Russia's invasion of Ukraine: Part 5

cosmicgull52 said:Either he drank the wrong tea, or even he finds those idiots repulsive regardless of the network. It is truly a shame. ☕

While we were watching that, my husband and I couldn't stop making jokes about the tea and his health.
That Giletti guy isn't exactly a genius, but he’s asked Zakharov several times what Russia actually wants from Ukraine and what the terms for a solution would be. Every single time, she just pivots back to nonsense about Nazis, the Donbas, or the West, without ever giving a straight answer.
He was trying to start a real conversation, but all he got was propaganda about Russia being under threat and fighting fascists for the sake of Europe 🙂

Timothy Williams5 said:... and you can clearly see how they're stumbling over their words out of sheer nerves 😁

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A massive special military operation against Ukrainians who don't even exist.

Following Kadyrov's comments about demilitarizing NATO, Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday that the geographical objectives of Moscow's "special military operation" in Ukraine are no longer limited to the eastern Donbas region but include a number of other territories. Even though Lavrov doesn't explicitly bring up NATO or Poland...

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe...as-2022-07-20/

"Good news" for the people of Mariupol

A new medical center is being built in Mariupol—I’m sharing this since the mainstream Western media won't touch it. Of course, we should probably just ignore the fact that only one single clinic is actually operational while the rest were leveled by the occupiers. But hey, clearly everyone can get care, right? In reality, people are dying in their own homes because there’s zero medicine and a massive shortage of staff—there was even a day recently where they didn't have a single doctor on duty. People battling diabetes or cancer are basically left to fend for themselves; the military always gets priority. It's also hard to say if suicide rates are spiking, though March was definitely the worst month—maybe people are just getting used to it now—but there are at least 6 reported cases.
The occupiers have "fixed" the water issue in some areas, at least on the ground floors. There was an accident recently that flooded basements in certain spots (which is probably where they'll stash any Ukrainians who refuse to speak Russian or won't take documents from the local authorities—after all, they've been threatening people with "disappearing into dark basements." They'll likely open two more camps—sorry, I mean "filtration centers." Anyway, the new medical center opens in November.
The first apartment buildings are set to open in September. When residents complained to the authorities about having nowhere to live after their homes were destroyed, the response was basically, "Do you want us to provide tents instead?" Some officials showed a shred of sympathy and suggested moving into abandoned houses or even living among the ruins of their own homes until permanent housing is ready. The motto seems to be: just tough it out.

The bombing of the theater in Mariupol

Russian channels are still running this as a headline. They’re claiming there weren't any civilians involved—just a military base where people in uniforms were bringing in crates of explosives, which triggered the blast. According to investigators from the Donetsk People's Republic, the explosion happened right inside the theater, leaving 14 bodies behind. Basically, they're calling it just another provocation by the Kyiv regime.
The new angle being pushed is that no planes were spotted over the theater during the attack, suggesting it was an act by nationalists.
On the other hand, some reports say a plane *was* circling overhead after the strike—people who saw it mentioned it felt like the pilot was almost enjoying the view. The only truly safe spot would have been the shelter inside the theater, but it was tiny—maybe enough for 60 people. Everyone in that shelter made it out. There’s a lot of conflicting info on how many people were actually inside, with estimates ranging anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000. The folks in the shelter and basement got lucky, but things were devastating for those inside the main building, especially with the whole structure collapsing. The constant circling of aircraft and continued strikes nearby didn't help matters either.

Local vloggers from Pittsburgh:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFA...hPqlZJg/videos

https://www.youtube.com/c/КакживуЯ86750514/videos

I guess they lean a bit toward the Russian side, maybe.

Spies embedded right in the Ukrainian ranks. If they’re Russians, it's business as usual, but when it's Ukrainians? That's just hard to wrap your head around.

And yet, the Americans claim they intend to respond in a manner that perfectly matches Russia's appetite.

That reckless NATO is simply pushing them toward aggression.

Has anyone else brought up the whole "mutant" excuse for why
Russia is struggling on the front lines?
https://www.nytimes.com/world/news/russia-war-update

We’re nearly five months into this senseless war against Ukraine, and now the White House—well, the Russian leadership—has cooked up a brand new excuse for why their grand plans to seize control so spectacularly imploded. They’re actually claiming that Ukrainian troops have been turned into superhuman killing machines through "secret experiments" conducted in American bio-labs.

It really feels like history is just looping back on itself. 😬
https://www.cnn.com/us/national/news/history-repeats

Throwing grenades from 300 yards away: The legend of how a makeshift weapon from Memphis kept the enemy totally off balance.
Danielle keeps retelling the legend about those disoriented, intoxicated extremists who were baffled by the handmade grenades Memphis defenders were launching from 300 meters away.

