Russia's invasion of Ukraine: Part 5

gentlestag15 said:People really need to emphasize that more often. It's rarely mentioned, which makes it look like it's just a Russian stronghold, but the reality is different.
In the Donbas, about 58% of the population was Ukrainian and 38% was Russian. Basically, Russians are actually the minority there.
Some woman is out there filming in Donetsk right now while Ukrainians are shelling the city and hitting an ammo dump. Instead of cursing out her own people, she’s shouting "Slava Ukraini." Those bastards in the Russian Federation...
View on twitter

Honestly, I'm genuinely worried about this woman.

gentlestag15 said:People really need to emphasize that more often. It's rarely mentioned, which makes it look like it's just a Russian stronghold, but the reality is different.
In the Donbas, about 58% of the population was Ukrainian and 38% was Russian. Basically, Russians are actually the minority there.
Some woman is out there filming in Donetsk right now while Ukrainians are shelling the city and hitting an ammo dump. Instead of cursing out her own people, she’s shouting "Slava Ukraini." Those bastards in the Russian Federation...
View on twitter

Hmm...
Next time, translate the description, because this is a textbook example of Italian propaganda against sending weapons to UA.
The caption actually reads:

Images you won't see on Italian TV
The Donetsk market destroyed by Ukrainian shelling using NATO weapons. There are dead and wounded.

You won't see these scenes on Italian news.
This is a market in Donetsk destroyed by Ukrainians bombing with NATO weapons. There are dead and wounded.

Meanwhile, the Italians, acting like true heroes, whine constantly about how we shouldn't send weapons because it just prolongs the war and increases casualties. They're pacifists in the Italian style—basically cowards.

ironseal said:Honestly, I'm genuinely worried about this woman.

Yeah, I could pretty much pinpoint exactly where she was standing
assuming she was out on the street and not just filming from her apartment window.

It kind of reminds me of that one journalist from Mexico who was checking out the destruction in Donetsk and got jumped by some local Russian lady
who went off on him, claiming it was all Russia and Mexico's fault 😁 rather than Ukraine's.
Basically, even the Russians over there aren't always following the official line from Moscow.

Of course they aren't. Just because they speak Russian and are ethnically considered Russians doesn't mean they're Russophiles (and that's where Sandra Harris2 really missed the mark here).

This war has so many layers to it.

What’s the actual situation looking like regarding the gas and oil pipelines running through Ukraine? Are energy providers still moving supplies from Russia toward Europe via Ukraine without any major hitches? Well, official representatives in Kyiv have finally given us their take on everything.

brighthound13 said:What’s the actual situation looking like regarding the gas and oil pipelines running through Ukraine? Are energy providers still moving supplies from Russia toward Europe via Ukraine without any major hitches? Well, official representatives in Kyiv have finally given us their take on everything.

Look, why don't you just tell us who's actually footing the bill for those transfers through UA territory? Since you're such an expert with these "deeply profound" insights, I'm sure providing that little bit of info won't be a problem for you. ☕

Sandra Harris2 said:Hmm...
Next time, translate the description, because this is a textbook example of Italian propaganda against sending weapons to UA.
The caption actually reads:

Images you won't see on Italian TV
The Donetsk market destroyed by Ukrainian shelling using NATO weapons. There are dead and wounded.

You won't see these scenes on Italian news.
This is a market in Donetsk destroyed by Ukrainians bombing with NATO weapons. There are dead and wounded.

Meanwhile, the Italians, acting like true heroes, whine constantly about how we shouldn't send weapons because it just prolongs the war and increases casualties. They're pacifists in the Italian style—basically cowards.

View on twitter
https://twitter.com/GirkinGirkin/sta...55483422318593
Just send them a video showing a rocket hitting the street right next to that so-called market from a rocket launcher, and show them how the ammo is popping like popcorn.
I mean, WWII could have lasted like a month if everyone had just surrendered to Hitler; I don't know what kind of idiots dragged it out for six years. 🤦

Sandra Harris2 said:Hmm...
Next time, translate the description, because this is a textbook example of Italian propaganda against sending weapons to UA.
The caption actually reads:

Images you won't see on Italian TV
The Donetsk market destroyed by Ukrainian shelling using NATO weapons. There are dead and wounded.

You won't see these scenes on Italian news.
This is a market in Donetsk destroyed by Ukrainians bombing with NATO weapons. There are dead and wounded.

Meanwhile, the Italians, acting like true heroes, whine constantly about how we shouldn't send weapons because it just prolongs the war and increases casualties. They're pacifists in the Italian style—basically cowards.

