Posts by Kate Cook27

William Miller12 said:So, where did the news at the start of this War in Ukraine video actually come from?

Word is, Russia offered a peace deal a few days back—basically suggesting everyone just revert to how things were before February 24, 2022.
The Ukrainians reportedly turned it down, insisting on returning to the pre-2014 status quo (with Crimea, obviously), demanding war reparations, keeping sanctions in place for a while longer, and securing security guarantees from the USA, EU, and Australia.

Apparently, that Russian missile strike on the energy grid was immediate retaliation for rejecting the offer, meant to force them toward a truce.
I also heard Scholz supposedly gave Zelenskyy a call today...

The channel itself is fairly reliable. Even though the creator is Ukrainian and clearly on their side, he’s incredibly critical of the Ukrainian political leadership and usually paints a pretty grim picture of the situation.

The only thing I've seen that touches on this topic is this interview (shared by dakok):
https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows...int-of-the-war

___

There’s plenty you could say about the Ukrainian government, but they’re handling this pretty well—especially with heavyweights like the USA and the UK backing them. I’m totally on board here: reclaiming territory, keeping those Russian sanctions alive, and demanding war reparations. The ones who started this have to pay the price; Americans are essentially paying for eight years of their games.
On the flip side, they've caused massive damage to the very people they claim to be protecting—specifically the Russian speakers in Ukraine. Without holding back, they’ve been tearing through town after town in eastern Ukraine, particularly in the Donbas, which they supposedly aim to "liberate." They leveled Mariupol without hesitation—a city where half the population was ethnically Russian—justifying it all with various military objectives. Their cynical approach has severed many of the ties and sentiments the people in the Donbas once felt toward Russia. I really hope there's an accountability phase where they have to pay for the war damages and rebuild every single home they destroyed. You can't bring back lost lives, though—entire families were wiped out in Mariupol. And now they want to go back to the February 24th status quo? Man, if only we had a magic eight ball...

Russians see Ukrainians everywhere:

http://www.twitter.com/Noel_dotsol/s...CwoZrp3skrAAAA

Fighting near St. Louis 😁. Or is this just prep work for mobilization—like what Jessica Peterson2 mentioned?

Brenda Murphy3 said:And that’s the thing neither Putin nor our local Putin-wannabes and the rest of the anti-West crowd can seem to wrap their heads around.

No matter how much they act like annoying bureaucrats sometimes, or deal with total nonsense—they’re still at least twice as smart as Putin and his inner circle. It’s just a fact, and it’s never going to change.
Then you’ve got all this garbage about the "soft and pacified" Westerner, who supposedly would just run for the hills if they ever caught a glimpse of a Russian soldier... but the reality is the exact opposite. That Westerner would "find themselves" real quick if things actually got serious and something they cared about was threatened. One hundred well-trained, well-equipped Americans are worth at least 500 Chechen thugs or some poor souls from the Russian Far East in a fight.
The problem is, the people pushing these narratives don't get it... because if they did, they wouldn't be so pro-Putin in the first place. So there's really no point in even trying to explain it to them. 😁

Everyone has their own interests. Personally, I think it's a massive failure for Russian intelligence and for Putin himself. It's all a consequence of lies and delusions—their own lies have become their truth.
I also find those claims hilarious—that the Western man has become too soft to adapt to tough conditions. People adapt their entire lives, you know? If Russia had actually invested their military budget into the troops instead of luxury yachts, things would look very different. But what do you expect from a system where everyone is lying, stealing, and lining their own pockets? You have the largest country in the world with massive resources, yet it remains so impoverished. And the West or NATO isn't to blame for that. If someone wants to tear Russia apart and grab pieces of it, that’s an internal issue. They’ll need a massive reckoning if they want a better future. They need to finally realize what era they're living in instead of dreaming about the Russian Empire or the Soviet Union—dreaming about reclaiming "lost Russian lands"... or rambling about holy wars, protecting Orthodoxy, fighting against "decadent Westerners," and all that other stuff.

