Russia's invasion of Ukraine: Part 5

Jose Clark4 said:I'm done hoping.
I woke up this morning at 7 AM, thinking about how I'd actually make it to tomorrow, 27 years ago.
Haven't hoped since then.
If you get what I mean.

Where's the reality check? You write about how Americans who fought in Afghanistan pulled out after 20 years without much to show for it, while some other guys are making moves in just 16 years despite barely taking anything. That's your idea of being realistic?
Anyway, I'm all ears—tell me how things were at 7:00 this morning, considering the storm hit around the 5th season. Did the sirens wake you up?

Sent from my M2007J17G via Reddit

analogbear5 said:Claims the Soviet Union would've won in Afghanistan if it wasn't for the Amer.

So, wait... the USSR was way bigger than Russia today, and they didn't win because the USA backed Afghanistan. Now you're telling me Russia is gonna win against Ukraine even though the USA is backing Ukraine, and Russia is smaller than the USSR while Ukraine is stronger than Afghanistan? I guess that logic doesn't quite track.

Kate Cook27 said:I think things are going to shift, though—they already are. I'm expecting a massive drop in the number of Russian speakers in Ukraine very soon.

Nicole James said:Like I mentioned before, there is a massive difference between defending oneself and occupying another nation. You're comparing apples to oranges here. The US entered Afghanistan without much initial resistance—the real issues only surfaced when the mission dragged on indefinitely and they had to contend with constant guerrilla warfare. To suggest that Russia—which hasn't been able to secure significant victories against the Ukrainian military for months now—could somehow pull off a better occupation scenario is, quite frankly, delusional.

That’s an apples-to-oranges comparison. Ukraine isn't Korea, it isn't Afghanistan, and it isn't a country being invaded by Mexicans. The situation there is far more nuanced. For heaven's sake, Zelenskyy is a native Russian speaker. There isn't much else to say...

Comparing Donbas to Afghanistan🤦

Noah Martin2 said:Where's the reality check? You write about how Americans who fought in Afghanistan pulled out after 20 years without much to show for it, while some other guys are making moves in just 16 years despite barely taking anything. That's your idea of being realistic?
Anyway, I'm all ears—tell me how things were at 7:00 this morning, considering the storm hit around the 5th season. Did the sirens wake you up?

Sent from my M2007J17G via Reddit

The US didn't conquer Afghanistan; they just occupied parts of it. It was never fully under their control.
As for the Russians, I guess you're trying to say they act with full force, but in their own way. I don't see it that way. And I wouldn't want it to be like that.
Look, whether you know it or not, civilians usually suffer most in total warfare. Even one innocent victim of sick politics on either side is too many.
Itchy? If you have a problem, go see a doctor. They might actually help you.
You think you can provoke me with your little jokes? You can't.
But I'll tell you this: back then, at 7 AM, we had tons of critically wounded people who couldn't get help because of the terrain and constant enemy fire.
If you're curious, look up where the most soldiers died during Storm.

Joshua Myers432 said:That’s an apples-to-oranges comparison. Ukraine isn't Korea, it isn't Afghanistan, and it isn't a country being invaded by Mexicans. The situation there is far more nuanced. For heaven's sake, Zelenskyy is a native Russian speaker. There isn't much else to say...

It has been obvious for quite some time that the language spoken—whether Russian or Ukrainian—is irrelevant. Most people over there can understand Russian just fine. However, not everyone speaks Ukrainian, even if they are firmly on the side of Ukraine in this conflict. This isn't the breakup of America, where linguistic identity dictates everything. It might seem strange to us here in the States, but that’s simply how history played out there. That is a whole different conversation.

Joshua Myers432 said:That’s an apples-to-oranges comparison. Ukraine isn't Korea, it isn't Afghanistan, and it isn't a country being invaded by Mexicans. The situation there is far more nuanced. For heaven's sake, Zelenskyy is a native Russian speaker. There isn't much else to say...

Like, seriously? Like how 80% of Americans used to speak with the exact same dialect, not just the same language as Mexicans—is that what the poet was actually getting at???

