Posts by Nancy Gomez26

somied said:Maybe blowing up a bridge is just a trick, like during the battles at the Neretva River... or the Sutjeska River, wherever that was...
this drone didn't make the cut

https://twitter.com/ELINTNews/status...28207528484864

It seems to me these drones aren't exactly a silver bullet. They look far too large to actually be stealthy.

That happened at the Neretva River... Yulii Borisovich (aka Yul Brynner) personally took out the bridge—saw it with his own eyes..... 😁

Kate Cook27 said:Putin’s acting this way because he got away with taking Crimea. They annexed it, and it stuck. Honestly, I bet in ten years, most people will just shrug and accept Crimea as Russian. But if you give an inch, they'll take a mile. And sure, Russia is huge—they always claim they were fighting "holy wars" rather than being typical imperialists or colonialists—but even being the biggest player on the map isn't enough for them. They still feel the need to snatch things from everyone else.
If we cave now, it won't be long before other leaders start trying to reclaim whatever they think belongs to them. Look at our neighbors—it's already happening. I remember hearing about some political maneuvering where local leaders were basically telling one another they'd finally reclaimed their territory, and even some religious figures were suggesting borders should just shift 🙄.

They wouldn't recognize Crimea as his, certainly not during Putin's lifetime. Maybe in 50 or 100 years, though perhaps never—it could stay frozen indefinitely, much like the situation in Cyprus. Success would depend entirely on whether the future leadership of the Russian Federation decides to play ball. Crimea became a bargaining chip for the Russian Federation, and Putin is slowly realizing the actual cost of holding it. He's been getting slapped repeatedly—not enough to end him, but enough to sting. Since the West hasn't decisively sanctioned the occupation nor truly acknowledged the reality on the ground, Putin has decided to go all-in on Ukraine. Whatever happens, happens. Besides, Putin is at an age where he wants to leave a historical legacy. He will leave one, certainly, but I doubt it will be the kind of legacy he actually envisioned.

Melissa Rivera5 said:I mean, sure, the French and the British probably skim some defense funds too, but we don't see all their generals living in massive ten-thousand-square-foot mansions or owning a dozen properties overseas and a car collection that even the guys on > haven't touched.

I find that hard to swallow, though they certainly squander money in other ways. Take aircraft carrier development, for instance. Both France and the United Kingdom pour resources into developing their own carriers. It’s an astronomical cost, only for them to end up with maybe one or two vessels. In the US, development is just as pricey, but at least we produce a dozen ships over twenty or thirty years. Then you have the jet fighters needed for those carriers. Same story there—massive R&D costs—but they fare slightly better by producing about fifty units over the carrier's lifespan. A fortune is spent, yet the strategic impact remains marginal. Americans actually see a return on investment because we maintain actual scale.

Terry Green3 said:Seeing how people ignored Joseph Stalin during the purges, or how they practically begged him to come back from his dacha after Barbarossa started, doesn't exactly give me much hope for seeing Putin replaced.
It’s just how some people are—stubborn and unapologetic, much like us Americans.

Those types of leaders surround themselves with sycophants. Anyone else would be far too dangerous to have near a "great leader." So, eventually, the old yes-men are swapped out for a fresh batch of cowards. These lackeys are useful—they follow orders without question or critical thought—and they fancy themselves "pillars of the system." But when you spend years surrounded by such people, you lose your grip on reality. A circle of bootlickers will always flatter the ego; they never offer any actual resistance to the leader's whims.

bluemason3 said:The UK and France have military budgets about four to five times larger than Poland’s, while Greece sits at roughly half of what Poland spends.

In terms of raw numbers, the UK and France look similar to Russia, or even Germany.

But looking at Germany—given everything we know about their current state—and the sheer dysfunction exposed in the Russian military, it’s clear you can't just trust the raw data. It all depends on how those budgets are reported, where the money actually goes, and how efficiently it's being spent.

If the UK and Russia had the exact same amount of cash to work with, I might have leaned toward Russia back in the day because of their lower overhead. But today? Given the blatant Russian corruption, their systemic dysfunction, and how far they've fallen behind technically and tactically, I’d take the UK's money any day.