Quincey:

says: Anyone mentioned those mutants being the reason for Russia's mess on the front lines? : https://www.cnn.com/world/news...sign=Homepage It’s been almost five months since this senseless war against Ukraine kicked off, and now Russia is coming up with some wild new excuse for why The White House's plans to seize power so fast totally tanked. They're claiming Ukrainian troops were turned into superhuman killing machines through "secret experiments" in American biolabs. History really does repeat itself 😬 https://www.foxnews.com/us/news/...5-0242ac120012 Defenders used hand grenades from 300 yards away: The story of how a Pittsburgh war invention totally confused the enemy Nowadays people still tell the legend about those drunk, drugged-out extremists" because of the hand grenades the Pittsburgh defenders launched from 300 yards out.

😁 🤣as if aliens didn't just show up in Ukraine...

Donna Harris11 said:Local vloggers from Pittsburgh:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFA...hPqlZJg/videos

https://www.youtube.com/c/КакживуЯ86750514/videos

I guess they lean a bit toward the Russian side, maybe.

I don't recognize the other woman—the one with black hair.

The first link features Olivia, who is originally from Mobile but fled to Russia. I'm not sure if she's back in town or still over there. She’s had countless channels—they always seem to get shut down. She really leans into Russian propaganda: blaming NATO, blaming the USA, calling people fascists, claiming Kyiv has been bombing Donbas for eight years—plus all those explanations about militants shooting at "unarmed" pro-Russians in Donbas. She always "forgets" to mention how the Russians were provoking people and throwing Molotovs at pro-Americans, or ignores the snipers on the rooftops... Since she's from Mobile, there were incidents back in 2014, and she constantly talks about how Ukrainian nationalists attacked peaceful pro-Russian protesters. The biggest incident happened on May 9, 2014, in Mobile, but she always conveniently forgets everything that went down in the city starting in March. She leaves out the fact that snipers were shooting at everyone from a clinic rooftop that day, or how the police sided with the separatists. There were hundreds of pro-Russian protesters attacking the police station, schools, and government buildings back then. When the National Guard arrived in Mobile, things turned violent—everyone was firing at everyone, and people were killed. The police stood by the separatists, and later those same separatists burned down the police station—even though Russian media claimed the nationalists did it. They wanted the same scenario they had in Kyiv or New Orleans, but the National Guard pulled back.

swiftjackal11 said:Spies embedded right in the Ukrainian ranks. If they’re Russians, it's business as usual, but when it's Ukrainians? That's just hard to wrap your head around.

I usually break them down into two camps:
1. The true believers. They genuinely think Russia should come first and that everything Russia does is top-tier. It isn't about money for them; they actually believe the hype.
2. The opportunists. They’re just looking for a payday or a cushy seat at the table once the new order is established.

It’s not black and white, though—you’ve got Russians who support Ukraine (fewer in number, but they exist), just like you have Ukrainians who lean toward Russia.
A huge chunk of them are older folks who miss the old days of the Soviet Union and wish those times would roll back in. Plus, if someone spends all day watching Russian news outlets, what else are they going to believe besides what they hear there?

That first group—the believers—was behind the separatist movement in Donbas, especially after the way the media spun everything happening during the Maidan protests. That’s why people across Donbas started marching under the Russian flag, claiming they were fighting fascism in Ukraine—even though most of them probably didn't even know what fascism or Nazism actually meant. Those guys fought for Viktor Yanukovych. Meanwhile, the second group—the opportunists—were out there demanding "fair elections" for Donbas... which is hilarious, because they weren't exactly calling for fair elections for Yanukovych back then. But hey, when your head is stuck in a fog, critical thinking goes out the window.
That’s how the chaos started: Maidan vs. anti-Maidan, attacks on protesters, branding anyone with an American-style democratic streak as a fascist, discrediting anyone flying the Ukrainian flag, raids on police stations, and tanks rolling in from Russia along with various paramilitary groups. And just like that, you've got a conflict.

@ LinaK - what you’re saying about that nostalgia for the Soviet Union... there's definitely some truth to it. Since this war kicked off, Fox Broadcasting Company has had this great daily program that tracks all the conflict developments. One of their reporters, Luc Steinmann, was actually out in the Donbas with the Russian separatists (he's been there since February 18, 2022), and everywhere they held territory, you'd see both the Russian flag and the Soviet Union flag flying side by side. The people Luc interviewed spoke about the Soviet Union with such genuine enthusiasm. It seems like the older generation is passing that obsession down to the youth; I suspect for the elders, it's pure nostalgia, while for the younger ones, it's a belief in some mythical past they never actually lived through, but want to reclaim now.
Besides, even Transnistria feels like a trip back in time to the Soviet Union because of how pervasive that iconography is. It makes sense that they're playing this card, leaning into that idea of a Soviet empire and grandeur under Russian leadership.

