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

bluerider63 said:I remember when NATO was hammering away at America for 78 days straight and they actually had targets to hit the whole time, even though the country was only about 7 or 8 million people. Now you look at Ukraine, which is massive by comparison, and you're already predicting total collapse after just three days...

I don't get how you can be so dense. We're talking about two armies fighting on the exact same ground here. In the old conflict, there wasn't a single NATO soldier actually on the ground in Mexico.

Betty Murphy3 said:And then we have our folks here, blindly following a clown—honestly, do they really think he isn't ready for World War III? Have they all just forgotten about Hitler, Stalin, and the rest of that crew? As if all that happened a thousand years ago rather than just last century. Incredible people—truly incredible—I read this stuff and I can hardly believe my eyes.

But seriously.
There is always an excuse for everything. 🙏
It wasn't Putin's fault; it was the Americans, the British, or maybe even aliens who messed up. 🙏
Russia just feels threatened. 🙏

And then there are these demands for the European Union to pay up for a country that is fundamentally lagging behind. 🙏
Sure, Sweden will ask the Russians if they can join NATO. Finland will do the same. 🙏

Standard & Poor's just knocked Ukraine's long-term credit rating down from a "B" to a "B-" in both foreign and local currencies. They're basically saying the whole situation with Russia is putting massive risks on the country's economic growth and financial stability.

S&P also mentioned they might slash those ratings even further if this conflict causes Ukraine's external liquidity to dry up.

bluemason3 said:It isn't about having genuine concern for the small nations; it's about protecting the strategic interests and the overall survival of NATO. That sense of purpose would vanish if there weren't a clear reason to act against an attack on a member state. In other words, the idea is to respond to an assault because it serves the interests of all other members, not because they actually care about the victim.

I mean, NATO is basically just words on a page, and in reality, it's more like an alliance that works for whatever the biggest players want.
Maybe we're all just extra sensitive because this is happening right here in Europe, but honestly, there have been way worse wars scattered across the globe over the last 20 years or so that most of us barely even blinked at. And no, I don't think Putin is just going to suddenly stop in Ukraine—heaven forbid—but I guess I'm just worried that the world we're living in is undergoing some pretty deep, fundamental changes.

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?

The President is going to get a bullet in the head from his own people one of these days. Or maybe not a bullet—maybe they'll just slip something nasty into his soup.

Michael Davis10 said:I mean, he’s gonna get crushed by his own people. Most folks there are just scraping by on maybe $1,600 a month, and now they aren't seeing any relief. Like, if gas hits $5 a gallon—which is basically mandatory since you can't get around without a car in most parts of the US—they're just stuck.

Hahahhaha, honestly though, that is the cold, hard truth right there.👍>

To be perfectly honest, I didn't see Putin making a move like this coming—but then again, here we are. He’s officially joined that specific group of Americans I’ve grown to despise—those who have spent years stirring the pot and inciting global chaos, from Iraq all the way through to Libya.

Anyone who has actually followed the thread of the situation in Ukraine since the Euromaidan knows exactly who has been constantly escalating things—basically egging on every neighboring country to turn against Russia. Every nation that tried to maintain some semblance of trade or reach a diplomatic agreement with Russia—both in the past and even now—has been summoned for "talks" by the big bosses over in Washington, only to walk away with absolutely nothing.

The Americans are practically rubbing their hands together at the moment. The dollar has spiked, they're raking in cash from arms sales, they finally neutralized Nord Stream, and now the European Union will be forced to buy gas from them at ten times the price. Plus, they've successfully smeared Russia across every Western media outlet, which conveniently shifts the spotlight away from the US economy and off the front pages.

Instead of the European Union maintaining decent relations with Russia and distancing itself from American and British intelligence, they’ve essentially tanked everything and reset the relationship to zero. In my view, the EU should have just told NATO to back off and focused on building a legitimate European military—though we all know the Americans would never allow that, because if they lost that leverage, their own influence would crumble.

It’s just a shame that ordinary people always end up paying the price for the political games played by idiots in the West—and now, unfortunately, due to the East as well.

I can only hope this whole mess reaches a resolution quickly before it spirals into something much, much worse...

Arthur Watson4 said:People can trash-talk Zelenskyy all they want, calling him a comedian or totally incompetent. And honestly, they might have a point most of the time, but his refusal to leave Kyiv makes him look like a total badass.

Glory to Ukraine

I mean, it’s not like Putko is going to play the victim card for him. It’s not like Volodymyr doesn't already know that.
And where are those Ukrainian advisors now—the Americans and the Brits? First they push them to take on the Russians, and then they basically leave them hanging out to dry. ☕

Justin Kern67 said:They gave him four days—96 hours—by the second day of the invasion. That brings the total to six days: https://www.foxnews.com/world/us-news-example-link-6-days

Frankly, I hope it doesn't drag on any longer, because if it does, we're looking at a humanitarian catastrophe involving upwards of three million people.

I couldn't agree more. My heart just breaks for the regular civilians caught in the crossfire. The longer this drags on, the worse it gets—not just for them, but for all the young guys on both sides who are dying for absolutely nothing.