Of course, as long as these conflicts are happening far away from home, I’d give the upper hand to whichever country is defending its own backyard.

The real question is simply how much of that military budget gets embezzled. In my estimation, the Russians are champions in that particular discipline, which makes a naked spending figure somewhat meaningless. One must also consider what kind of hardware is being purchased, who is doing the planning, and what motives drive those planners. The Russians opt for cheaper weaponry, but their fundamental issue lies in incredibly long development cycles; by the time their equipment reaches operational use and is deployed in sufficient quantities, it is already obsolete. Furthermore, the Russians rarely iterate on their designs. The West, conversely, is constantly refining and upgrading its systems, often to the point where early versions of complex combat platforms bear little resemblance to their later iterations.

gentlerider7 said:Sure, but you actually have to be brave enough to pull it off; even nobody dared to take out Stalin.

Perhaps not, but they simply stood by and let him die. They didn't lift a finger to help when he was fading. In fact, maybe they even gave him a little nudge toward the exit.

Jessica Peterson2 said:Oops, I seem to be experiencing a bit of cognitive dissonance.
Wasn't this entire forum cheering for Ukraine from the very beginning, demanding that the European Union step up and provide support to the Ukrainians?
Am I interpreting this correctly? Are we now pivoting to cheer for more reservists staying behind in Putinistan just so they can be mobilized later?

My position is clear: I want the Putin regime to collapse and for Russia to establish some semblance of a normal government. However, that remains science fiction, and the responsibility lies primarily with you—the citizens of Russia. Only you possess the power to change your leadership through legitimate means.
In practical terms, only a relatively small number of people will manage to evade mobilization by fleeing to a safe haven where the authorities cannot reach them without them being labeled refugees. Putin can easily replace those individuals—specifically those who receive a summons and simply vanish—by issuing additional drafts.
As long as the masses choose to run from their problems instead of confronting them and resisting political authorities, there will be no change in policy or governance in Russia. It was the same story in Ukraine until the people rose up en masse against the government during the Maidan; prior to that, the authorities were merely striking out on their own, ignoring the citizens and their demands. (We see a very similar issue here in America, where people are equally reluctant to protest, especially since the risks associated with dissent are virtually non-existent—people have become complacent). It was only the popular uprising in Ukraine that forced a significant shift. Without such action, there was no progress in Ukraine, nor in Russia—and it appears there won't be any meaningful change in America either, unless there is at least some minimal civic action on the streets.

Timothy Nelson5 said:And honestly, what’s the actual point of mobilizing protesters like that?
I guess you could just send them off to cover lines on some distant front... maybe.

jadetinker85 said:Great idea! Let the Ukrainians just bomb them with surrender messages instead.

Don't be naive. These "mobilized" protesters, rushed through the system so quickly, could end up dying for their country somewhere near the outskirts of Moscow without ever having even laid eyes on Ukraine. You might get a notification after a few months, if you're lucky. The authorities can simply claim they have no idea where they went—just another group lost somewhere along the front lines.

Jason Fox2 said:When I think about all those Russians fleeing, I can't help but wonder how many are actually genuine refugees who just can't stand Putin—or even the ones who might agree with him but really don't want anything to do with being sent to the front lines—versus how many are just various sleepers, spies, and other creeps getting orders to infiltrate through Europe.

The sleepers and infiltrators are already entrenched. Besides, why would they even need external support for these operations when they can essentially just buy off local politicians?
It’s quite obvious that most of them align with Putin; they merely disagree on which specific actors should execute his plans on the ground...

wanderingmaker3 said:Ever tried taking on a thankless job—like trying to calculate exactly how many trucks we need just to keep everyone fed?
It’s a massive number, but honestly, that’s not even the hard part.

The real issue for the US Army is morale and basic training.

Then there is the matter of unit cohesion. At the onset of this conflict, they possessed units that were actually professional and well-drilled—only to squander them through sheer incompetence in leadership. When soldiers realize their survival depends solely on looking out for themselves because no one else is coming to help, the mission changes. They stop thinking about executing orders and start thinking about staying alive. Once you have a mass of individuals acting purely out of self-interest, teamwork evaporates. And when that disorganized crowd meets a disciplined, cohesive unit on the battlefield? Those individuals don't stand a chance.

