Russia's invasion of Ukraine: Part 5

Bryan Booth82 said:I'm asking myself the exact same thing. What is the actual point of this referendum farce?
Best,

It's just about manufacturing a shred of legitimacy, even if it's only for their own people back in Russia.
They want to be able to walk into the Duma later and pretend they're following some democratic process or legal standard when they actually annex everything into the Russian Federation.
Besides, most of the actual population in those regions either fled to Ukraine or headed over to Russia anyway, so they don't even have the nerve to push this through properly.
Honestly, Stalin would be proud.

hollowdriver13 said:The Russians have fallen straight into a classic sunk cost fallacy.

Even one of their officials admitted about a month and a half ago that they wouldn't know how to justify all the losses they've taken if they just pulled out now and walked away from the conflict empty-handed.

So, yeah... like some people were saying, Russia manipulates info so much that they could probably just claim they've already "demilitarized" and "denazified" Ukraine and call it a day. Technically, the demilitarization part isn't even a total lie, since if it were actually done, Ukraine wouldn't be begging the West for military aid and complaining about missing gear. And the "denazification" thing was never even real to begin with, so I guess what's true doesn't really matter at this point.

Honestly? I’d just declare victory, chillax my way back to the Russian borders, and tell the local separatist crews they got everything they wanted. gg wp

I’m reading somewhere that the Russian Duma voted 3-10 to surrender to the enemy, and they're handing out 8 years in prison just for refusing mobilization. Is this actually true or just some fake news?

gentlestag15 said:It's just about manufacturing a shred of legitimacy, even if it's only for their own people back in Russia.
They want to be able to walk into the Duma later and pretend they're following some democratic process or legal standard when they actually annex everything into the Russian Federation.
Besides, most of the actual population in those regions either fled to Ukraine or headed over to Russia anyway, so they don't even have the nerve to push this through properly.
Honestly, Stalin would be proud.

They’re basically nurturing Stalinism, just with a modern "Putinism" twist added in. The methods are almost identical. Back then, Stalin used executions or the Gulags to silence dissent; today, Putin does the exact same thing—politicians, journalists, and activists end up dead or behind bars, often branded as spies or foreign agents. It’s all about building that cult of personality around Stalin. We're talking mythomania, lies, and delusions—all hallmarks of the current state of Russia. This didn't just pop up overnight or last month; it’s been building for years. Now, Putin is treated like an icon. He can't just step down, because what seems like a logical exit to us doesn't exist for them—they don't have anyone left who thinks logically. Everyone is caught in this collective madness. A total psychosis.

I can’t help but wonder how much more blood the Russian Federation is going to spill if this mobilization actually kicks into high gear. It’s already enough to make regular soldiers lose their nerve, but imagine the chaos once they start dragging ordinary civilians into the fray. Just picture it: some twenty-year-old college kid from Moscow being hauled away to go "defend" his people somewhere down in southern Ukraine. It’s honestly grim.

Christian Torres3 said:I’m reading somewhere that the Russian Duma voted 3-10 to surrender to the enemy, and they're handing out 8 years in prison just for refusing mobilization. Is this actually true or just some fake news?

http://www.twitter.com/Liveuamap/sta...77776878157826

Seems pretty real to me—looks like those are the new laws they just passed.

rustydriver said:I can’t help but wonder how much more blood the Russian Federation is going to spill if this mobilization actually kicks into high gear. It’s already enough to make regular soldiers lose their nerve, but imagine the chaos once they start dragging ordinary civilians into the fray. Just picture it: some twenty-year-old college kid from Moscow being hauled away to go "defend" his people somewhere down in southern Ukraine. It’s honestly grim.

Moscow will be the last resort—they'll likely target various minorities and all the men from occupied territories first.

Man, things get messy when Putko takes aim at Turkey. 🤣

Erdogan: 'The occupied territories have to go back to Ukraine, along with Crimea. That’s the only way we actually see peace.'

If the goal is to actually build some kind of lasting peace, Russia needs to hand back the territory they took from Ukraine—that’s the bottom line, according to the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, late Monday night.

- Look, if you're serious about establishing peace in Ukraine, then obviously returning the land that was invaded becomes a massive deal. It's just what people expect to happen, said Erdogan during an interview with the American network PBS.

Brenda Murphy3 said:Come on, people, get real for a second.

The only way Ukraine is ever touching nuclear weapons is if the West literally hand-delivers them as a gift wrapped in a bow.

