Posts by Kate Cook27

boldotter2 said:Well, there was World War II too. People were making all these compromises with Hitler throughout the 1930s, and yeah, that turned out pretty badly. I guess the absolute worst compromise from that whole era had to be Stalin.

Fast forward to today, and you have Putin—running on an ideology like Hitler’s, but using methods straight out of Stalin’s playbook.

Donna Harris11 said:I just think people in the Donbas should be able to live their lives, and I hope for peace in Canada.

Most folks from Donbas actually want the Russian occupiers out so they can finally return home and live normal, peaceful lives. And honestly? Anyone who loves Russia so much can just head over there. Most people in Donbas are just waiting for the day the Ukrainian flag flies over Donetsk again—hoping that day eventually comes. They’re also hoping there won't be any deals made with local traitors—no more listening to people suggest Ukrainians should be hung in Times Square or shoved into basements in Donetsk. They just want an end to criminals coming in from Russia, breaking into homes, and kicking families out to make room for themselves. Back in 2019, about 60% of those living in occupied areas wanted Donbas to remain part of Ukraine. As for the arrogant types filled with hate for Ukraine and Ukrainians? They can all just head back to "Mother Russia."
But hey, I fully expect these referendums to show 150% wanting to join Russia. If we could actually count everyone who was killed or driven from their homes, it would probably be 500%.
I don't even know why we're wasting paper here—the results are already scripted. It's just like 2014, where they roll in with guns and force people to vote. 🤔? Or maybe they threaten people with losing their jobs? Or taking away their kids? Meanwhile, the ones being handed food aid are the ones getting off easiest. And of course, you get to vote while standing next to two guys with rifles. Go ahead, check the box saying you *don't* want to be part of Mother Russia. But don't worry—there will be observers from Belarus, Syria, South Korea, and Republika Srpska to ensure everything is "perfectly legal."

analogbear70 said:This guy hits the nail on the head:

It’s the same point I keep making: the West needs to dial back the rhetoric because Russia isn't going to budge. I'm convinced that de-escalating the tension could actually lead to somewhere productive. Look, let's be real—they have nuclear weapons, and that’s a reality that could end us all. Regardless of how you slice it, we need a voice of reason coming from the West, because right now, there isn't one to be found in Russia, and nobody there seems interested in finding it either.

Sure, assuming that "deal" looks like Putin sitting down with Biden and demanding that NATO pull back to its 1997 borders just because those other countries are in Russia's "sphere of influence." And then he demands that these newly formed banana republics be recognized by Ukraine, the UN, and every single member state. Oh, and while we're at it, he wants the USA to pull all its weapons out of Europe because they threaten Russia's existence... and Russia has nukes.

Zachary Booth36 said:Have you been asleep for the last few years? Putin's greatest nightmare, along with his security elites, is seeing the LNR, the DNR, or even just Ukraine itself flourish thanks to Western funding.
They cannot afford to have a success story right on their doorstep that serves as proof to Russians that they can live better lives.

This compromise offers absolutely no guarantees to Ukraine.

👍. Exactly—Putin hated the idea of Ukraine joining the European Union because if Russians see that prosperity is possible, they won't buy into the nonsense being sold to them anymore.

Anthony Hill5 said:Medvedchuk has been handed back to Russia as part of this prisoner exchange.

Viktor Medvedchuk, the most prominent captive released by Ukraine in a prisoner swap with Russia , is a close friend of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia Who Had acted as The Kremlin ’ sa primary agent of influence in Ukraine for years

As a high-level advisor to President Volodymyr Zelensky Said on Wednesday , in exchange for more Than 200 Ukrainian fighters including commanders of The Azov Battalion , Who have been celebrated as heroes in Ukraine for their last-stand defense of Mariupol, Mr. Medvedchuk—a major political figure and oligarch—was released alongside various Russian pilots and senior military officials. Can we even begin to grasp the implications of such a move? This represents the single largest prisoner exchange seen during this entire seven-month conflict.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/22/w...-released.html

I can't help but wonder what kind of deals they were making behind closed doors 🤷?