Karen Torres43 said:Well, we've seen this kind of thing play out far too many times before. Right here in our own backyard.
🙂

Precisely. And it happens across the board, regardless of which side is fighting.

analogbear5 said:Freedom of speech wasn't "greater"—it's just that people today are total snowflakes who start crying the second someone tells them they're wrong.

It isn't just about them crying—they actually suffer full-blown nervous breakdowns. Their entire mental state just collapses.

Christian Torres3 said:MBS isn't even the main point here. Putin just wants a tiny win in the West—some "humanitarian" gesture or whatever—so he can sit at the table. Why not just release Denis Prokopenko and the rest of the Azov guys already?

Of course. A decision like that rests entirely on one man's shoulders. But let's not kid ourselves; this won't be a free gift. It’ll be tallied against MBS's debt, and eventually, someone is going to have to settle the score.

darkrider55 said:Exactly. A Saudi Arabian prince might not be my usual type, but hey, I’ll definitely take the gesture. Thanks for this! 😁

Not really. The Saudi Royal Family was essentially handed a task to rehabilitate their image after that previous slaughterhouse incident, and they pulled it off. But now, they find themselves in debt to Vladimir Putin and the Russians. There is a strange irony at play here; even as the Russians find themselves backed into a corner, they are receiving simultaneous support from both Iranians and Saudis....

darkrider55 said:So, they actually released our Fugitive along with a few other foreign nationals—just saw it breaking on ABC. 👍

That’s a much smarter play than those empty nuclear threats.

gentlestag15 said:View on twitter

Just look at the protests happening in Iran right now over the Hijab laws.
The moment they grab a cop, there's a total breakdown of order—it's like they lose all sense of sanctity.
View on twitter
People are dying. Since when was the Iranian Revolutionary Guard known for having a soft heart?
The Iranians are protesting in much larger numbers and with way more resolve over something far less existential than a war or mass mobilization.

Americans in Iran live much, much worse than Russians. On one hand, decades of isolation and sanctions have taken their toll; on the other, you have a nation that is educated and possesses a deep civilizational heritage—something that cannot be easily suppressed. The Russians will hit this phase sooner. The only salvation for those in power in the Kremlin is if the sanctions somehow fail in the short term, but in my view, that is utterly impossible without a change in leadership.

Larry Sanchez7 said:I got nothing to hold against you.

How can you even put the soccer team's parade in the same bucket as people hitting the streets for a protest where autocrats are threatening them with batons, police, the military, and water cannons?
That's the whole damn point—people showed up in massive numbers despite the threats, whereas in Russia, if you're standing up for some higher ideal like freedom, you might get lucky if 200 Muscovites show up. So, whatever happens, happens...

Putin's regime crushed and dismantled any semblance of political opposition, independent intellectuals, and the NGO sector in Russia long ago. Protests require organization, yet the entire landscape is saturated with informants and a repressive apparatus that arrests people without having to answer to anyone. Economically, things are still moving forward due to sheer inertia; life hasn't become catastrophic enough yet to drive people to revolt over those issues. But that time will come.

wanderingmaker3 said:I haven't really been keeping up, but when are we actually going to see those mobilized troops hitting the front lines?
It won't be for another few months, you'll feel it then.

The Russians move much faster. They don't exactly need formal training anyway. Besides, who’s going to feed an entire army during a training cycle? It’s easier to just send them straight into the trenches and tell them to pack their own lunch.

This article claims that domestic airlines have been ordered to stop selling plane tickets to anyone in those age groups currently subject to mobilization calls.

gentlestag15 said:https://twitter.com/Flash_news_ua/st...082497/photo/1
The prosecutors in Moscow are threatening people with 15 years behind bars just for showing up at anti-mobilization protests.

We are approaching that specific moment where some pundit on television finally calls for mass protests on live air. It is that historical pivot point—much like when East German TV suggested the Wall could simply be crossed freely. Because once the masses actually move in unison... no amount of riot police or heavy-handed enforcement can hold them back (those forces usually end up joining the protesters once the crowd becomes sufficiently large and resolute). By morning, even a 15-year sentence might feel like a light penalty for those currently clinging to power.