buildings and other noncombatant targets.

So like any other attack on any given day...

[Corvus]

That one is so blatantly a fabrication to derail the peace process that not even trump should have fallen for it. The dementia or kompromat must be really bad for him to do so.

[Elder Millennial]

That one is so blatantly a fabrication to derail the peace process that not even trump should have fallen for it. The dementia or kompromat must be really bad for him to do so.

It's neither of those two things really.

It was someone else who pointed out that Trump sees people like Putin and Xi and Kim etc as the strong iron handed, respected and feared men he really wants to be.

He seeks their approval and attention, he wants to be accepted by the big boys.

This is how he behaved his whole life, in the 70s, 80s and 90s it was the New York elites. Those were the days when he was a life long Democrat and Clinton donor, because that's what the New York social circles were.

Now that he moved up in the world all that is beneath him, now it's dictators.

I don't think any of us really can understand the allure of the power of someone like Putin or Xi has for Trump. If Russia and China didn't have their own domestic political priorities, Xi and Putin could easily bend Trump over a desk and fuck him in the ass in exchange for spending 20 minutes glazing him on TV the way he speaks about them.

That's what Putin does in those phone calls with Trump. A little glazing here and there, pretending that Trump is somehow important and the job is done.

This is the same reason why sometimes European leaders can talk some sense into him when meeting him face to face.

This is the same reason why Mamdani managed to make him his personal cheerleader in a single meeting.

[Fugus]

I don't think any of us really can understand the allure of the power of someone like Putin or Xi has for Trump.

That part is easy. Trump thinks cruelty is power. He thinks revenge and hurting anyone you want without them being able to do anything about it is power.

He sees them as being able to do that to anyone they want within their borders without consequence and with Putin has watched him attack others on NATO soil and get away with it. He wants the ability to rape, torture, and kill anyone he wants in the US and around the world as well and they are the closest to the power he wants to have.

Odds are a huge portion why Trump is all in the Epstien files is because those children gave him access to most of the power dynamic he craved with the only thing he was missing was the ability to outright torture and kill them at the time.

The reason why he is so attracted to the dictators is very apparent.

[Kaleredar]

That part is easy. Trump thinks cruelty is power. He thinks revenge and hurting anyone you want without them being able to do anything about it is power.

He sees them as being able to do that to anyone they want within their borders without consequence and with Putin has watched him attack others on NATO soil and get away with it. He wants the ability to rape, torture, and kill anyone he wants in the US and around the world as well and they are the closest to the power he wants to have.

Odds are a huge portion why Trump is all in the Epstien files is because those children gave him access to most of the power dynamic he craved with the only thing he was missing was the ability to outright torture and kill them at the time.

The reason why he is so attracted to the dictators is very apparent.

I think it’s less graphic than that.

It’s greed. Plain and simple. He’s a tick who’s found a way to attach himself to host with an endless source of nutrients: the US government.

Brutality and malice are tools, because that’s what his base responds to. They aren’t Trump’s “endgame.” I genuinely don’t think trump gives a flying fuck about immigrants or gay people or racism or any of that stuff; that presupposes he sees “Americans” or “white peoples” as the superior whatever. That assumption is inherently flawed because he sees himself as superior to everyone.

He dog whistles and victimizes those minority groups because the base that enthralls— the anti-taxation, anti-regulation, conservative types—are above all idiots that he knows will look the other way or not care and that he can manipulate with empty words and little to no effort or return, far less than if he were trying to “trick” a more left-leaning electorate that wouldn’t believe him as easily.

He idolizes dictators because they do what they want without having to answer to anyone, which is what he wants. To be a bloated tick feeding freely.

[DarkTZeratul]

Brutality and malice are tools, because that’s what his base responds to. They aren’t Trump’s “endgame.” I genuinely don’t think trump gives a flying fuck about immigrants or gay people or racism or any of that stuff; that presupposes he sees “Americans” or “white peoples” as the superior whatever. That assumption is inherently flawed because he sees himself as superior to everyone.

I wouldn't go that far given his history (both documented and hearsay) of racism and xenophobia, even long before he was president.

[Gorsameth]

I think it’s less graphic than that.

It’s greed. Plain and simple. He’s a tick who’s found a way to attach himself to host with an endless source of nutrients: the US government.

Brutality and malice are tools, because that’s what his base responds to. They aren’t Trump’s “endgame.” I genuinely don’t think trump gives a flying fuck about immigrants or gay people or racism or any of that stuff; that presupposes he sees “Americans” or “white peoples” as the superior whatever. That assumption is inherently flawed because he sees himself as superior to everyone.

He dog whistles and victimizes those minority groups because the base that enthralls— the anti-taxation, anti-regulation, conservative types—are above all idiots that he knows will look the other way or not care and that he can manipulate with empty words and little to no effort or return, far less than if he were trying to “trick” a more left-leaning electorate that wouldn’t believe him as easily.

He idolizes dictators because they do what they want without having to answer to anyone, which is what he wants. To be a bloated tick feeding freely.

He repeatedly violated the Fair Housing Act back in the '80s by refusing to house people of color

Elyse Goldweber, the Justice Department lawyer tasked with taking Trump's deposition, has stated that during a coffee break Trump said to her directly, "You know, you don't want to live with them either."

And there is

In his 1991 book Trumped! John O'Donnell quoted Trump as allegedly saying:

I've got black accountants at Trump Castle and at Trump Plaza. Black guys counting my money! I hate it. The only kind of people I want counting my money are short guys wearing yarmulkes.... Those are the only kind of people I want counting my money. Nobody else... Besides that, I've got to tell you something else. I think that the guy's lazy. And it's probably not his fault because laziness is a trait in blacks.

There is so much evidence that Trump is just a racist bastard. This isn't a performance.