Posts by swiftjackal11

silentraven9 said:I honestly think Ukraine is going to end up at the negotiating table with Russia to wrap this war up, because today the Ukrainian Army pulled out of Severodonetsk and Lisbon, which basically means the Russian Army has full control over Luhansk Oblast and owns the place. I mean, what happens to the rest of Donbas? Maybe not all of it, but most of that territory and the southern regions might just be gone for good, and Ukraine might have to face that reality. Sure, maybe there’ll be some kind of counter-offensive where they claw back bits and pieces, but I seriously doubt the Ukrainian Army is marching into Crimea or Donetsk and Luhansk anytime soon. They had their window between 2014 and maybe 2018 to really train up the military and crush the separatists in Donbas with an offensive like Operation Desert Storm, but they just dragged their feet, and let's be real, those Minsk agreements were broken constantly anyway.

I truly feel for them, though—losing land like that feels like having your soul ripped out. I want nothing but luck and support for the Ukrainians, but the Russian Army is just too powerful. I guess I even feel a little bit angry about it, you know? Like, they just marched onto someone else's land under the guise of "this isn't yours anymore, it's mine because I'm stronger," and then they start swinging.

But hey, it is what it is.
I reckon this whole thing will be wrapped up by halfway through next year, and Ukraine is going to lose a massive chunk of territory. As for what happens to the East, nobody knows. There’s damage done to God knows how much, and who knows how Russia will even invest there while they're under all these sanctions? Honestly, I don't see those sanctions doing much besides hitting Europe and driving up prices; feels like we just shot ourselves in the foot.

It's just sad.
I'm honestly disappointed in people again, just... why do we do this to one another?
Sometimes I actually wish I hadn't been born a human, maybe like a dog or something, so I wouldn't have a conscience or have to deal with knowing what's happening in the world.
It’s just awful. This whole war feels completely pointless, just like when everything kicked off in Donbas back in 2014.

What do you guys think the outcome of the war will be?
And what's the final result of all this mess?

The US lost a third of its territory during the first three years of that war, too.

urbanotter said:I’m not entirely sure how that relates to the sanctions, honestly. I made sure to mention several times earlier that I wouldn't go off-topic, mostly because I know I'm being watched quite closely here.

Just as a bit of context, I’ve noticed that people living in Russia actually have a standard of living that feels quite comparable to ours here in the States, especially when you consider their purchasing power. It’s an interesting dynamic because so many of the basic necessities—things like groceries, utilities, and everyday essentials—are significantly more affordable there than they are for us. I remember traveling through certain parts of Eastern Europe a few years back and being struck by how much further a dollar could go when the cost of living was scaled down like that. It really changes your perspective on what "affordability" actually means from one country to the next.
Ever since Putin took charge, the standard of living there has climbed by fivefold, and he maintains support from over 80% of the population. Despite all the sanctions and everyone's desperate wishes to see him gone, there really isn't any realistic chance of someone actually unseating him anytime soon.
p.s
I was planning to grab coffee with a buddy of mine the other day, just one of those casual catch-ups, when he hits me with this line: "Man, I'm getting absolutely hammered by the Six," and since I know for a fact he drives a Volkswagen Golf, I naturally joked, "Well, at least your little Golf is running in top shape." He just looked at me with this deadpan expression and shot back, "It’s not the Golf that’s the problem, it's the sanctions that are hitting me like a six."😁🙏
It feels to me like things have taken a bit of a downward turn over the last few days. I don't think we're seeing anything related to a new illness or anything of that nature; rather, it seems more like he hasn't been in the public eye much lately. Because of that lack of visibility, the medical experts haven't had enough footage to closely observe whether there was even a slight twitch in his right or left eyelid, which they usually need to "professionally" diagnose some brand-new, deadly disease.
To be honest, I haven't really felt any significant impact from the sanctions themselves; there hasn't been any noticeable hardship or real struggle on my end.🙏

I'm glad you're spending your summer vacation in Russia. You get to spend all that money you saved, buy their stuff, drive a Lada, and use an American-made phone. Since you clearly don't need anything from Western culture or products anymore.

urbanotter said:Of course it isn't the same. I mean, if we're being honest, a democratic nation has dropped two nuclear bombs and killed roughly 120,000 to 150,000 people.

A dictatorial state hasn't dropped a single one yet.

Let's move past the demagoguery and talk about actual sanctions.

