Posts by gentlestag15

By the way, we totally glossed over that speech Putin gave right when the war kicked off.
He made it crystal clear to the nation that this would be a job for professionals only—no calling up the reserves, no drama.
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Everything’s going exactly according to plan. 😁

Terry Green3 said:I don't know why Americans have suddenly started poking the bear regarding Taiwan. It’s almost as if they’re intentionally pushing the public toward Russia's side.
They need to chill out and let China breathe so they'll actually align with the West.

China is playing its own game here. They're balancing their interests between Russia and the West, but you can pretty much convince them to get fully on your side only if you hand Taiwan over on a silver platter—or threaten them with total sanctions, though God knows how that would actually play out.

Sandra Harris2 said:Disturbing.

Italian news just reported that 10,000 people have already volunteered, yet the protests aren't letting up. Anyone caught by the police during these demonstrations is being forcibly conscripted...

Meanwhile, Lavrov is rambling on about how this is an intervention against the fascist-Nazi regime in Kyiv that the West is backing.

China is pushing for a diplomatic solution, insisting that humanitarian organizations must be granted safe access to help the population and that exports of Ukrainian and Russian grain must be guaranteed.

Lavrov let slip some nonsense about Nazis in Kyiv being supported by the West and stormed out of the session; now I see some folks here claiming we actually have to play nice with those kinds of assholes.
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China's statement is interesting—they don't seem to view anyone as a Putin ally, even in their wildest rhetoric.

“Sovereignty and territorial integrity of All countries should be respected , ” Wang says about China's stance on the #warinUkraine.

This one mobilized guy looks totally lost already, and he hasn't even gotten close to Ukraine yet.
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The names of 305,000 soldiers slated for the first wave of mobilization have leaked
but there’s more coming—second and third waves are expected, bringing the total to about a million troops
https://twitter.com/igorsushko/statu...25733223432192

Donna Harris11 said:I don't get why everyone is making such a huge deal out of this drama; precedents already exist anyway.

Northern Cyprus, Republika Srpska, Mexico, the Golanski plateau.

I mean, I get where the Ukrainians are coming from, but the EU's stance is just... unclear.

Look, they barely lifted a finger back in 2014, aside from some light sanctions
when the Russians took over Luhansk, Donetsk, and Crimea.
They finally realized that Putin's hunger for territory is massive and needs to be stopped. I don't see how you can miss that.

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

Which people are you even talking about? Maybe the native Russians?

In the Donetsk Oblast, the breakdown was: Ukrainians – 2,744,100 (56.9%), Russians – 1,844,400 (38.2%),
In the Luhansk oblast, Ukrainians make up the majority (58.0%). Among the minorities are native Russians (39.1%),

Donna Harris11 said:I wonder how the West is actually going to react to those referendums happening in the people's republics...

They won't do anything at all, though they'll throw a massive tantrum if Russia decides to officially recognize them as part of its own territory.
I'm calling it now—total sanctions are coming, or maybe I'm just wishful thinking. 😁

Benjamin Taylor6 said:They have to stay in Turkey!? Seriously? Is there actually any basis for something like that in international law? How does Turkey even plan to pull that off—just shove them all into some sort of boarding school or detention center?

Look, if that's the deal, fine—but that agreement only covers five commanders.
The Russians released 205 Ukrainians and 10 foreigners, which included an American guy we know.
And in exchange, they only got back 55 people plus Putin's godson.
Honestly, it's better this way than having them rot away in Russian prison cells.
Almost all the big names from Azovstal are free now, but there are still at least 2,000 more out there.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FdCZ6ZyX...jpg&name=large

rowdyraven112 said:Which means negotiations are actually happening. Let's stop obsessing over whether the leaders in Turkey and Saudi Arabia are meddling as mediators. They’re just there as window dressing. The real heavy lifting? That was done by ambassadors from Britain, the US, and Russia. I bet the Turkish and Saudi guys were nothing more than waiters circling the room.