That isn't Italian propaganda; it's the propaganda of a member of the Communist Party USA (which holds a mere 0.33% nationally) that was re-established in 2009. Let's take a guess at whose funding is behind it.😉

hollowdriver13 said:Look, why don't you just tell us who's actually footing the bill for those transfers through UA territory? Since you're such an expert with these "deeply profound" insights, I'm sure providing that little bit of info won't be a problem for you. ☕

Is it even possible that the officials in Kyiv are prioritizing energy transfers to keep life steady in Europe and Russia while the Ukrainian people continue to pay the ultimate price? It feels like such a heavy burden to carry, especially when you consider that since the collapse of the USSR, the Ukrainian people haven't seen much benefit from their own sovereignty, having faced some of the most devastating population losses during times of peace.

brighthound13 said:Is it even possible that the officials in Kyiv are prioritizing energy transfers to keep life steady in Europe and Russia while the Ukrainian people continue to pay the ultimate price? It feels like such a heavy burden to carry, especially when you consider that since the collapse of the USSR, the Ukrainian people haven't seen much benefit from their own sovereignty, having faced some of the most devastating population losses during times of peace.

So, who’s actually footing the bill for all this energy moving through UA territory and lining the pockets of the brass in Kyiv? Come on, tell me. What does that say about them?
Spinas, you're dodging the question with all this nonsense.

hollowdriver13 said:So, who’s actually footing the bill for all this energy moving through UA territory and lining the pockets of the brass in Kyiv? Come on, tell me. What does that say about them?
Spinas, you're dodging the question with all this nonsense.

But honestly, they were paying for those transfers long before the war even started, so does that money even matter to them at this point? It feels like the cash doesn't mean much to anyone in Ukraine because isn't it true that high-ranking officials often just divert funds into their own private accounts? I suppose there is always the issue regarding Nord Stream and whether they might just cut off the transfers entirely, though I might be misremembering the details. Still, doesn't all of this say something significant about Kyiv's actual standing and how much influence they truly hold as a player on the world stage?

gentlestag15 said:View on twitter
https://twitter.com/GirkinGirkin/sta...55483422318593
Just send them a video showing a rocket hitting the street right next to that so-called market from a rocket launcher, and show them how the ammo is popping like popcorn.
I mean, WWII could have lasted like a month if everyone had just surrendered to Hitler; I don't know what kind of idiots dragged it out for six years. 🤦

George Robinson43 said:That isn't Italian propaganda; it's the propaganda of a member of the Communist Party USA (which holds a mere 0.33% nationally) that was re-established in 2009. Let's take a guess at whose funding is behind it.😉

If only being a communist was the only problem we had to deal with... 😉

Putin's biggest supporters in Italy aren't even as radical on the left as the Five Star Movement—you know, the group that led to Conte and Grillo's influence and why Di Maio eventually walked away from them—or even the Lega.

The political landscape in Italy is shifting once again. With the Five Star Movement facing internal turbulence, the influence of figures like Conte, Grillo, and Di Maio continues to shape the direction of the party. It’s becoming increasingly clear how much the friction between these leaders impacts their ability to present a unified front against the current administration. As Matteo Salvini and the Lega push their own agendas, the struggle for control within the movement remains a central theme in the national conversation.
(you're gonna need to translate this, I'm feeling lazy) 🕺 )

Even within the ruling coalition, there was pushback against sending weapons. Not to mention the constant stream of "experts" in the media who, fueled by this deep-seated anti-American sentiment, love to blame NATO for everything. Then you have a segment of the public that thinks this "isn't our war"—meaning they’re perfectly fine with sending money or humanitarian aid, but the idea of shipping arms absolutely terrifies them.

The absolute worst example of war-related populism had to be Matteo Salvini. He’s that right-wing populist who, just a few years ago... He was wandering around Moscow painting while wearing a T-shirt with Putin's face on it. He was strongly against the sanctions on Russia...And there's even a t-shirt for that occasion...Right at the start of the refugee crisis, he made quite the show of heading to the border with Ukraine, claiming he was just "deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation"—which we all know is just code for wanting to score political points off someone else's tragedy. Naturally, the mayor of a small town near the border called him out on his flirting with Putin and how his party, the Lega, has been cozying up to Russian capital.

