Posts by rowdytiger13

Tyler Jones6 said:I honestly find myself wondering who exactly Russia plans to mobilize next—but the moment they realized the Far East was finally stirring, the strategy became painfully obvious. It’s all clear now: they are sending the minorities from the autonomous republics and districts straight to the front lines. It’s a cynical way to kill two birds with one stone—they thin out the minority populations while simultaneously securing a steady supply of cheap cannon fodder.

There is a massive difference between mobilizing 100,000 Russians to face certain death, versus mobilizing 100,000 people from Ingushetia, Yakutia, Buryatia, Tuva, Bashkiria, or the various other ethnic Turkic or Mongolian minorities.

Naturally. And the Chechens too.

Andrew Booth29 said:We're just sitting here waiting on a response from the USA... though I suppose there's still plenty of time before anyone actually wakes up. We're all bracing for a move from Putin.

They'll probably say, "Screw the nukes, let's get cooking!"
And then they'll just ship even more weapons over to Ukraine, because clearly, that's the only move left in the playbook.

velvetcyclist95 said:Whatever, just send more artillery shells to Ukraine.

True.
He’s shaken. Even Scholz has started getting an edge.

Brenda Murphy3 said:So, just like everyone called, he got spooked by the idea of a full-scale mobilization. Instead, we’re seeing that classic Kremlin move where they try to play it safe with a "halfway" solution...

Honestly, though, this is still a massive gamble for Putin. Even a partial mobilization—just pulling in reservists—is enough to spark real unrest or even a full-blown revolt. In situations like this, it doesn't take much; one tiny, seemingly insignificant mistake and the whole thing spirals into total chaos.

Typical Putin behavior, really... the guy isn't going to back down, and his inner circle is way too deep in this mess to ever actually turn on him. Personally? I hope he, Medvedev, Zakharov, and the rest of that crew end up swinging from a lamppost sooner rather than later. They haven't earned anything else.

Exactly. He didn't have the guts to declare a general mobilization because that would be a definitive admission that this "special operation" is actually a war, even though everyone—including people in Russia—knows it is.
By opting for a partial mobilization, he's essentially pivoting toward war while still attempting some linguistic gymnastics to avoid the label.
If he weren't so afraid, he'd just admit they're on the defensive, but instead, he's leaving room for his propagandists to ramp up the rhetoric.
Regardless, the real question is how much risk he's actually taking; nobody truly knows what Americans or Russians think when living under a regime where speaking your mind can land you in prison.
The USSR had massive propaganda machines too, but isolation and poverty tended to have a more profound impact on the populace back then.
Then there's the constant nuclear threats that almost nobody responds to anymore, which probably just makes him even more twitchy.

So, if he’s officially declared a partial mobilization, does that mean this whole "special military operation" thing is actually turning into... well, a war?

Blah, blah, blah... partial mobilization, blah, blah, blah.

Well... looks like even Kadyrov is making some noise now. 🤣
Does he honestly believe anyone is taking him seriously? 🍿

Nancy Gomez26 said:It seems to me they’re still agonizing over which version of the announcement to release. The shortlist appears to be down to two options: one involving mobilization orders, and another that opens with: following a long and grueling illness, the President has passed away... We’ll have to wait until morning to see which script becomes reality. After all, waiting until dawn is always more prudent than deciding in the evening.

I had no idea Putin was expected to deliver a sermon, but reading back through this actually gave me a good laugh.🤣🤣🙏

Lukashenko’s own military isn't going to follow orders regarding an attack on Ukraine. The public is even less likely to go along with it. He's basically signing his own death warrant with his own people—though this time he might actually fail because the military would probably revolt too. He knows it, and Putin knows it. That’s exactly why Putin stopped pushing him.
It’s been a while since he posted, so I guess he had to drop something just to let us know he's still around.

Gerald Torres84 said:But the main thing is that Milojko sees those Ukrainian flags; I suppose the Americans will probably start noticing them soon enough too.

The Albanians already have, and this isn't over—they’ve even spotted the Albanians.
I'm still chewing on this whole situation. Is the issue that an Albanian is cutting through DC? Or is it that he's gay? Or maybe both?
I'm leaning toward both, since everyone keeps calling it a provocation...

