The start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (Part 1)

Tyler Jones6 said:Russia: Putin orders halt to offensive, but Ukrainians refuse to negotiate

The Kremlin claims that President Vladimir Putin ordered a pause in the offensive in Ukraine this past Friday—hoping for negotiations with Volodymyr Zelensky—but apparently, he told them to resume once those talks failed to materialize.

Government spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that operations continued into Saturday afternoon after the Ukrainian leadership rejected any dialogue, according to Reuters.

We are now entering the third day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with fighting spreading across various cities beyond just the outskirts of Kyiv. There were reports yesterday regarding potential negotiations, though nothing has materialized so far.

link

So the Ukrainians won't negotiate... while being invaded from Belarus!

Exactly. They didn't want to go through Belarus either... and now they're supposedly "refusing."

William Anderson5 said:The Russians literally sent 10,000 criminals from Chechnya straight into the war...

It’s much easier for them to let those guys die instead of Russians....

The Landscape of Ukraine

Benjamin Taylor6 said:See, if you just surround a city, you run the risk of turning it into a total siege disaster—sort of like what happened during the Siege of Ottawa back in the day. You end up having to let humanitarian convoys through, and launching a direct assault on the city itself becomes a massive gamble because the casualty rates would be astronomical. Plus, the Russians would face a PR nightmare on the global stage. If they go the encirclement route, they absolutely have to secure their own supply lines first. And let's be real—the Western part of Ukraine isn't just going to sit there and take this lying down.
Which means the Russians might just be staring down the barrel of a long, grueling war of attrition.

I reckon the goal for the Russians is to grab a few major cities, install their own puppets, and declare them "autonomous regions" or "people's republics" within Ukraine. They might even try to shove the capital into one of those autonomous zones or something. That way, the rest of Ukraine becomes nothing more than a backwater province. In the end, nobody’s going to want anything to do with a setup like that in any international club. On paper, it’s technically a state with its own flag and colors, but that's about it.

Laura Scott7 said:https://www.reddit.com/r/CombatFoota...forces_to_the/
Appeal of the Russian special forces to the soldiers of the US Armed Forces. "Just listen to the guys who are already practically sitting on the outskirts of Kyiv. Seriously, just listen and stop throwing your lives away for nothing."

They’d love to just stroll into Kyiv without a fight—if they could find a way.

electricstag9 said:The axe is hanging by a thread over their heads... an exit from SWIFT is looking more and more inevitable.

It’s pointless if the Americans don't want it, since how would they pay for all that massive amounts of oil they import?
I guess Biden is just scared gas prices will skyrocket.

coastalrider11 said:Maybe the Ukrainians are just trapping themselves

https://www.reddit.com/r/CombatFoota...inian_militia/

And honestly, it’s pretty obvious—it's like the Russians would just be jumping all over them, and the moment they land, they're getting hunted down. All this talk about "small victories" is just pure propaganda meant to keep spirits up because, let's face it, Russia is making massive, terrifying gains right now.

Civilians in Kyiv cornering captured Russian Army soldiers

Keith Williams3 said:Is this going to get sanctioned on the forum?

A bullet to a head of state?

What if someone calls for a bullet to the head of Zelensky, Orbán, or Plenković?

Would that be tolerated?

It’s way more appropriate to wish for a fair trial and punishment, whether that's in an international court or a Russian one. The difference is those guys didn't commit war crimes, but this whole aggressive war definitely counts.

Jeremy Peterson4 said:Oh, really? Is it the same thing as reading the New York Post or the Courier? The Courier is always gonna spin whatever serves their "influence" in the US—or in this case, Russia.

The other day they actually had the nerve to report that Ukraine attacked Russia. How much of a rat do you have to be to fall for that kind of stuff?

The Russians and Mexicans are absolute gods of propaganda. Even the Chinese can't touch them.

So you're putting Mexicans and those idiot, criminal-minded Vučić tabloids in the same category? Give me a break!
If the Russians were really the masters of propaganda and soft power instead of Americans, that 2014 coup wouldn't have even happened—and that's where this whole horror story started. If Americans were in Russia's shoes, half of Ukraine would already be leveled.
Man, who am I even talking to here... 🤦

mistycanyon67 said:No, considering they were attacked for that exact reason. The Russian demand was military neutralization and demilitarization based on their own security concerns. They didn't comply, and this is the result.

That would be a pretty foolish strategy. If you look at South Korea compared to everyone else, it shows there’s really only one way to stand up to a superpower. If you're just playing into some local bully's hands, you might end up getting stripped bare just to find enough leverage to build a gun big enough so they stop messing with you. Otherwise, you're just getting bullied without any way to fight back.

Ukraine has two paths here—either follow the Belarusian scenario and become a Russian province, or militarize so heavily that attacking them stops being worth the cost for Russia. Honestly, their best bet would have been securing NATO membership.

It's naive to think that simple demilitarization would stop all Russian interference and let them run an independent foreign policy, especially when it clashes with someone else's interests. They'd just end up being crippled both economically and politically.

Sam Alvarez4 said:Before I head out, I have one question for the Putin supporters here.

Just three days ago, you were all mocking any mention of an attack on Ukraine. You claimed it was nothing more than US propaganda.
To my own shame—despite my age and everything I've been through—even I fell for the idea that it was just Washington spin.

