Russian Ukraine shenanigans

[FourFans]

9 hours ago, torqued said:

Contributes nothing, only downvotes. Probably someone's alternate account. upvotesdDownvotes are no longer counted on this forum. Why even bother?

Because I can!

[gearhog]

15 hours ago, Best-22 said:

It was the EC not the UN, and that statement was inaccurate/highly misleading and was almost immediately retracted: 

“Many thanks to those who pointed out the inaccuracy regarding the figures in a previous version of this video,” EC spokesperson Dana Spinant said in a Tweet a short while after the speech. “The estimation used, from external sources, should have referred to casualties, i.e. both killed and injured, and was meant to show Russia‘s brutality."

 

"But Russian propagandists immediately pounced on the 100,000 figure, with one accusing the EC of saying Ukraine is lying about how many of its troops have died since Feb. 24."

 

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/ukraine-situation-report-another-body-count-controversy

I'm relieved to hear that the official numbers this EU official reported in her official statement about the Ukraine conflict were not accurate. I wish there were no Ukrainian casualties. However, it's good to know if you notice inconsistencies in their statements and call them into question, you're a Russian propagandist.

I wonder how they distinguished between the people who pointed out the inaccuracy, and the Russian propagandists who "pounced" on it.

Nice to see you finally contributing to the discussion. Welcome!

 

[DirkDiggler]

Preliminary Lessons in Conventional Warfighting from Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: February–July 2022 | Royal United Services Institute (rusi.org)

 

  Good read.

[Best-22]

 

Possible announcement this week of patriot missile defense systems to Ukraine.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/13/politics/us-patriot-missile-defense-system-ukraine/index.html

[Day Man]

rumors swirling that Zelenskyy is headed to DC soon

[uhhello]

19 minutes ago, Day Man said:

rumors swirling that Zelenskyy is headed to DC soon

I don't think they are rumors 🙂

[McJay Pilot]

11 hours ago, uhhello said:

I don't think they are rumors 🙂

I’ll bet that was the most defended train ever!

[DirkDiggler]

How the Battle for the Donbas Shaped Ukraine’s Success - Foreign Policy Research Institute (fpri.org)

 

  Good read/analysis.

[DirkDiggler]

  Quick work by the Igla gunner.

[ClearedHot]

 

Russia rolling out the big missiles...big inflatable missiles.

[Prozac]

On 12/29/2022 at 6:54 PM, ClearedHot said:

 

Russia rolling out the big missiles...big inflatable missiles.

I wouldn’t know for sure, but I hear there’s a pill for that particular affliction. 

[RegularJoe]

6 minutes ago, Prozac said:

I wouldn’t know for sure, but I hear there’s a pill for that particular affliction. 

That statement will be hilarious when your post is over four hours old 🤣 

[Danger41]

I listen to Breaking Points regularly and this monologue was about NATO contributions to Ukraine. 
 

Info from it, we (just us) gave more money to Ukraine in a year than we did to South Vietnam from 1956-1975 and more than we did in all of Afghanistan + and all the way back to 1946. Guess how much NATO is contributing…

[Guest nsplayr]

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1303432/total-bilateral-aid-to-ukraine/
 

We’ve provided the vast majority of direct mil aid, the EU has provided more financial aid. Individual EU/NATO countries have made additional contributions.

All well worth it, I’m perfectly happy let the Russian armed forces crash against the hard rocks of Ukraine for as long as those idiots want to do so!

[brabus]

I think we’ve sent too much money and materiel, but I also generally agree with nsplayr’s statement. If the current state of our own country wasn’t such an epic dumpster fire of a crisis, then I’d have less fucks to give about UKR support. It was smart to do so for a while, but we’ve gone too far given the state of our own house. 

[busdriver]

2 minutes ago, brabus said:

It was smart to do so for a while, but we’ve gone too far given the state of our own house. 

If Peter Zeihan is to be believed (the first bullet is his point, he has explicitly said what follows is what he's heard from some folks), here's the calculus at the strategic level:

-Russia will not stop with Ukraine, they will continue expanding till they have secured defensible borders.  They view it as an existential problem.

-The Russian military has proven to be awful and would get monkey stomped by the western/NATO coalition that would meet them.  Which means there is almost no way to avoid a nuclear exchange.