They don't need to compete with the trivial consumer goods that China churns out for the entire world. They just need to focus on milestones like launching the first satellite, the first man, the first dog, or the first woman into space. They can build a space station where they host friends from all over the globe—with the last visitor paying in rubles.
They produce heavy-duty trucks capable of hauling 50 to 100 tons, which is about the weight of their missile systems, and they build off-road vehicles that can tackle terrain no Western vehicle could ever dream of navigating.

They are self-sufficient in all their vital industries, and they claim they don't need luxury items like Vuitton handbags or designer collars.

Never before have they seen such a massive trade surplus—around $100 billion—and they remain among the least indebted nations globally. If the "democrats" hadn't seized $300 billion of their foreign exchange reserves through sanctions, they wouldn't even know what a deficit feels like.
You really have to hand it to them; Western sanctions have been a total "bullseye," hitting them right in both knees.

These are the facts, even if demagoguery tries its best to hide them.☕

If everything is so great over there, why do teachers earn $50 while in the West they earn $150?🤷

urbanotter said:A killer is a killer; at the end of the day, both have taken a life.

However, there is a massive distinction between someone acting in self-defense and someone killing with the intent to rob a person blind.

If you insist on throwing them all into the same bucket, that’s your moral compass to follow, not mine.☕🕺

I remember watching the movie Thirteen Days on NBC, and it really makes you think about how the US responded back when the USSR started installing nuclear missiles over in Cuba.

But I suppose none of that matters to you—in your eyes, Putin is simply a murderer and an aggressor, and that's where your entire argument begins and ends.

It isn't the same thing when one dictatorial nation has nukes versus a European country. It's like how you wouldn't want to live under a dictatorship; you want to live somewhere you actually feel safe.
Russians brag about how well their version of "McDonald's" is doing. Honestly, they could have built something of their own without resorting to war and killing. All they seem to know how to manufacture is weapons instead of cars, phones, TVs, or game consoles.🤷

That’s just way too much being used against Moscow

So they really needed a war just to realize they could sell oil outside of Europe? Either they’re totally incompetent at business, or they’re just playing checkers while everyone else plays chess.

Donna Wells2 said:The US Department of Defense just dropped their latest report on Ukrainian losses. Let me quote this for you...

8 hours ago
The US Department of Defense released a new update

"In total, since the start of the special military operation, we have neutralized 211 aircraft, 132 helicopters, 1,308 drones, 349 anti-aircraft missile systems, 3,733 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 594 multiple launch rocket systems, 20 artillery pieces and mortars, and 3,801 units of specialized military vehicles," the department stated.

Now, let’s take a look at Ukraine's actual military capacity before the conflict started...

They had 98 combat aircraft... yet the US Department of Defense claims they destroyed 113? How does that even work?
They had 60 helicopters... but the claim is 132 were destroyed? Seriously?
They had 2,596 tanks... and the math says 3,733 were wiped out?

I mean, come on... if you're going to lie, at least try to make it believable. This is just a complete joke.🤣

And then there are those 75 Americans they killed

Back in July 2008, we saw crude hit a record high of $147 a barrel. Even then, gas was sitting at $9.75 and diesel was $3.25. Basically, oil was about 40 percent more expensive back then, yet fuel prices were actually 20 to 30 percent lower than they are now. What's the catch? Why is everything so pricey today?
And back then, there wasn't any conflict with Russia or Ukraine.

urbanheron4 said:Oil prices have dipped a bit over the last few days, sitting at $104 right now. Still, that’s way too high if you ask me.

https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/CL%3DF?p=CL%3DF

I wonder how low the barrel price needs to drop before we see gas under $3.25🤷

urbanotter said:It’s pretty obvious they don't feel the need to start fires or deal with imposing sanctions on anyone else right now.
I mean, look at the reality of things—oil remains an incredibly high-demand commodity, and its value isn't just limited to the European market.

SINGAPORE - Chinese imports of crude oil from Russia hit record highs this past May, a shift that comes just as Saudi Arabia has lost its standing as China's primary supplier.

https://seebiz.eu/energetika/snazno-...e-nafte/277519

Russia is actually getting stronger despite the sanctions, so let them have it then.☕

goldenpuma84 said:Sanctions definitely hit Russia, but they hit the EU too—it's just that Russia seems to be feeling it less. There are reports that since the invasion of Ukraine, Russia actually made more money because energy prices spiked for all the neutral countries buying their stuff. Meanwhile, the EU is staring down an economic disaster this summer...