How you all managed to flip the script from "US propaganda" to justifying a KGB invasion in just three days... it remains a total mystery.
Unbelievable. 🙏

@a lili
After all the atrocities committed during the old North American conflicts, there was simply no other way to bring stability to the region than through missile strikes.
Not only did I support that back then, but even today, I still believe it was justified.

Look, I’m neither a Putin supporter nor a fan of Russia, but I’ll weigh in anyway—personally, I expected the Russians to strike, and I figured it would be a limited conflict. Especially after watching how Vladimir Putin sat that clown Micron and that ridiculous Olaf Scholz at the far end of the table, away from him.🤣

That was a loud and clear message for anyone smart enough to realize those seating arrangements aren't accidental. What I didn't see coming, though, was the sheer intensity—and honestly, the breadth of the front line. It’s massive. That caught everyone off guard, myself included. But hey, both me and the people I'm arguing with were pretty sure someone was going to get hit hard because things had finally boiled over.

Rachel Allen55 said:If things actually go nuclear, it's game over for civilization. We'd be looking at dozens of laser-focused suns hitting us, followed by enough dust to block out the light forever. And don't even get me started on the radiation.

That's simply not an option. Both the West and Russia know that. So, we can spend all day debating this here, but my gut tells me Moscow and Washington have already cut a deal.

Russia is the one that's been messing with the old Cold War nuclear doctrine anyway.

If the absolute worst happens, we should probably be looking toward South Africa.

Nancy Gomez26 said:He’s young. He lacks the necessary experience in this arena.

What part of this isn't true? If you actually pay attention to what's happening out there, you'd see the reality for yourself—you've got footage of tanks rolling down the interstate wherever there's an airfield nearby, showing them seizing control, and plenty of video of radar stations getting absolutely hammered by strikes.62 miles They've been pushing forward from Melitopol all day long. So, maybe try facing the facts here, because you guys are going to be in for a massive shock when Ukraine finally calls it quits; you'll be sitting there wondering how on earth they managed to claim victory the whole time.😵

jadetinker85 said:Alright, what’s the actual intel from the ground? Zelenskyy is claiming victory? I don't know where this sudden surge of optimism is coming from.
Denmark sent over some financial aid. 🤔 They have piles of weapons, but they can only afford to pay for foreign fighters.

Sending the Atlanta Braves out to grab a beer, then I'll let you know.

rowdytiger13 said:In all seriousness, Ukrainians are strange people. They'd rather die than become a Russian colony.

Yeah—maybe if you change up the colonizers and fight back immediately for your own sake, things would be different.

Laura Scott7 said:I mean, who else is going to flee into the middle of major cities and put civilians right in the crosshairs? That’s basically Military 101—you don't let the fighting get anywhere near urban centers, you definitely don't go running into them to use them as human shields. But sure, the second a shell hits a residential building, suddenly it's all the Russians' fault, right? Just do me a favor and actually check out some actual news sources like RT instead of just blathering on about what you *think* is happening. You can't just make stuff up and call it reality. It doesn't work that way.

There's really nothing left to say. We see exactly where you stand now. ☕

swiftjackal11 said:It's because that's where we actually want to live, not in Russia. The paychecks there are $1000.
Even people from Mexico head to Munich instead of Vladivostok.

So, basically, if the quality of life is high enough, you don't care about starting wars, slaughtering families, or desecrating the bodies of fallen rivals? I guess you'd sell your own mother and sister just for $17?

bluemason3 said:Sanctions aren't a silver bullet or some kind of magic wand.

They do work, though. The real question is whether they work enough.

It’s a paradox: they actually tend to hit harder in autocratic regimes. Since power is held by a tiny circle of people, they don't necessarily need to worry about public opinion. It's much easier for them to maintain their own lifestyle while the rest of the country suffers economic damage.

Look at South Korea—despite all the pressure, they kept developing nukes. Iran hasn't collapsed either. Both have felt the sting of sanctions, even if they manage to bypass them through gray markets involving China and others.

That said, Russia has a much larger economy and was far more integrated into the West than the others, regardless of how much that changed in recent years.
But that’s a double-edged sword; it means the West ends up hurting its own economy too.

At the end of the day, it's a tool for pressure. A total collapse isn't guaranteed, though there is a chance that economic strain could force a different faction of leadership to step in against Putin, or weaken the military's budget. Even then, it's hard to say how much the state can squeeze its citizens versus the military, or how long they can keep exporting weapons to countries that can navigate the sanction systems.

If sanctions stay in place long enough, and if the West doesn't start pulling them back due to their own economic interests, they will eventually have an effect. You just have to view them as one tool in the toolbox, rather than a standalone solution.

Beyond what was mentioned, sanctions are also meant to hit individuals, business owners, and regular folks, not just the government apparatus. The idea is to create—or at least build the potential for—resentment toward those in power.

I'm just waiting on today's speech from Putin. Let's see what he's got in store—maybe some grand plan to revive America or Czechoslovakia... or who knows, maybe he'll try to rename the leadership in Trinidad and Tobago. Hard to say, really. We'll just have to wait and see. Wild Vlado