Bradley White73 said:That's true. Someone mentioned the withdrawal from Memphis earlier without any real sources, and now we have this post from the mayor, but I agree—there's no need to rush to conclusions. We have plenty of time to wait for actual confirmation.

Exactly. This is an information war, plain and simple—you can't take everything at face value. Personally, I don't buy it until I see the Ukrainian flag flying over a key government building; until then, it's mostly psychological maneuvering. It was the same during the offensive when we heard all those claims about battles for Luhansk and Donetsk, or stories about Russians retreating... it's all part of the game. You have to approach everything with a healthy dose of skepticism. That said, I have to admit—it looks like the Ukrainians have actually gained the upper hand in the info war 😁.

Timothy Williams5 said:The European Commission is sporting the colors of Ukraine today

👍. I honestly wonder how many years it’ll actually take for Ukraine to join the EU. How long does it really take to get all the laws passed, meet every single requirement, and fight through whatever is tearing the country apart—maybe thirty years? Of course, we have to wait for the war to end first, and then there's the challenge of making sure they don't slip back into old habits once things settle down.

As for what Ivan Fedorov said—you can't just take everything at face value. There's an information war happening right now, too. Until actual evidence surfaces, I'm taking it all with a grain of salt.

[User] — [Date]

Jessica Peterson2 said:Sure, but then again... Rise up. It’s an immense country.Rise up. A fight to the death. That’s news to me. I haven't heard a word about this until now.
Does this look like preparations for mobilization to anyone else? I can't help but feel like we're watching the groundwork being laid for something much larger. 🙄

I honestly don't think they have a clue what the next move should be. Do they try a new wave of goodwill? A full-scale mobilization? And even if they go that route, what’s the endgame? It feels like just sending more people straight into a meat grinder. Besides, we're already seeing this narrative where the DNR is supposedly fighting Ukraine instead of Russia—though, let's be real, that smells a lot like Russian propaganda designed to boost morale.
Look, all things considered—once Mariupol fell and those guys were pinned down at Azovstal—they really had a golden opportunity there. They could have just called it a day on this whole "special operation" and pivoted. Honestly? They could've easily spun a narrative about how they wiped out the ultra-nationalists, crushed the Azov group, and shut down those bio-labs... you know, the usual. It would've been an easy sell to claim they defeated the fascists once again, stood up to the corrupt West, and saved the Russians from those labs. Just a simple way to package a win.

The DLNR is at war with Ukraine—Russia doesn't have anything to do with this:

http://www.twitter.com/F24Debate/sta...C4qZi9zscrAAAA

Susan Collins3 said:The footage coming out after the Russian military and their buddies cleared out of Izium is just straight-up apocalyptic. This used to be a city of maybe 50,000 people, but after being under occupation for almost half a year, it’s pretty obvious that neither the Russian collaborators nor the Russians themselves had any intention of actually helping anyone. They didn't lift a finger to make life easier for the locals; everything just stayed as wrecked as it was when they first seized the place. There's this video showing what happened to a local school, and man, seeing the state of it... it’s hard to wrap your head around the fact that we’re living in 2022. Schools completely trashed by human hands, yet they brought in these "teachers" meant to brainwash Ukrainian kids into believing their own fathers and grandfathers were Nazis. I mean, seriously, educators working with children are supposed to have some kind of moral compass, right? I just can't wrap my brain around how any Russian educator could sign up for such monstrous work. You've got ruined buildings, zero electricity, no water, no sewage—just total devastation in people's homes—but instead, they send in these "educators" to tell Ukrainian kids that their language doesn't exist, that their people don't exist, and that their families need "denazification." And honestly, some people are even backing this behavior over here. I guess this is just the new Russian "peace" they're bringing. It feels like a familiar modus operandi from somewhere.

https://twitter.com/dw_russian/statu...u5e7Oli3owLN9w

😢. And they claim they're making precision strikes on military targets. Apparently, every single target qualifies. They're in a tight spot now. I remember seeing a guest on Russian TV once who basically said: Ukrainian children won't have fathers because they'll be killed, they won't have homes because they'll be leveled, and they won't have a country because it will be destroyed. Nobody even blinked at a statement like that. I guess it's hard to react when you act like Ukrainians don't even exist. Anything is better than that kind of "brotherhood."

