Russia's invasion of Ukraine: Part 5

Protests have broken out in Riga following the decision to remove an 80-meter tall Red Army monument.
It was a relatively small gathering, perhaps a few dozen protesters at most. Even then, you had those tiny counter-protests popping up right alongside them.
The demographic reality is that about 27% of the population in Latvia is ethnically Russian.

Timothy Williams5 said:Ukraine is basically trolling the FBI using Natalia Vovk's actual ID.

Now Margaryta Simonyan, Olga Skabeeva, Zakharova, and Kabaeva might as well enlist in the Ukrainian National Guard too.

🤣 🤣

Honestly, this feels like it belongs in the MEME section, but hey, here we go 😁

Here is a summary of the Russian (Soviet) monuments that have been dismantled across Europe since the start of the Russian aggression against Ukraine:

The following have been removed since February 24th:

• On March 23rd, a monument dedicated to Red Army soldiers was taken down in the Polish town of Chrzowice.
• On April 20th, three separate monuments were demolished in the Polish city of Sedlec, along with others in the villages of Garncarsko and Miedzyblotse.
• By April 22nd, a monument honoring Soviet soldiers had been dismantled in Marijampolė, Lithuania.
• On April 26th, a memorial to Soviet troops was removed from the village of Madlīna in Latvia.
• Also on April 26th, the "Soldier" sculpture was removed from a Soviet cemetery in Kaunas, Lithuania.
• On April 27th, a sculpture of a Soviet soldier located at the Kleva cemetery in Kedainiai, Lithuania, was dismantled.
• On May 19th, a Soviet obelisk featuring the hammer and sickle was removed in Palanga, Lithuania.
• On May 20th, a monument to Soviet soldiers was torn down in Merkin, Lithuania.
• On July 5th, the Monument to the Soviet Liberators was dismantled in Klaipėda, Lithuania.
• On August 7th, a monument dedicated to the builders of the Narva power plants in Estonia was destroyed.
• On August 8th, the "Peace in the World" monument in Helsinki—which was a gift from Moscow back in 1989 and unveiled the following year—was removed.
• In Narva, Estonia, on August 16th, several items were cleared from public spaces, including commemorative plaques at Petrovsky Square, an obelisk to Red Army soldiers in the Narva Castle park, the Igor Grafov monument, the Three Bayonets monument, and a T-34 tank. Additionally, a monument to a Soviet landing was demolished in the Merikul area.

https://www.agents.media/monuments/

Americans have funneled over $25 million into support efforts for Ukraine. In a poignant gesture, many contributors chose amounts like $1,968 to honor the memory of when their own nation faced foreign occupation decades ago.
In observance of the anniversary of the Soviet occupation, most people sent donations specifically totaling $1,968 or $68.

Last week, the initiative Zbraněproukrajinu.cz encouraged Americans to transfer symbolic amounts tied to the anniversary of the 1968 occupation directly to the Ukrainian Embassy. The campaign’s rallying cry was "Return to them..." Some donors even included deeply personal messages with their contributions. One such note read: “Putin, this is from me and my parents. Back then, they were young and just wanted to live life to the fullest...”

About 14,000 people took part in this humanitarian drive. Most opted for the $1,968 mark, though there were donations of $68, $196.80, and even $19,680. Following discussions with the defense ministries of both nations, these funds are slated to be used for procurement of military equipment for the Ukrainian armed forces.

"Americans and those who lived through the 1968 occupation themselves understand the tragedy facing the Ukrainian people as they confront Russian aggression. With the backing of our closest partners—which undoubtedly includes the United States—Ukraine can repel Russian attacks and defend its right to live in freedom and democracy," remarked Vitaliy Usatiy, an advisor at the Embassy of Ukraine.
https://babel.ua/en/news/83282-the-c...-their-country

The "Ministry of Interior" in Donetsk has taken a direct hit from shelling.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fa1mQOoW...jpg&name=large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fa1mQOKW...jpg&name=large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fa1kpYeW...jpg&name=large
https://twitter.com/wartranslated/st...DB07mqnF_0Ofbg

rowdytiger13 said:Free, multi-party elections. "Free" is the operative word here.
In a country where the opposition is strictly managed and anyone else is branded a foreign agent and thrown in jail, that kind of thing simply doesn't exist.
Putin would be better off just declaring himself president for life like Xi Jinping and stopping this whole charade.

Under capitalism, elections might be multi-party, but they aren't exactly free.

Timothy Williams5 said:The "Ministry of Interior" in Donetsk has taken a direct hit from shelling.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fa1mQOoW...jpg&name=large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fa1mQOKW...jpg&name=large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fa1kpYeW...jpg&name=large
https://twitter.com/wartranslated/st...DB07mqnF_0Ofbg

Oh, no. 🕺

nimbleviper3 said:Not necessarily.