Melissa Rivera5 said:Does any of that even matter though? Putin basically admitted they haven't lost anything yet, so it feels like human life doesn't count for much. Maybe those 300k are just there *exclusively* to freeze or to soak up bullets—ideally getting killed rather than wounded, so they aren't a long-term drain on society.

It's kind of like how Shoigu claimed "only" about 6,000 US Army soldiers had died.

Samuel Rodriguez52 said:I was watching the news on Russian TV today and they showed Patriarch Cyril giving what I guess you could call a "mobilization sermon," basically claiming that "those Ukrainians fighting against Russia are devils that need to be wiped out." It’s honestly just wild to me how much rhetoric someone is allowed to get away with when they're presenting themselves as God's messenger.

I'm actually pretty shocked by that statement 🙄.

Karen Torres43 said:10 million 😁

Just try calculating how many tons of bread they’d need to feed that many "soldiers" on a daily basis 😁

They won't even have gear. Back in the spring, they were avoiding stepping on the fields—now, let’s see if these guys actually make use of them 😁.

Deere said:Oh, sure. You also forgot that the original locals here were the Ilirs, and we Slavs just assimilated—or wiped them out—to get where we are today. Maybe we should all just head back to Ukraine... actually, it'd be better if everyone on Earth just migrated back to Africa right now. Why even bother with all those random places *Homo sapiens* wandered to after leaving Africa? Honestly, if there were some way to reset all life on Earth back to the amoeba stage... that would probably be the most "fair" solution.

Honestly, let's just go back to the dinosaur era and launch ourselves into space in a giant capsule.

swiftjackal11 said:Honestly, I'd rather take my chances in prison than be used as cannon fodder. At least you can walk out of a cell in a few months, right around the time Russia finally surrenders.

Yeah, but what happens if they come knocking for those "volunteer prisoners"? Mother Russia supposedly has to defend herself against the very people trying to tear her down 🧐. You end up stuck on the front lines anyway 🙂.

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.

Things are looking even darker than they were during the Stalin era.

analogbear70 said:The West's response here is to flood Ukraine with weapons, whereas our approach was an embargo and talks. Who was sending us aid packages? Nobody. I'll say it plainly: the West (meaning the USA and the UK) genuinely seems focused on bleeding Russia dry without giving a damn about what happens to Ukraine in the process. Russia is the aggressor, which makes them dangerous if they're strong, but even more unpredictable if they're weak. That's a dynamic we need to keep in mind.

Not every war is built the same—I really feel for the folks here who had to deal with that embargo.
A huge thank you to the USA, the UK, and everyone else standing behind Ukraine, providing the weapons, the training, and everything else needed. As for what happens to Ukraine once the fighting stops? Well, that's a problem for the Ukrainians to solve—the priority right now is helping while the war is actually happening. Let's be real: it's all about interests. The West isn't helping Ukraine out of pure altruism—we all know that. Russia is already struggling, and a weakened Russia could be quite volatile. Why should the USA, the UK, and others obsess over Russia when they should be focusing on themselves? The Russians could have used the money they spent killing "their own Ukrainian brothers" to help the poor back home in Russia instead. It's not the West's fault that the White House and leadership in Moscow pursue policies designed to deny Ukrainians their nationhood, identity, culture, and history... or that they want to seize territory and force Russification on people. It's not the West's fault that Russia seems stuck in the past, acting like it's still the era of the Holodomor where they can kill millions of Ukrainians and then tell the survivors, "You're Russian now, speak only Russian, and take these Russianized last names"—expecting people to just shut up and accept it. Well, Ukrainians aren't shutting up this time, and I'm grateful to anyone stepping up to help. I'll be looking forward to seeing some "Russian goodwill" soon when they finally leave Kherson 🎉. But mostly, I'll be celebrating when the very last Russian occupier leaves Ukraine 🎉 🎉. As for what happens with a weakened Moscow—who knows. Putin might keep waving those nukes around, though very few people actually fear him anymore. The people in the White House—well, the Kremlin—can figure out their own mess; nobody else is responsible for their mistakes. They can go ahead and try to build their "new world order." Clearly, there won't be a place for them in it, since they basically engineered their own exit.