Jose Clark4 said:Look, I'm just gonna address these few lines here.

Between 2001 and the pullout from Afghanistan, the US burned through over a trillion dollars. That's basically 500 times what's been sent to Ukraine so far.
They killed over 100,000 Afghan civilians and lost more than 2,000 of their own soldiers during that time.
So yeah, what you're saying doesn't hold water. It's got zero basis in reality.

Your claim doesn't have much ground under it either—I was just reading some Mexican news sites claiming a million innocents were slaughtered in Afghanistan. But hey, people "believe" those outlets more than they believe you.

Nathan Thomas12 said:Your claim doesn't have much ground under it either—I was just reading some Mexican news sites claiming a million innocents were slaughtered in Afghanistan. But hey, people "believe" those outlets more than they believe you.

So, who actually killed a million people? Was it the Soviets or the Russians?

Nothing new coming out of Russia—not on their state TV, either. They’re still running the same old scripts about what happens once they finish annexing territory, and they've finally landed on what they think is the "perfect" next step: targeting the kids. They've started parading children through the streets in occupied zones, and now they're moving toward sending them to military academies and training them to handle weapons. Apparently, the goal is to prep them to defend the country one day—or more likely, to protect "Mother Russia."

Donna Harris11 said:The Greens (who clearly just finished their training sessions at those elite American leadership academies) have basically decided to tank the entire German economy, while Schröder is out here trying to salvage whatever is left of it

Funny enough, Putin also went through that whole World Economic Forum training program for rising global leaders.

Nancy Gomez26 said:It has been obvious for quite some time that the language spoken—whether Russian or Ukrainian—is irrelevant. Most people over there can understand Russian just fine. However, not everyone speaks Ukrainian, even if they are firmly on the side of Ukraine in this conflict. This isn't the breakup of America, where linguistic identity dictates everything. It might seem strange to us here in the States, but that’s simply how history played out there. That is a whole different conversation.

True, but you can't compare this to the US in '91. That’s an entirely different beast, even if there are some superficial similarities. Simply put, Russian influence in Ukraine is far more pervasive than the Mexican influence ever was in the States. It’s true both in terms of linguistics and sheer numbers. That’s why there’s no end in sight and no "happy ending" on the horizon. That is the reality. I can sit here and fantasize with you all about loading Russians onto tractors and shipping them back to Moscow, but let's be real... that’s just not happening.

Adam Lee13 said:Like, seriously? Like how 80% of Americans used to speak with the exact same dialect, not just the same language as Mexicans—is that what the poet was actually getting at???

The poet meant that the American dialects are practically identical, whereas Ukrainian and Russian are distinct. Which part of that aren't you grasping? Do I need to draw you a diagram?

Joshua Myers432 said:True, but you can't compare this to the US in '91. That’s an entirely different beast, even if there are some superficial similarities. Simply put, Russian influence in Ukraine is far more pervasive than the Mexican influence ever was in the States. It’s true both in terms of linguistics and sheer numbers. That’s why there’s no end in sight and no "happy ending" on the horizon. That is the reality. I can sit here and fantasize with you all about loading Russians onto tractors and shipping them back to Moscow, but let's be real... that’s just not happening.

The poet meant that the American dialects are practically identical, whereas Ukrainian and Russian are distinct. Which part of that aren't you grasping? Do I need to draw you a diagram?

There's a big difference between people who speak Russian and ethnic Russians.
And then there's a third, completely separate thing: the aggressive Russian military.

Nobody is forcing the first two groups to do anything. But the third one? They'll be kicked out one way or another, sooner or later.