By that logic, if you have multi-party elections in Russia, does that mean it isn't a dictatorship? 😁

A question for you Google experts: how much time did you actually spend living in that "dictatorship" before we finally wrap up this off-topic nonsense? 😁

Feel free to give up your right to vote if you want. I'm keeping mine.

casualcrane20 said:Under capitalism, elections might be multi-party, but they aren't exactly free.

And in what way, according to you, would elections in a place like America fail to be free?

casualcrane20 said:Under capitalism, elections might be multi-party, but they aren't exactly free.

😁man, listen to this,,,🙂maybe try actually reading some books about elections—at least regarding the West. You don't need them for dictatorships...🤣

casualcrane20 said:Under capitalism, elections might be multi-party, but they aren't exactly free.

Edgy. 🤣

Even some 13-year-old kid with a Che Guevara sticker on his iPhone wouldn't write it better than that...

Kate Cook27 said:That’s exactly why they push that angle: the idea that Ukrainians are second-class citizens. They argue they aren't a distinct nation, just a subset of Russians—and even then, they claim Russians are the elite descendants of princes while the others are just "primitive, provincial peasants" who lack intelligence and need "education." Some extremists from those so-called republics have even gone as far as calling for the total elimination of every "traitor" until the very end.
Where Putin is taking Russia is the direct result of his own hand. For years, his main goal has been crafting this image of a massive, powerful Russia under siege from all sides, positioning himself as the sole protector. He brought stability, especially to those haunted by the chaos following the collapse of the USSR. Out of fear that those dark days might return, people cling to Putin—because in unstable times, you pick what feels familiar. There's this constant, pervasive fear of an "external enemy" in Russia, and that fear makes it nearly impossible to see that the "protector" is actually the threat. Of course, while keeping the public in a state of perpetual anxiety, Putin worked hard to build his persona as a strongman through repression—silencing any opponent, whether they were politicians, journalists, or anyone else. Anyone capable of cracking that image was taken out. Personally, I think anyone truly dangerous to him is already dead, and those who are still around stayed alive for a reason. I don't really see Navalny as "opposition" in the traditional sense—he survived as long as he did for a reason. He simply wanted more than what he was allowed to have.
Putin has fully merged with the role now; I don't think he can tell where the man ends and the mask begins. Every public appearance is pure theater—he’s just playing the part. I don't see a bright future for Russia. You have to wonder about the youth—the ones who didn't live through the mess of the 1990s. They might not remember it, but their parents certainly do, and they’ve passed that trauma down. That's why so many young people in Russia are falling into an even deeper hole, and once that hole runs out, there's nothing left but the abyss.

Well, duh, they obviously want to tear it down. The whole NATO thing is basically just an anti-Russia project anyway; if things were different, they would’ve even let Russia join...

Kate Cook27 said:That’s exactly why they push that angle: the idea that Ukrainians are second-class citizens. They argue they aren't a distinct nation, just a subset of Russians—and even then, they claim Russians are the elite descendants of princes while the others are just "primitive, provincial peasants" who lack intelligence and need "education." Some extremists from those so-called republics have even gone as far as calling for the total elimination of every "traitor" until the very end.
Where Putin is taking Russia is the direct result of his own hand. For years, his main goal has been crafting this image of a massive, powerful Russia under siege from all sides, positioning himself as the sole protector. He brought stability, especially to those haunted by the chaos following the collapse of the USSR. Out of fear that those dark days might return, people cling to Putin—because in unstable times, you pick what feels familiar. There's this constant, pervasive fear of an "external enemy" in Russia, and that fear makes it nearly impossible to see that the "protector" is actually the threat. Of course, while keeping the public in a state of perpetual anxiety, Putin worked hard to build his persona as a strongman through repression—silencing any opponent, whether they were politicians, journalists, or anyone else. Anyone capable of cracking that image was taken out. Personally, I think anyone truly dangerous to him is already dead, and those who are still around stayed alive for a reason. I don't really see Navalny as "opposition" in the traditional sense—he survived as long as he did for a reason. He simply wanted more than what he was allowed to have.
Putin has fully merged with the role now; I don't think he can tell where the man ends and the mask begins. Every public appearance is pure theater—he’s just playing the part. I don't see a bright future for Russia. You have to wonder about the youth—the ones who didn't live through the mess of the 1990s. They might not remember it, but their parents certainly do, and they’ve passed that trauma down. That's why so many young people in Russia are falling into an even deeper hole, and once that hole runs out, there's nothing left but the abyss.