Besides observers from Belarus, Syria, and South Korea, Milorad Dodik is also calling for representatives from Republika Srpska to watch the referendum 🤣

I wonder if they’ll actually arrange for the families of those volunteers from Republika Srpska killed in Ukraine to get their loved ones back? So far, they've only returned one—everyone else was just labeled as "Missing."

analogbear70 said:Sure, but the reality is that the world isn't aiming for de-escalation; it's aiming for a Russian defeat. And that’s dangerous for everyone involved. Let me be clear: Russia is the aggressor. Ignoring that would be reckless, yet there seems to be zero effort from the West to lower the temperature. Instead, it feels like they are pushing for a total knockout blow—one side or the other—with the goal of ensuring Russia emerges as depleted as possible. They haven't earned anything else, and peace isn't on the table for the West right now, at least not yet. I remember when we had to negotiate with the insurgents back in the day, offering calculated concessions and trying everything until we finally got the green light for the major offensive. Even then, we were halted near the border because of threats involving US aircraft. We didn't get weapons; we got an embargo, leaving us essentially stranded. Of course, making concessions to Russia wouldn't be "fair," but we were expected to make them just to stop the bloodshed. That isn't happening here. Because of that, the question remains: how does this all end?

Look, you can only negotiate with people who actually want to talk. If things went the Russians' way—if they got Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson—they’d probably be asking for Kharkiv too, provided we don't count the part where they "organized retreats" while Ukrainians were supposedly in a panic. Then, five years down the road, they'll just roll back in for the rest of Ukraine, and everyone will be expected to step aside and hand over whatever they want because, hey, they have nukes. Who's to blame for the fact that the Russians are living in 1737 and refuse to move forward? You can't negotiate with people who only understand brute force.

Putin hasn't said a single thing that wasn't already predicted by the Americans. Honestly, the US probably knows his next move before he even does 😁. Now, it looks like everyone’s being called up to the front lines—no excuses allowed—because mother Russia has to defend herself.

Larry Sanchez7 said:Or maybe he was the one who took the plunge too...

We'll find out tomorrow...

If he actually shows up early in the morning, they'll probably call the whole thing the awakening east...

Honestly, Putin just met up with Dodik—they haven't seen each other in ages.

wiredseal7 said:The other theory is that it’s just what the Americans intercepted while it was en route to Yemen.
But people were already whispering even earlier about Sudanese ammo plants shipping gear over to Ukraine.

The real kicker—and it's almost funny—is how much everyone mocks Russia for buying drones from Iranians (which, let's face it, are turning out to be pretty sophisticated and dangerous, much to the Ukrainians' dismay), while the Ukrainians—or rather, the British colonialists acting on their behalf—are busy scavenging scrap metal across Africa.

Look, Russians are the aggressors and Ukrainians are defending themselves. People act shocked that the world's second-strongest military is buying drones from Iran. I guess using scrap metal helps with liberating Ukraine—or maybe the Ukrainians are just trolling them for more drones 😁.

Gregory Ramos3 said:Back to our regularly scheduled programming..

https://twitter.com/UAWeapons/status...09383542603780

So, I was just scrolling through this and apparently, they're saying Ukrainians are actually using Iranian missile production 2022 🤔

Which is honestly pretty 🙂 wild if you think about it

The Iranians seem to be playing both sides 😁.

Paul Flores13 said:I suspect the Russ were far too late with those referendums. Had they actually pulled the trigger on them sooner, I imagine we’d be looking at a completely different situation entirely.

I don't think so.

driftingfox66 said:That’s exactly why I said at least 200k. A few years back, those numbers were way higher.😁

Yeah, that’s what happens when you send people into combat who aren't really cut out for it. Still, the paratroopers held their own quite well—even lost over a thousand officers.