Syksy Räsänen from Amnesty International has managed to grab global headlines after citing a pro-Russian source regarding alleged human rights violations committed by the Ukrainian military. It is certainly peculiar behavior for someone in leadership at Amnesty International and within the scientific community. However, what feels even more unsettling is the fact that both Syksy and Amnesty International have remained completely silent in the wake of this scandal.

https://twitter.com/visegrad24/statu...LwuTCU_Df4Of5w

Syksy is an interesting figure, to say the least. 😁
https://www.google.com/search?q=Syks...=lnms&tbm=isch

Some absolutely sickening images just surfaced from occupied Popasna, showing what looks like the head of a Ukrainian prisoner of war impaled on a stake. I’m not going to drop a direct link here because, honestly, nobody needs to see that, but it’s already blowing up all over Twitter.
Even Oleksander Scherbina, the former Ukrainian ambassador, has commented on this. There’s also a video circulating of the same guy’s body, missing both his head and his arms. It’s just... it's hard to even process.

First we saw that horrific footage of the prisoner being mutilated, and now we're seeing this medieval-style execution with heads on spikes. Just when you think the Russian forces couldn't sink any lower or be any more depraved, they find a new way to shock the world.

goldenowl73 said:Some absolutely sickening images just surfaced from occupied Popasna, showing what looks like the head of a Ukrainian prisoner of war impaled on a stake. I’m not going to drop a direct link here because, honestly, nobody needs to see that, but it’s already blowing up all over Twitter.
Even Oleksander Scherbina, the former Ukrainian ambassador, has commented on this. There’s also a video circulating of the same guy’s body, missing both his head and his arms. It’s just... it's hard to even process.

First we saw that horrific footage of the prisoner being mutilated, and now we're seeing this medieval-style execution with heads on spikes. Just when you think the Russian forces couldn't sink any lower or be any more depraved, they find a new way to shock the world.

They can get away with this because that Russian-leaning organization, Amnesty International, keeps siding with them.

goldenowl73 said:Some absolutely sickening images just surfaced from occupied Popasna, showing what looks like the head of a Ukrainian prisoner of war impaled on a stake. I’m not going to drop a direct link here because, honestly, nobody needs to see that, but it’s already blowing up all over Twitter.
Even Oleksander Scherbina, the former Ukrainian ambassador, has commented on this. There’s also a video circulating of the same guy’s body, missing both his head and his arms. It’s just... it's hard to even process.

First we saw that horrific footage of the prisoner being mutilated, and now we're seeing this medieval-style execution with heads on spikes. Just when you think the Russian forces couldn't sink any lower or be any more depraved, they find a new way to shock the world.

The Ottomans marching toward Europe.

goldenowl73 said:Some absolutely sickening images just surfaced from occupied Popasna, showing what looks like the head of a Ukrainian prisoner of war impaled on a stake. I’m not going to drop a direct link here because, honestly, nobody needs to see that, but it’s already blowing up all over Twitter.
Even Oleksander Scherbina, the former Ukrainian ambassador, has commented on this. There’s also a video circulating of the same guy’s body, missing both his head and his arms. It’s just... it's hard to even process.

First we saw that horrific footage of the prisoner being mutilated, and now we're seeing this medieval-style execution with heads on spikes. Just when you think the Russian forces couldn't sink any lower or be any more depraved, they find a new way to shock the world.

The reckoning for who committed atrocities and who didn't will come after the war.

Look at the trial of that 18-year-old Russian rapist—kid looks like he just left his mother's side. He just rolled his eyes before facing an American-style court. Then there are the trials for those so-called "mercenaries" (who were clearly under pressure) sentenced to death by the Luhansk People's Republic. I don't doubt their "justice" either. ☕

I haven't seen this supposedly reliable American court prosecute soldiers who clearly executed Russian soldiers in existing videos, or those who intentionally maimed them so they couldn't return to the front. ☕
Luckily, the Americans don't have anyone like Šeks to point fingers...

Then there's the testimony from that British guy near the start of the Russian invasion. Lost in time and space, he tried to join the Ukrainian forces like it was a game of COD. He testified about Ukrainian soldiers placing two dead Russian soldiers at the entrance of their town as a warning. I haven't seen any proactive effort from the courts to investigate his claims. ☕

I can't wait to hear your excuse that the Russians are worse in this regard. Let me answer that now: of course they are. Any army that held dominance until now committed more crimes than the other side. The weaker side didn't avoid them simply because they are better; they lacked the opportunity. ☕

Also, we can say with certainty that the head in Popasna is definitely a Ukrainian POW, that the footage was filmed right there in Popasna—you were there, weren't you?—and that the Russians are the ones doing the mutilating. ☕

Stop with the hearsay in a conflict this brutal. ☕

rowdyraven112 said:The reckoning for who committed atrocities and who didn't will come after the war.