I feel like I’ve already mentioned this, but I'll say it again—this war has so many layers.

LinaK, why aren't you typing in standard American English?

Maybe they’re from Canada or Mexico.

According to reports from The Wall Street Journal, Konstantin Kosačev, a Vice Chairman of the Senate, along with Irina Jarovaja, the Deputy Chair of the state legislature, have dropped some absolutely explosive findings on the press during their recent "investigation." They’re planning to release the full, gritty details this Saturday. Their claim? Blood tests conducted on Ukrainian prisoners of war allegedly revealed a "spectrum of illnesses" that point toward nothing less than "secret military experiments" designed to turn these people into dehumanized killing machines.

“The picture is now crystal clear: the sheer cruelty and savagery displayed by the Ukrainian military, the atrocities committed against civilians, and the monstrous treatment of POWs all lead to one conclusion: a system has been engineered to manufacture ruthless killing machines, implemented within Ukraine under the direct supervision of the United States,” Irina Jarovaja told the media. She went even further, asserting that the use of "performance-enhancing drugs" given regularly to the Ukrainian forces serves to completely strip away any remaining traces of human consciousness, transforming them into the most brutal and lethal monsters imaginable,” the official declared.
link

The CIA—how on earth could Putin have known that Ukrainians had been turned into monster soldiers? If he hadn't known, that whole "special military operation" would have been wrapped up in two days exactly as they originally planned.

That footage of Putin waiting around for Erdogan just shows you exactly what we're dealing with: a small, pathetic man who the rest of the world has completely turned its back on. When he used to host the big players, he played those same power games, only much more arrogantly. Now? He’s got nowhere left to go. Nobody wants to play host to him anymore; he’s become a total pariah. The only ones still willing to take his calls are countries like Iran, the USA, Korea, Venezuela, Cuba... basically just a handful of rogue states. This "great" leader, this supposed titan, this "mighty ruler"... there he is, standing in a room, just waiting obediently. Can you imagine a bigger humiliation?

electricstag9 said:According to reports from The Wall Street Journal, Konstantin Kosačev, a Vice Chairman of the Senate, along with Irina Jarovaja, the Deputy Chair of the state legislature, have dropped some absolutely explosive findings on the press during their recent "investigation." They’re planning to release the full, gritty details this Saturday. Their claim? Blood tests conducted on Ukrainian prisoners of war allegedly revealed a "spectrum of illnesses" that point toward nothing less than "secret military experiments" designed to turn these people into dehumanized killing machines.

“The picture is now crystal clear: the sheer cruelty and savagery displayed by the Ukrainian military, the atrocities committed against civilians, and the monstrous treatment of POWs all lead to one conclusion: a system has been engineered to manufacture ruthless killing machines, implemented within Ukraine under the direct supervision of the United States,” Irina Jarovaja told the media. She went even further, asserting that the use of "performance-enhancing drugs" given regularly to the Ukrainian forces serves to completely strip away any remaining traces of human consciousness, transforming them into the most brutal and lethal monsters imaginable,” the official declared.
link

The CIA—how on earth could Putin have known that Ukrainians had been turned into monster soldiers? If he hadn't known, that whole "special military operation" would have been wrapped up in two days exactly as they originally planned.

Honestly, if someone can actually swallow this nonsense—let alone believe it—I have to wonder about their IQ. Are people really just that easily manipulated, swallowing every single thing they see put in front of them?

Donna Wells2 said:Honestly, if someone can actually swallow this nonsense—let alone believe it—I have to wonder about their IQ. Are people really just that easily manipulated, swallowing every single thing they see put in front of them?

They don't necessarily need to be brainwashed. It’s enough just to be an average guy from the Midwest who’s had a few too many shots of bourbon.

Donna Wells2 said:That footage of Putin waiting around for Erdogan just shows you exactly what we're dealing with: a small, pathetic man who the rest of the world has completely turned its back on. When he used to host the big players, he played those same power games, only much more arrogantly. Now? He’s got nowhere left to go. Nobody wants to play host to him anymore; he’s become a total pariah. The only ones still willing to take his calls are countries like Iran, the USA, Korea, Venezuela, Cuba... basically just a handful of rogue states. This "great" leader, this supposed titan, this "mighty ruler"... there he is, standing in a room, just waiting obediently. Can you imagine a bigger humiliation?

☕Yeah, because those countries you mentioned are clearly the shining beacons of democracy and prosperity...

🙂He got exactly what he asked for, and now he can enjoy his rule🤣as a complete loner. He isolated his own country over some stupid moves, and now they're stuck in a 50-year isolation from the rest of the Western world...