So Putin is basically the dam holding back the communists, who are the only real alternative to the current world order... and somehow, he's actually playing a pro-Western role in his own way...

Melissa Gray2 said:Well, duh, they obviously want to tear it down. The whole NATO thing is basically just an anti-Russia project anyway; if things were different, they would’ve even let Russia join...

So Putin is basically the dam holding back the communists, who are the only real alternative to the current world order... and somehow, he's actually playing a pro-Western role in his own way...

That’s why people wonder why the West keeps buying from Russia. They continue trading everything under the sun, which is pure madness. If your goal is to destroy an enemy, you don't hand them billions through trade deals and investments. There isn't a more illogical way to fund someone you're trying to take down. ☕

Melissa Gray2 said:Well, duh, they obviously want to tear it down. The whole NATO thing is basically just an anti-Russia project anyway; if things were different, they would’ve even let Russia join...

So Putin is basically the dam holding back the communists, who are the only real alternative to the current world order... and somehow, he's actually playing a pro-Western role in his own way...

Putin is just a hardcore modern-day communist.

Melissa Gray2 said:Well, duh, they obviously want to tear it down. The whole NATO thing is basically just an anti-Russia project anyway; if things were different, they would’ve even let Russia join...

So Putin is basically the dam holding back the communists, who are the only real alternative to the current world order... and somehow, he's actually playing a pro-Western role in his own way...

Look, Russia never even showed any real interest in joining NATO. Everyone knows how that works—NATO doesn't just come knocking on your door and invite you over; you have to be the one to submit the application.

And if NATO wasn't looking for better relations, they definitely wouldn't have signed that Partnership for Peace agreement with Russia, or that cooperation treaty that stayed in effect right up until the annexation of Crimea.

hollowdriver13 said:Look, Russia never even showed any real interest in joining NATO. Everyone knows how that works—NATO doesn't just come knocking on your door and invite you over; you have to be the one to submit the application.

And if NATO wasn't looking for better relations, they definitely wouldn't have signed that Partnership for Peace agreement with Russia, or that cooperation treaty that stayed in effect right up until the annexation of Crimea.

And what about those regular NATO-Russia meetings?
Russia was a NATO partner and was practically one step away from becoming a member.

I lost the link, but here’s the gist from some news reports out of Russia—apparently ammo depots over in the Belgorod Oblast are blowing up because of some "lens effect" nonsense.

"The Governor of Belgorod announced that ammunition spontaneously ignited due to a 'lens effect'."

So, Vyacheslav Gladkov, the Governor of Belgorod Oblast, posted on his Telegram channel claiming that near the town of Timonov, some ammo just spontaneously combusted, and even the bomb squads couldn't get it under control after the warehouse fire started.

"Because of the intense heat—basically a lens effect kicking in—ammunition near the village of Timonov caught fire spontaneously, and our specialists haven't been able to neutralize it yet," the official wrote.

He went on to say that nobody was killed in the blast, but since they wanted to play it safe with the locals, the head of the Valuyki district organized transport to move everyone from the nearby areas over to the Krasnaya Polyana resort.

Timothy Williams5 said:The "Ministry of Interior" in Donetsk has taken a direct hit from shelling.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fa1mQOoW...jpg&name=large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fa1mQOKW...jpg&name=large
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fa1kpYeW...jpg&name=large
https://twitter.com/wartranslated/st...DB07mqnF_0Ofbg

People are joking that even Denis Pushilin has switched over to smoking Russian cigarettes 🕺—funny how things change.

goldenowl73 said:A good friend of mine actually lost track of some elderly folks during the siege of Mariupol. They went totally dark, and even after the city fell, there was nothing. Everyone just assumed the worst and thought they were gone. Then, about a month later, they suddenly resurfaced from Primorsky Krai in the Far East, where they had been held for maybe two weeks. After that, they were shuttled off to Donetsk by train, somehow made it to Zaporizhzhia from there, and now they've finally reached Kyiv. Honestly, even they can't make heads or tails of why anyone would bother dragging senior citizens halfway across the world like that. The whole odyssey lasted over a month.

😢. Pure terror. Even the elderly are being forced through filtration camps. But I guess that's what happens when they claim everyone—from kids to the elderly—is a Nazi.

Check out this shot of 15-year-old Darya Dugina back in 2007, caught at one of her dad’s black-clad organization protests. Talk about being indoctrinated from such a young age!

Vladimir Mashatin, a well-known Russian photographer, was digging through his archives and stumbled upon this old photo of Darya Dugina when she was just fifteen. https://t.co/14cnR7lBPz

Aleksandr Dugin claims her "very first words" were basically just "Russia," "our nation," and "our Empire."