The CIA believes Putin has reached a critical crossroads where his next move will dictate the entire future trajectory of the war.
They’re also warning against the mistake of underestimating Russia.
As for China, they’re perfectly fine with the status quo—right up until the West sinks into a massive recession, which would drag them down too. Their government has already had to step in to prop up their real estate market.
The dynamic between Xi Jinping and Putin has shifted. Putin isn't even trying to play the superior partner anymore. In this new power balance, China can exert serious leverage over Russia if they decide this whole situation starts hurting their own economy.
In reality, they have much more influence now than ever before.

Timothy Nelson5 said:If China moves on Taiwan, they might find themselves in an even tighter spot than Russia.
The sanctions would hit them five times harder; we could be looking at domestic food shortages and unrest within three or four months.
Countries in China's sphere of influence could form a massive military alliance modeled after NATO (Japan, North Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Australia, USA)...

With Russia currently weakened and defeated, China has a clear opening in Central Asia. They’d be wise to take advantage of that opportunity now...

I agree. The main difference is that unlike Putin, Xi clearly isn't delusional; he understands the stakes and knows that a weakened Russia opens up several strategic doors in Asia.
That's why I argued he hasn't fallen into the trap—attacking Taiwan right now would be a massive mistake given their current position.
In the long run, Putin has essentially buried Russia, though history might have remembered him much more favorably if things had gone differently... realistically speaking.
When people laughed off the claim that "Putin just made the biggest mistake of his career!", it seemed like a joke, but that statement becomes less funny with every passing day.

crimsonwolf26 said:So what’s the play here? Is Putin just going to become Xieva's errand boy, and by extension, is Russia going to follow suit?
It’ll be quite the spectacle, watching them sell off energy resources at whatever price Xieva decides to dictate. I guess he finally found a way to deal with the so-called "decadent" West—by introducing them to democracy in its purest, most unfiltered form.🙂

There really isn't much of a choice left.
The grand vision—at least according to the Kremlin before all this started—was for Russia to lead this segment of a multipolar world, or if they were feeling optimistic, to lead it as an equal partner alongside China. There were certainly people who viewed China as nothing more than a paper tiger that could never truly compete with a powerhouse like Russia.
That entire dynamic has shifted completely. In this part of the world, China is clearly taking the lead. Russia has exposed its military vulnerabilities, and with its economy being further crippled, it won't have the leverage to push back against a China that successfully avoided the trap of jumping into an adventure over Taiwan.

While visiting Kyiv, von der Leyen remarked, "Supporting Ukraine comes at a price, but freedom is priceless."

Penal battalions aren't exactly a new concept. The French Foreign Legion basically built their foundation on it.
The problem is, if you want to actually keep those guys under any kind of control, you’d have to be even more ruthless than they are. The Russian military looks pretty disorganized as it is, and in an environment like that, these units are just going to loot, pillage, and desert the moment things get heavy.

James Chavez91 said:I’ve actually started strongly opposing the idea of putting Kadyrov and goats into various romantic contexts.
I mean, what did those poor animals ever do to anyone? 😢

On another note, I read somewhere that Americans are sending some kind of long-range missiles. But Russ is suddenly up in arms about it, claiming it's crossing a red line...
Do you guys think that actually intimidated the Americans?

Right. They're shaking. Just like they were when they "crossed the red line" by sending the HIMARS.

Richard Wilson4 said:Biden: The British people didn't show us any respect; they weren't even at Reagan's funeral

Honestly, Biden scores own goals all the time, but you gotta give him credit for this one

Fair enough. It’s not like some foreign dignitary in that massive crowd is going to notice if Biden isn't there.
More likely he just didn't get a VIP invite guaranteeing his spot, so he decided to skip it.

Ursula von der Leyen: "We should have listened to those who truly understood Putin. People like Anna Politkovskaya and the other journalists who exposed the corruption and paid for it with their lives. We should have stood by our friends in Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova, and supported the opposition in Belarus. Most importantly, we should have listened to the voices within our own Union—to Poland and the Baltic states."
Well, no kidding, Sherlock!

Kate Cook27 said: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.

True... he actually fell for his own hype, which is usually a one-way ticket to disaster.
Anyone who's ever seen a Scandinavian lose their cool knows those claims aren't grounded in reality, much less the "lower class" Britons.

Bradley White73 said:Looking at this image, I can't help but think this is pretty much the level of support for Ukraine from the European Union that Putin was probably banking on when everything kicked off. You know, maybe they'll light up some public squares in yellow and blue and express a bit of concern. And then... well, that's about it, I guess. 😁

Right, because clearly this is the first time symbolic gestures have ever been paired with actual, concrete aid.
I don't think that's ever happened before in Ukraine... seems unlikely.