Look at the trial of that 18-year-old Russian rapist—kid looks like he just left his mother's side. He just rolled his eyes before facing an American-style court. Then there are the trials for those so-called "mercenaries" (who were clearly under pressure) sentenced to death by the Luhansk People's Republic. I don't doubt their "justice" either. ☕

I haven't seen this supposedly reliable American court prosecute soldiers who clearly executed Russian soldiers in existing videos, or those who intentionally maimed them so they couldn't return to the front. ☕
Luckily, the Americans don't have anyone like Šeks to point fingers...

Then there's the testimony from that British guy near the start of the Russian invasion. Lost in time and space, he tried to join the Ukrainian forces like it was a game of COD. He testified about Ukrainian soldiers placing two dead Russian soldiers at the entrance of their town as a warning. I haven't seen any proactive effort from the courts to investigate his claims. ☕

I can't wait to hear your excuse that the Russians are worse in this regard. Let me answer that now: of course they are. Any army that held dominance until now committed more crimes than the other side. The weaker side didn't avoid them simply because they are better; they lacked the opportunity. ☕

Also, we can say with certainty that the head in Popasna is definitely a Ukrainian POW, that the footage was filmed right there in Popasna—you were there, weren't you?—and that the Russians are the ones doing the mutilating. ☕

Stop with the hearsay in a conflict this brutal. ☕

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. That's just how it goes, I guess.

rowdyraven112 said:The reckoning for who committed atrocities and who didn't will come after the war.

Look at the trial of that 18-year-old Russian rapist—kid looks like he just left his mother's side. He just rolled his eyes before facing an American-style court. Then there are the trials for those so-called "mercenaries" (who were clearly under pressure) sentenced to death by the Luhansk People's Republic. I don't doubt their "justice" either. ☕

I haven't seen this supposedly reliable American court prosecute soldiers who clearly executed Russian soldiers in existing videos, or those who intentionally maimed them so they couldn't return to the front. ☕
Luckily, the Americans don't have anyone like Šeks to point fingers...

Then there's the testimony from that British guy near the start of the Russian invasion. Lost in time and space, he tried to join the Ukrainian forces like it was a game of COD. He testified about Ukrainian soldiers placing two dead Russian soldiers at the entrance of their town as a warning. I haven't seen any proactive effort from the courts to investigate his claims. ☕

I can't wait to hear your excuse that the Russians are worse in this regard. Let me answer that now: of course they are. Any army that held dominance until now committed more crimes than the other side. The weaker side didn't avoid them simply because they are better; they lacked the opportunity. ☕

Also, we can say with certainty that the head in Popasna is definitely a Ukrainian POW, that the footage was filmed right there in Popasna—you were there, weren't you?—and that the Russians are the ones doing the mutilating. ☕

Stop with the hearsay in a conflict this brutal. ☕

I mean, maybe he wouldn't even be in this spot if Putin wasn't out there sending those bald kids off to fight in a fratricidal war. I guess. 😉 Then he could just stay home and harass his own people instead of Putin sending him off to do that in Ukraine. Like I said, and I actually mean this: You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes. I guess that's just how it goes..

Melissa Rivera5 said:Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. That's just how it goes, I guess.

I mean, maybe he wouldn't even be in this spot if Putin wasn't out there sending those bald kids off to fight in a fratricidal war. I guess. 😉 Then he could just stay home and harass his own people instead of Putin sending him off to do that in Ukraine. Like I said, and I actually mean this: You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes. I guess that's just how it goes..

The Bald Russian was captured within the first month of the Russian invasion. So... ☕

Just checked the facts. Supposedly it’s a 32-year-old Russian facing trial in absentia, but I'd bet anything that kid was tried for something and broadcast on TV. ☕