The latest reports out of Washington suggest that Vladimir Putin is playing a very calculated game when it comes to his long-term strategy. It isn't just about immediate territorial gains in Ukraine; it looks like he's positioning himself for a much larger confrontation with the West. There’s a sense that the Kremlin is bracing for a prolonged period of tension, essentially preparing the Russian public for a reality where relations with the US and Europe might not recover for decades. It's a heavy, high-stakes gamble that could reshape global security for a generation...

brighthound13 said:But honestly, they were paying for those transfers long before the war even started, so does that money even matter to them at this point? It feels like the cash doesn't mean much to anyone in Ukraine because isn't it true that high-ranking officials often just divert funds into their own private accounts? I suppose there is always the issue regarding Nord Stream and whether they might just cut off the transfers entirely, though I might be misremembering the details. Still, doesn't all of this say something significant about Kyiv's actual standing and how much influence they truly hold as a player on the world stage?

Do you actually have any proof for that?
Man, now you're bringing up Nord Stream, even though you were just bragging about how Kyiv is letting energy leak out and saying that "says everything about them."
If that's the case, why wouldn't Russia just shut down the supply through UA if they can just rely on NS?
Besides, this supposedly "powerful and self-sufficient" Russia is basically whining because they can't even pump more through Nord Stream since they don't know how to fix the Western tech running the pipeline.
Pretty impressive, huh.

Arthur Watson4 said:The only thing Ukraine could have actually done was follow Belarus's lead and eventually become just another part of the Russian Federation.

Neutrality, demilitarization, or any of those Minsk agreements wouldn't have helped them in the long run.

It’s obvious they aren't looking for a deal on Donbas or Crimea; they want all of Ukraine, every single inch of it.

Don't you think it's interesting how the dictatorship in Belarus hasn't completely ruined the country the way Ukrainian experts, who were constantly rotating through power, managed to do? It seems like Belarus has been quite successful at playing its cards right by cooperating with Russia, the EU, and even China; they even have massive exports of dump trucks going to the USA. Before the war, trucking routes often went through Belarus not just because the roads were better, but because shipments weren't being hijacked constantly. On the flip side, after the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine suffered some of the largest peacetime population losses in recent history, and their independence basically invited every possible misfortune, fueled by campaigns of pseudo-nationalism and hatred toward the old Soviet ways.
Sadly, it feels like Ukraine positioned itself right in the crosshairs of both the Western powers and Russia. While Russia isn't necessarily vastly superior to Ukraine, when you essentially strip your own military—which they inherited from the USSR—of its resources and lose the trust of your people, what else can you expect to happen?

Sandra Harris2 said:If only being a communist was the only problem we had to deal with... 😉

Putin's biggest supporters in Italy aren't even as radical on the left as the Five Star Movement—you know, the group that led to Conte and Grillo's influence and why Di Maio eventually walked away from them—or even the Lega.

The political landscape in Italy is shifting once again. With the Five Star Movement facing internal turbulence, the influence of figures like Conte, Grillo, and Di Maio continues to shape the direction of the party. It’s becoming increasingly clear how much the friction between these leaders impacts their ability to present a unified front against the current administration. As Matteo Salvini and the Lega push their own agendas, the struggle for control within the movement remains a central theme in the national conversation.
(you're gonna need to translate this, I'm feeling lazy) 🕺 )

Even within the ruling coalition, there was pushback against sending weapons. Not to mention the constant stream of "experts" in the media who, fueled by this deep-seated anti-American sentiment, love to blame NATO for everything. Then you have a segment of the public that thinks this "isn't our war"—meaning they’re perfectly fine with sending money or humanitarian aid, but the idea of shipping arms absolutely terrifies them.

The absolute worst example of war-related populism had to be Matteo Salvini. He’s that right-wing populist who, just a few years ago... He was wandering around Moscow painting while wearing a T-shirt with Putin's face on it. He was strongly against the sanctions on Russia...And there's even a t-shirt for that occasion...Right at the start of the refugee crisis, he made quite the show of heading to the border with Ukraine, claiming he was just "deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation"—which we all know is just code for wanting to score political points off someone else's tragedy. Naturally, the mayor of a small town near the border called him out on his flirting with Putin and how his party, the Lega, has been cozying up to Russian capital.

The latest reports out of Washington suggest that Vladimir Putin is playing a very calculated game when it comes to his long-term strategy. It isn't just about immediate territorial gains in Ukraine; it looks like he's positioning himself for a much larger confrontation with the West. There’s a sense that the Kremlin is bracing for a prolonged period of tension, essentially preparing the Russian public for a reality where relations with the US and Europe might not recover for decades. It's a heavy, high-stakes gamble that could reshape global security for a generation...