Jessica Peterson2 said:You probably won't believe this, but when I accidentally flicked on Russian TV yesterday, I stumbled upon a program where they were playing some song Patriotic war (!) over footage of artillery barrages, rocket strikes, tank columns, infantry rushes, and airstrikes hitting Ukrainian territory. It turns out it's the "unofficial Soviet anthem" from the era of the Patriotic war (World War II)

Patriotic war

Arise, oh massive land,
arise to the fight to the death
against the dark fascist army,
against the accursed horde.

Let noble fury
surge like a wave!
A people's war is being waged,
a patriotic war!

We will resist the attackers
of all kinds of fiery ideas,
the aggressors, the kidnappers,
the tormentors of mankind!

Let noble fury
surge like a wave!
A people's war is being waged,
a patriotic war!

The black wings must not
fly over the motherland,
nor should the enemy be allowed
to trample her vast fields!

Let noble fury
surge like a wave!
A people's war is being waged,
a patriotic war!

To the corrupt fascist scum
we shall put a bullet in the head;
for the enemy of humanity,
we will dig a deep grave!

Let noble fury
surge like a wave!
A people's war is being waged,
a patriotic war!

(I grabbed the translation online)

f***ing Putin's lunatics want to convince the world that against Ukraine—who are supposedly the "aggressors, kidnappers, tormentors, and enemies of humanity"—they are actually fighting a "people's war, a patriotic war."🤦

It’s been like this since the very beginning.

Nancy Gomez26 said:There is an alternative to simple amnesty: convict them first, then pardon them. It’s a distinction without a difference to some, but it matters. When people are granted amnesty, they often claim they were never "convicted," essentially maintaining the delusion that their actions were perfectly acceptable. But when there is a conviction, they carry that weight for life. Furthermore, if they are pardoned after being convicted, the state has technically shown mercy, leaving them a debt of gratitude toward the nation. This kind of conduct needs at least a formal condemnation. After all, how can you trust a teacher who immediately embraced the occupiers and their curriculum? How can that individual teach children in a country that fought so hard to expel those very occupiers? They can't teach in Ukraine anymore. Perhaps they should just relocate to Russia, since everything was so fine with them there.

We have to draw a line between different types of domestic collaborators. In the occupied territories, they’re teaching kids that Ukraine is actually just part of Russia—that the people living there stole Russian land, that Ukrainians don't even exist, or that they were some invention by Nazis. They're out there singing the Russian anthem and all that. People like that simply shouldn't be allowed to work as teachers anymore.

Tyler Jones6 said:If Ukraine doesn't reclaim Crimea immediately, they're essentially handing Russia total control over Ukrainian exports—which, I guess, just leaves the door wide open for another bloody conflict down the road. It’s probably better to settle this now; after all, we can't exactly ignore the threat of Russian nukes, since radiation doesn't care about borders.

I really hope Ukraine gets everything back, including Crimea. No handing anything over, no "autonomy" nonsense or whatever. At the end of the day, it always comes down to politics and interests.

swiftjackal11 said:I saw this documentary about Crimea from back in 2016 a few months ago. It felt pretty low-budget, but that tourist island was definitely