The idea that Ukraine could develop its own nuclear arsenal—especially given how things are going right now—is pure science fiction. It’s not like you can just bake a loaf of bread in your kitchen, for crying out loud... plus, they wouldn't get a shred of support from the West, let alone the USA.
It’s honestly just a hollow talking point that makes zero sense.

I heard the ship from Moscow was carrying two nukes? Just send some divers down to go grab them.

Christian Torres3 said:No, they didn't. They used Russian engines because they were cheap. And sure, they're the top military, since they're absolutely wrecking the Russian army with just a fraction of their gear.

So, is that the only reason they went with RD-180 engines? Just because they were cheap? 🙏

So, Putin is addressing the nation tonight:

http://www.twitter.com/DimitriASimes...C-2aaAytErAAAA

There’s also news regarding Lukashenko—he just announced they're gearing up for national defense under wartime conditions:

http://www.twitter.com/DimitriASimes...DUqaTHzNErAAAA

gentlestag15 said:It looks like Russia is clearing the decks for mobilization, and honestly, it feels like a done deal at this point.

They’ve already announced referendums for Zaporizhzhia, Donbas, and Kherson.
View on twitter
View on twitter

Over in the Russian Duma, they're already pushing to officially annex those territories once the votes wrap up.
View on twitter

Medvedev is out there claiming that once these areas become part of Russia, the country will have every right to call up a mobilization, since they supposedly act as a buffer protecting Russia from attacks.
https://twitter.com/StratcomCentre/s...86256100003840

Meanwhile, the Duma is even floating a new law to crack down on anyone who fails to show up when called for mobilization.
https://twitter.com/wartranslated/st...046082/photo/1

I mean, how can you just annex territory where Ukrainians actually live? It really seems like these Russians just don't get it at all.

Perhaps Erdogan believes Crimea should be returned to the Tatars
—well, that would certainly bring the Kozaks together--

Christian Torres3 said:I’m reading somewhere that the Russian Duma voted 3-10 to surrender to the enemy, and they're handing out 8 years in prison just for refusing mobilization. Is this actually true or just some fake news?

And then they just cycle them right back from prison to the front lines and give them a clean slate after six months of service. A stroke of genius. Truly a 🍿 Russian military Perpetuum Mobile 🤣 system.

electricsurfer47 said:I mean, how can you just annex territory where Ukrainians actually live? It really seems like these Russians just don't get it at all.

Well, in their eyes, it's all "sacred Russian land" inhabited by Russians anyway—as if there aren't any Ukrainians there at all.🙄.

Joshua Myers432 said:And then they just cycle them right back from prison to the front lines and give them a clean slate after six months of service. A stroke of genius. Truly a 🍿 Russian military Perpetuum Mobile 🤣 system.

We can laugh about it if we want—though honestly, I’m not even sure if this is a "laughing" situation or a "crying" one—but regimes like Russia's will pull just about any stunt imaginable just to stay in power.

Didn't Stalin say something along the lines of "it's better to execute ten innocent people than let one guilty man walk free"... or something like that during the purges?

Look, at the end of the day, they haven't really strayed far from that old-school mindset. When you're dealing with a guy like Putin—someone who basically cut his teeth in the CIA—that kind of logic is almost second nature to him. What I’m trying to get at is that when you have a regime that treats its own citizens like nothing more than disposable commodities, absolutely anything is on the table. They can justify just about any atrocity because, to them, people are just line items on a spreadsheet.

I'm just sitting here waiting for them to start making NKVD-style proclamations about how even a single inch of ground gained is a massive victory, especially with all these guys retreating under machine-gun fire.

electricsurfer47 said:I mean, how can you just annex territory where Ukrainians actually live? It really seems like these Russians just don't get it at all.

You forgot that Ukrainians don't even exist. They're just fighting against NATO mercenaries and other Nazis over there... basically liberating Ukrainians—sorry, I mean Russians (same thing)—from all the evil crawling out of the West...

Joshua Myers432 said:I'm just sitting here waiting for them to start making NKVD-style proclamations about how even a single inch of ground gained is a massive victory, especially with all these guys retreating under machine-gun fire.

Well, I could try... but honestly, I have no clue how that would even work in practice.

Russia took massive losses during WWII (mostly because of their own military doctrine, but whatever...), but back then they were being crushed and invaded by foreign occupiers and Nazi thugs. Fighting back was basically pure survival instinct...
Now, they’re actually acting like the fascists, invading someone else's country... you can't even begin to compare the two moments.

Here’s how Putin plans to handle mobilization

My strategy? I'll just declare the Donbass to be Russia, and suddenly those conscripts won't have any legal leg to stand on when they try to dodge fighting there. Problem solved—no more shortage of cannon fodder for me.