It wasn't just Di Maio who left the party; a whole host of representatives and senators from the Five Star Movement departed as well, aiming to oust Conte and his crew from the ruling coalition.
Indeed, they cited Conte's Russophilia and his shameful stance on the war in Ukraine as the primary reasons.
Much like Farage, Salvini has retreated. It isn't because he lacks affection for Putin, but rather because he realizes that being a Russophile would damage his future career prospects.
The Five Star Movement will quite literally vanish in the next election.

Kate Cook27 said:Demilitarization, denazification, fighting NATO expansion, fighting the fascist government in Kyiv, bio-labs in Ukraine with 900 pathogens, the lab in Ukraine where COVID was created, the lab making some virus to destroy Russians, nuclear weapons in Ukraine, Ukraine planning to attack the people's republics of Donetsk and Luhansk (even though Russians have been drilling by the border and with Belarus for months), Ukraine planning to attack Russia??, so Russia launched a preemptive strike, Eastern Ukraine was always Russia and now Russia is just taking back what belongs to it, NATO is already in occupied Ukraine, NATO soldiers are fighting in Ukrainian uniforms, Ukrainian soldiers are surrendering or deserting so Russia has to liberate Ukraine and the Ukrainians (at least, that's what someone told me recently)...
Ukraine has been bombing the Donbas for 8 years, and Russia wants to protect the Russians in the Donbas from genocide, which is why they are conducting a special military operation (and it's not just Russians living in the Donbas).

😁 Man, I haven't read such a massive pile of garbage in ages. Are you kidding me right now?

Lina merely laid out the *official* Russian justifications used to spark this invasion and genocide.

hollowdriver13 said:Do you actually have any proof for that?
Man, now you're bringing up Nord Stream, even though you were just bragging about how Kyiv is letting energy leak out and saying that "says everything about them."
If that's the case, why wouldn't Russia just shut down the supply through UA if they can just rely on NS?
Besides, this supposedly "powerful and self-sufficient" Russia is basically whining because they can't even pump more through Nord Stream since they don't know how to fix the Western tech running the pipeline.
Pretty impressive, huh.

Wait, when did I ever praise Russia? As far as I'm concerned, they can do whatever they want. But it's Zelenskyy who is calling on Europe to sanction Russia while simultaneously allowing energy to pass through. He calls on his people to fight and sacrifice themselves wherever necessary, giving these fiery speeches, yet he keeps things running normally for both Europe and Russia. The energy transfers continue uninterrupted even while he's busy making grand statements on Skype wearing a t-shirt.
As for where the Ukrainian money goes, anyone with eyes could see it, and my father even met with some Ukrainians personally. Not too long ago, before Putin took power, massive amounts of money were being siphoned out of Russia. Back in 1999, Gazprom was just a small firm with a turnover of maybe 20 companies, and Russia was drowning in debt. Then, somehow, everything changed.

brighthound13 said:Wait, when did I ever praise Russia? As far as I'm concerned, they can do whatever they want. But it's Zelenskyy who is calling on Europe to sanction Russia while simultaneously allowing energy to pass through. He calls on his people to fight and sacrifice themselves wherever necessary, giving these fiery speeches, yet he keeps things running normally for both Europe and Russia. The energy transfers continue uninterrupted even while he's busy making grand statements on Skype wearing a t-shirt.
As for where the Ukrainian money goes, anyone with eyes could see it, and my father even met with some Ukrainians personally. Not too long ago, before Putin took power, massive amounts of money were being siphoned out of Russia. Back in 1999, Gazprom was just a small firm with a turnover of maybe 20 companies, and Russia was drowning in debt. Then, somehow, everything changed.

nuff' said. ☕

George Robinson43 said:It wasn't just Di Maio who left the party; a whole host of representatives and senators from the Five Star Movement departed as well, aiming to oust Conte and his crew from the ruling coalition.
Indeed, they cited Conte's Russophilia and his shameful stance on the war in Ukraine as the primary reasons.
Much like Farage, Salvini has retreated. It isn't because he lacks affection for Putin, but rather because he realizes that being a Russophile would damage his future career prospects.
The Five Star Movement will quite literally vanish in the next election.

Honestly, Salvini is a coward.
To him, the war is a tragedy probably only because the money from Russia might start flowing in slower, and because he's terrified the tap might get turned off entirely. 🕺

Those Italians are such hypocrites. They play the pacifist card, saying "weapons only bring death" and all that, but if someone actually tried to take a piece of their territory—say, if a neighbor like Mexico or Canada moved in—they’d be screaming at the top of their lungs about why the EU and NATO aren't sending weapons yet. It's easy to talk big when it isn't your own house on fire.☕