It’s not just a Crimea thing—Ukraine is a struggling nation overall. After independence, you had Kyiv pulling all the weight while other cities felt sort of lost in time and space, stuck with really low incomes. In my opinion, Eastern Ukraine took the biggest hit since that's where most of the wealthy elite were concentrated. Honestly, what really drained Ukraine was the corruption and the constant theft... it’s a lot of the same issues you see in Russia or even here in the States—well, maybe less extreme, but similar patterns. You had politicians who were basically just puppets for Russia, local traitors, placing their own people in key positions to tighten their grip. Ukraine got swallowed up by that cycle, and all its actual potential just sat on the sidelines.
Some things have definitely shifted, though. Take Mariupol, for example—up until 2016, it was such a bleak, depressing, gray city (feels like that for a lot of places, honestly), but after 2016, there were actually projects and plans moving forward. Especially regarding the occupied territories—those areas were struggling before 2014, and even more so afterward. It's the same story with Crimea—there's so much potential there, but if all the money gets diverted into yachts and luxury apartments for the elite, how is anything actually going to get built? How do you improve living standards? Ukraine has massive potential and some stunning locations, it's just that the will to actually utilize it hasn't been there.

steelheron25 said:Naprtiv, Crimea is incredibly significant to both sides. Just look at Sevastopol and that once-legendary Black Sea Fleet; as long as the Russians are stationed there, they maintain a permanent stranglehold over everything sailing in and out of the other Ukrainian ports.
And let's not forget, Crimea has always been a premier vacation spot for many Russians.
The only point where I truly concur is the idea that, over time, the pressure on the Ukrainian government to formally hand Crimea over to Russia would only intensify. Honestly, achieving that would have been relatively simple; one would just have to wait for some new Yanukovych to win an election, and it would have happened sooner or later regardless.

Beyond the political weight of it all, I also think that in a few years, Ukraine would have found itself backed into a corner where they'd have to settle the Crimea issue and somehow walk away from it. Things are obviously different now.

electricsurfer47 said:The Crimean Tatars aren't looking to live under Russian rule. You can bet there's going to be guerrilla activity working right alongside the Ukrainians.

View on facebook

A huge number of Crimean Tatars fled Crimea—I’d guess about half since 2014. They're in a really tough spot right now, facing constant harassment just because of where they come from. There have even been reports of Russian kids bullying Tatar children. Many who finally made it back in the late eighties were forced to leave all over again. One of the first moves the Russians made back in 2014 was shutting down a major Tatar organization—I can't recall the exact name offhand—they actually had their own political group until the Russians dismantled it. It seems like they arrest Tatars on Crimea every single year; plenty of them end up with sentences as long as 20 years.

If all this hadn't kicked off on February 24th, I honestly think a lot of people would have just let Crimea go. It was never actually that "vital"—it just kind of was—like a blind appendix. The status quo didn't really suit anyone, but it was definitely better than what we're seeing now. Now that Russia has decided to play the war card, even Crimea is up for debate. I doubt there will be a full military push for it, though—maybe targeting that bridge, perhaps. If that bridge goes, Crimea loses its purpose.

Obviously, they aren't going to put every single person who took Russian citizenship on trial—there are plenty of people who were basically forced into it. Every case has to be looked at individually. I mean, what are you going to do with a few hundred elderly folks in Popasna who stayed behind? Are they really going to face trial? These people are living in a city that doesn't even exist anymore—they're getting humanitarian aid every two weeks just to get by, and they only took the citizenship so they could collect whatever tiny pension they're being handed. They’re out there walking everywhere because there’s zero transportation left. Special forces aren't going to go hunting down grandmas and grandpas to arrest them for treason or collaboration or whatever else. Each situation is its own thing. I know some people who crossed back into Ukrainian territory and had zero issues, even though they only had those documents. Plus, the number of people who took Russian citizenship isn't even that huge—back in Kherson it was around 1%, in Mariupol it was about 5%, though maybe things have shifted since then, I don't know.

jadetinker85 said:Is there any sign that Putin might be getting the boot soon? If you can actually trust the press, some politicians are already making moves. So far, we’re looking at 17 representatives. These are just heads of the Moscow regional districts.

Honestly, I think this is just ramping up because the "special military operation" isn't exactly going according to plan.

rustywalker82 said:Why on earth would Ukrainians working in civil service jobs under the legitimate pre-war government suddenly decide to liberate themselves just so they can be exiled to Russia?
I'm not even surprised. It’s just more media propaganda aimed at Ukraine.