I mean, this is at least the tenth prisoner swap since the war kicked off.
They've been talking about this stuff since day one.
They've already swapped hundreds of prisoners from Azovstal before this.

Richard Wilson4 said:Wait, hasn't he already let them go?

I haven't been glued to the news the last few days, but if I remember right, the guy was included in that group released in Turkey.

He was released along with about four or five commanders from Mariupol
but there was a catch—they have to stay in Turkey until the war is over.
plus there were another 200 people from Azovstal who were swapped out in Ukraine.

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?

Russia has about 24 million people eligible for military service.
Even if 100,000 or a million of them manage to flee to the States or somewhere else, it doesn't change the math.
They'll just mobilize someone else.


this guy is seeing the exact same thing you are—those folks who were walking around acting all tough with their Z symbols on their chests are the first ones looking for an exit ramp now that mobilization is actually happening.

electricstag9 said:I have nothing but respect for the folks in D.C. back in '96, but let’s be brutally honest: they weren't actually facing an existential threat back then. In Russia, the police will arrest and beat anyone in sight the second they see a crowd forming—young people, the elderly, women, even 90-year-old grandmothers (literally, look at this: https://www.bbc.com/mexican/lat/svet-60618858). There are absolutely no exceptions. It takes incredible courage to step out onto those streets when you know you're looking at years in prison plus God knows what other horrific consequences...
We simply cannot compare this to other countries where hundreds of thousands can demonstrate without fearing for their physical safety.

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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.
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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.

Not much happening with the protests in Russia—just a few hundred to maybe a couple thousand people scattered everywhere
sad stuff
The police are just handing out arrests left and right. Over here, they actually messed up and arrested one of their own undercover agents by mistake
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I’m kind of digging this "Putin into the trenches" slogan
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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.

Sandra Harris2 said:Are you Italian?
I see this kind of nonsense all over their news sites.
Things like, "we must stop sending weapons to end the war," or "NATO is exploiting Ukraine." According to them, the solution is for Ukraine to just stop defending itself and everything will be fine.

You can only negotiate with someone who actually wants to talk. I don't know how that isn't obvious.

History repeats itself; it was the exact same thing when Hitler invaded his neighbors
using the same talking points
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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.

Alright then, smart guy, what’s your brilliant solution?
Russia is basically demanding that Ukraine hand over their occupied territories, demilitarize their entire army, and undergo "denazification"—which is just code for getting rid of the current government so Russia can install its own puppets. On what planet do you think Ukrainians are going to agree to any of that?
Since you're clearly such an expert, why don't you lay out a real solution for us?
If Ukrainians cave to these Russian colonial demands, they'll end up facing the same fate as Jews under Hitler.

Lawmakers from the Russian republic of Mari El are calling for Vladimir Putin to step down
https://twitter.com/Flash_news_ua/st...701506/photo/1
It’s just a small republic with about 700,000 people, but they're doing something that used to be completely unthinkable in Russia

"The US anti-war movement 'Vesna' is calling for protests against the mobilization. Rallies are announced for 7 P.M. in the center of all US cities."

With these protests being called for across the US, we'll just have to wait and see if anyone actually shows up.

"Countries that refuse to side with Ukraine in the war against Russia are 'accomplices' of the new Russian imperialism - French President Emmanuel Macron at the UN session"

Honestly, I think it's high time we hit Russia with total sanctions, and frankly, we should be slapping sanctions on any countries helping them out with weapons, too.

Jessica Peterson2 said:At my workplace, every single one of Putin's supporters suddenly decided to sprint toward HR... all just to verify their "Software Engineer" status because Putko promised that specific category wouldn't be mobilized. They haven't quite given me an answer as to why they're so desperate to avoid being sent to the Donbas 🤷

Man, you better get your ass over to the States while you still can, otherwise you might end up stuck in some hole in Ukraine.