-So the Russian military needs to be attritted in Ukraine.  Win, lose, or draw, what remains needs to be incapable of continued offense.

If that is actually what is going on in the head-shed.  I'd imagine this is a blank check.

[Guest nsplayr]

2 hours ago, brabus said:

If the current state of our own country wasn’t such an epic dumpster fire of a crisis… 

Counterpoint: I think the US is in a great position post-COVID, and pre-COVID we were still unquestionably the global #1.

China is getting absolutely rekt by the virus right now due to extremely poor central government policy choices. I truly feel bad for the Chinese people. Russia is in shambles both militarily, financially, and demographically. I don’t see how they recover from the massive loss of young male life and national wealth in my lifetime. The EU is closely allied with us and we’re working together really well on the Ukraine War. No one else matters that much to be in the same conversation yet.

Meanwhile the US economy is doing better than basically any other advanced nation, we’re also basically past COVID, we’re smartly re-shoring some critical manufacturing that I think is really beneficial long-term, and we’re super well placed to lead the big energy technology transition that will take place over the next 20 years.

Our military is well funded and strong, millions of people want to come here and become Americans, and our culture is globally dominant.

I’d rather be us every day of the week and twice on Sunday 🇺🇸🦅

 

Edited January 1, 2023 by nsplayr

[uhhello]

Where were all these people complaining about Ukrainian aid when we spent 20+ years of blood and treasure fighting the boogey man with no strategy or will to "win"? We're now destroying what we thought was a peer enemy without any commitment of American blood....yet.  

[brabus]

9 hours ago, nsplayr said:

I’d rather be us every day of the week and twice on Sunday 🇺🇸🦅

You have some massive rose colored glasses, but of course I completely agree with this statement. However, just because we’d rather be American than Chinese does not mean we aren’t a complete fuck show right now. Those are two independent things. 

[Prozac]

5 hours ago, brabus said:

You have some massive rose colored glasses, but of course I completely agree with this statement. However, just because we’d rather be American than Chinese does not mean we aren’t a complete fuck show right now. Those are two independent things. 

It’s all relative. Always has been. Always will be. The world’s always been a complete fuck show. It’s a little less so today than it was a hundred years ago, and so on. Bashing one’s head against wall because the world doesn’t conform to what they wish were true may be satisfying for a while, but eventually becomes painful & counterproductive. People have been sure the sky is falling for millennia and yet, the world goes on. Focus on the things you can control, be glad you’re in the best possible place on the planet at the moment, and enjoy the show while you’re here. 

[Guardian]

It’s all relative. Always has been. Always will be.

Is that statement relative?

It’s all subjective! Except the stuff that’s not.

Philosophy 101.

In the words of Inigo Montoya. “That word. I do not think that word means what you think it means.”

[Prozac]

34 minutes ago, Guardian said:

Is that statement relative?

It’s all subjective! Except the stuff that’s not.

Philosophy 101.

In the words of Inigo Montoya. “That word. I do not think that word means what you think it means.”
 

Ok So-Crates, school me…

[Guardian]

Thought I just did

[FLEA]

1 hour ago, Prozac said:

It’s all relative. Always has been. Always will be. The world’s always been a complete fuck show. It’s a little less so today than it was a hundred years ago, and so on. Bashing one’s head against wall because the world doesn’t conform to what they wish were true may be satisfying for a while, but eventually becomes painful & counterproductive. People have been sure the sky is falling for millennia and yet, the world goes on. Focus on the things you can control, be glad you’re in the best possible place on the planet at the moment, and enjoy the show while you’re here. 

Are you going to hold that line when people say we cant afford social healthcare and higher social safety nets?

Edited January 1, 2023 by FLEA

[Prozac]

31 minutes ago, Guardian said:

Thought I just did

No, I’m pretty sure I know exactly what I meant when I said it’s all relative and it’s you who miss the point. Some here continually argue that the U.S. is a dumpster fire. My point (along with others) is that it doesn’t matter. Maybe we are a complete mess (Though I think it’s a bit hyperbolic to argue that point), but we’re the least bad option out there. And that’s the way it’s always been. We’ll never be perfect, but given all other options, the US is a pretty fuckin’ good place to be. Try and make it better while your here, but also enjoy it because, at the end of the day, your time here is vanishingly short.