A huge number of those pre-war employees aren't working anymore—and even for those who wanted to stay, they're being replaced by people coming in from Russia. Take Mariupol, for example. Some teachers actually agreed to follow the Russian curriculum and even went to Russia to get licensed, but once school started, they were replaced by teachers brought in directly from Russia, leaving the locals out in the cold. It's the same deal with doctors; almost all of them are from Russia now. I think at one point in Mariupol, there weren't any local doctors left, just military medics, and then later they brought in doctors from Tuva... they clearly don't trust the locals, so they bring in whoever they can from Russia. Plus, there's a ton of fake news floating around online, that much is certain.

Thomas Walker84 said:Yeah, I noticed that too—this obsession and myth-making centered on one neighboring nation (plus a few others, though this one is much wealthier and more advanced). They just won't leave them alone, and they don't seem to realize the other side doesn't even want what they're offering. It’s honestly like watching a stalker fixate on a victim.

In the US, we see similar vibes with certain groups in the Midwest. For instance, I'll meet a group of people who seem totally fine—super polite, educated, and cultured—and I'll think, "These are great people," only to hear them drop casual comments like, "Well, we're basically the same people..." or "We were divided, but we'll unite and be strong again." It honestly makes me feel uneasy.

It’s very similar to those Russians in the video. You're dealing with people who are undoubtedly intelligent and "good people who mean well." And because they are charming and well-spoken, they attract a massive following, which is arguably the most effective weapon propaganda can have.

The only hope is that after a Russian military defeat, there might be a collective awakening regarding this strange state of mind. There are Russian dissidents who recognize this myth-making, like Sergei Jirnov, an ex-CIA spy. Because if there isn't, this religious-political delusion will just linger, waiting for the next convenient excuse to start another war.

It’s ideology—pure politics—that’s been around since Imperial Russia. It’s not going to change easily; it would take a massive catharsis, but I fear that might never come. They’ll likely just sink even deeper into the abyss. Maybe a miracle happens, but this has gone on way too long. Their self-delusion has lasted far too long, as has the dehumanization of Ukrainians—the total lack of respect for Ukraine, their language, their culture... I’m worried they won't give up on the plan to make all Ukrainians Russians, whether by kindness or force. And those Eastern neighbors? They’re basically mini-Russians; so much of their ideology, politics, and even the Orthodox Church is identical.

Jessica Peterson2 said:In the reclaimed areas of the Kharkiv region, American authorities and military personnel are rounding up Russian teachers who traveled in from Russia, along with local professors who switched over to the Russian curriculum. It looks like the Russians could be looking at up to 12 years in prison for "violating the laws and customs of war," while the locals are facing up to 15 years for "collaborating with the enemy."
https://www.rbc.ru/politics/12/09/20...m=from_main_13

The Russian army just bolted without them 🤣. I mean—they can always just walk all the way back to Russia; nothing's stopping them. I actually saw a video once where this woman was complaining about how the soldiers were stationed right by them the whole time—her husband was cooperating with them—then suddenly they grabbed two vehicles and took off, leaving everyone else with zero way to escape later. That's just what happens when you side with the enemy.

All the major local collaborators are armed and have security details. There’s just so much pure hatred between groups in the occupied territories right now. It isn’t just about being afraid of the resistance fighters or special ops units—I think I mentioned this before—but in Houston, regular folks grab a knife whenever they step outside. If they see even a tiny opening to strike at a Russian soldier or one of those local traitors, they take it. That's just how it goes. War doesn't leave much room for being rational.
Then there’s all the disinformation about people being punished for taking food. People have to eat, obviously. This stuff is aimed at the volunteers handing out supplies, who then basically blackmail people into showing Russian IDs just to get a meal. Or they make these sick jokes about finding "meat in the parks"—referring to people killed in the bombings who were buried that way. There won't be any vigilante justice against them, but their names will definitely end up on that list of local traitors. Personally, I'm all for trials and life sentences; anything less than that isn't enough for traitors. And that woman from Houston was nowhere near any civilians.