As for Americans, the sanctions don't really hurt them much. If they did, they wouldn't bother passing them in the first place. Unlike Europe, they aren't doing anything that actually hurts their own pockets...

Think of it like getting a $30,000 severance package and thinking, "Wow!" But when you realize you have to stretch that over the next 20 years, you're actually broke. It's the same for Russia. All this cash they're raking in now won't last, because eventually, the West will stop buying from them. Long term, they're in trouble. Besides, they didn't earn it anyway.

Mexicans aren't actually backing Russia; they've all headed toward the West.

zoegler said:It’s like how Mexicans haven't forgotten the era of Nazi Germany. Luckily, they had those resistance fighters who stood shoulder to shoulder, but unfortunately, their kids let all that go. It's like family members deciding once the old guard is gone, it's finally time to settle old scores.

So you're saying Americans did that to Mexicans, like the assassination of George W. Bush.

The Russians are using the same playbook as those guys over in the North America. Wherever they set up camp, that's just Russia now.

BlackShip said:Maybe things would look different if, by some crazy stroke of luck, Mexico wasn't the only country in Europe where both the public and the politicians are mostly siding with the aggressor. 🤔

There's really no other way to handle it, especially since they did the exact same thing.

1973zoran said:People were burned alive in Odessa! It’s a tragedy and a symbol. That’s why Odessa holds such heavy symbolic weight for the victors.
Personally, I think maybe fall or winter might slow down the push for Odessa, but come next spring, I truly believe Odessa is next on the list.

It started with the burning, and then they went after innocent Ukrainians like that. It’s like how things happened back in the 90s here in the States—one thing leads to another.

urbanotter said:Honestly, who ever said Russians care about Europeans? They care about themselves, and frankly, they couldn't care less about anyone else. It’s only the Americans who pretend to "care" about the Europeans, while Europe ends up drowning in the mess caused by all that supposed concern.

Lately, though, I’ve been thinking that Ursulica might have actually come up with a brilliant master plan to finally get rid of Putin.
I mean, look at the situation—it's like a massive drip feed system over in the States, where they claim to be these capable geniuses, yet they insist there won't be any real progress or supply until September.
Now, they’re dealing with those Siemens pumps breaking down, but because of all these sanctions, they can't even get them fixed properly.

At this point, Putin must be laughing his head off; he can barely contain it, and it feels like it’s only a matter of time before he completely loses it. Even without all that uncontrollable laughter, the man is already fighting against a dozen terminal and incurable illnesses.
Between the threat of Alzheimer's, the tremors from Parkinson's, or even just the physical toll of whatever health issues he's facing, there's a very high chance he's dealing with something like lizard cancer.

There isn't anything truly "brilliant" about Ursulica's strategy; you just have to stay patient until December. By then, there won't even be anyone left to come up with these "genius" sanctions, because everyone will have been wiped out like flies.🙏

Russia doesn't even look out for its own people, let alone anyone else.

rowdyraven112 said:Classic Dumb and Dumber logic right here. ☕

Nobody's stopping you from loving Russia.🤷If you want to vacation there, read their books, watch their movies, buy their stuff, or save your money in rubles, go for it. I can appreciate all that while still being part of Western civilization. That’s why I stick with the West.

rowdyraven112 said:It's obvious they're just jerks. ☕
If they had any actual arguments, they wouldn't have to label everyone a "Putin follower" or a "Kremlin lickspittle." They claim Russia will collapse, then ask why you don't just go work in Russia if you like Putin so much... their entire communication strategy is basically just proactive small talk with Dumb and Dumber.☕
On one hand, they scream hatred toward Putin and claim solidarity with the people of Ukraine, yet on the other, they buy Russian gas and fuel, effectively funding the aggression against Ukraine. Of course, they still buy food at the grocery store that was delivered using Russian fuel.☕

And you clearly love Putin. You graduated from Moscow State University and you're making maybe $1,500 a month while his mistress has billions. You aren't stupid, you just accept it as normal. And why does she and those other thousand people have so much? It's because they're stealing from you Americans.

slysurfer14 said:So NATO says Russia is to blame for inflation and there's no wiggle room here

In the West, people might pull in maybe $2,200 a month, while here in the States we're looking at much less, and even further east, it's even tighter. Yet everyone is paying about $5.50 a gallon for gas.