Despite all the romanticized fantasies floating around these forums about some massive Ukrainian counteroffensive, a sudden revolution in Kyiv, or sanctions that actually do something meaningful, the reality is much bleaker. This really only has one endgame. The only real question left is how bloody it's going to be. 😞

rape_artist said:There are all these supposedly amazing videos circulating where Ukrainians are burning Russian soldiers alive at crossroads...

Here we go again....

This was already circulating yesterday and it turned out to be nothing but fake news. Let’s try not to spread nonsense without checking things first.

Gary Wilson said:It looks like the Chinese are shifting their strategy—specifically by tightening the screws on financial transactions involving Russia.

There is a very real possibility that China will start using this as leverage to blackmail them.

And then there's the possibility that China gets the green light regarding Taiwan.
Personally, I can't help but feel that seeing Russian troops enter Ukraine is just a sign that we've already crossed the point of no return—an escalation threshold that's going to steamroll over every single peace convention the world has ever tried to build itself upon.
That is, assuming this conflict doesn't spiral into something even more catastrophic before we even get to that stage.

Carol Newman2 said:But Germany is pushing back.

That's not even entirely true—they aren't strictly saying no.

https://financialpost.com/pmn/busine...uences-fin-min

BERLIN — Russia OFF The Swift Global interbank Payment system but must calculate The consequences for its Economy First, Finance Minister Christian Lindner Said on Friday.

“We are open, but you have to know what you’re doing,” Lindner told journalists after a meeting of The European Economic and Financial Affairs Council in Paris to discuss sanctions against Moscow after Russia ’ sa invasion of Ukraine.

From what I've heard, they're speaking tomorrow and everyone's waiting to see where they land on the final SWIFT decision.

Amanda Flores88 said:Yeah—maybe if you change up the colonizers and fight back immediately for your own sake, things would be different.

To some extent, what’s happening in Ukraine is their own fault. Let's be real—out of a population of 48 million, about 12.5 million are ethnically Russian according to NATO stats, plus you've got over 2 million other minorities.

Ever since those Ukrainian oligarchs grabbed power in 2014, they've been systematically squeezing certain minority rights (not even sure which ones specifically).

And look where that got them. The Russian military moved into Crimea, and ethnic Russians revolted in the two eastern provinces where they make up the absolute majority.

Honestly, I wasn't surprised back then. You have 12.5 million ethnic Russians, and you're fighting to stop them from even watching Russian TV? Good luck. Don't act shocked when Russia—or those people themselves—reacts.

Like that one Ukrainian soldier in the east said, the real question is whether those people actually want to be defended by us, or by Ukraine.

The West is acting like it always does—trying to look decisive for their own citizens. And hey, that's fair, but let's not pretend they're losing sleep over Ukraine. For the USA, this is pure geopolitics. As for the EU, they don't want any part of this if it means inheriting a massive social headache.

Grace Bennett6 said:If Vladimir Putin doesn't roll into Kyiv, Zelenskyy stays out on the streets right alongside his troops.

Meanwhile, Putin is stuck in a bunker. Who’s actually free then?

Ukrainians have started mass-arming themselves in smaller towns. The Russians aren't going to have nearly as much fun as they think when they finally stumble into them.👍

Dana Robinson4 said:It seems even the angels were busy swiping wallets at the local grocery store today...
wir schaffen das

Angela Merkel. 🤣
Bet some "engineer" just really needed a few extra bucks. 😁

ruggedmarlin18 said:Pace and the Nazis in Ukraine 👍

Are they Putinists?

Douglas Davis4 said:Every single day the Ukrainians hold the line is a massive victory.
It's the second most powerful military on earth, led by some KGB-style thug, going up against pro-Western, cultured people who picked an actor to lead them and never expected this kind of sick, brute aggression.
The Russians are playing themselves like total idiots. This KGB-wannabe they worship is going to cost them everything.

Right now, it’s mostly special forces taking the hits (especially those strikes on the capital and government hubs)—at least on the Russian side, whereas on the Ukrainian side, everyone's in the thick of it.
And honestly? The Ukrainians managed to take back control of that hydroelectric plant on the Dnieper, and the workers just went right back to business as usual.

Basically, what we're seeing from the Russian side looks like small paratrooper drops moving alongside armor... though I'm guessing those are just reservists being sent into enemy territory to get ambushed.

gentleharbor3 said:Sure, but Macron's idea regarding European strategic autonomy
only works on paper.
In reality, there are deep divides between Eastern and Western Europe
and massive, almost irreconcilable differences that have caused the EU to fail
to provide a unified or effective response to a single crisis so far.
So, despite the fact that America has acted arrogant
toward Europe—from Syria and Afghanistan all the way to the recent AUKUS deal
— this specific war in Ukraine will give NATO
a new raison d'être and further blind Europe to its dependence on the USA.

The truth is, Europe relies on the US because there’s simply no way to stand up to Russia without them.
If it weren't for that American security umbrella, the Russians would basically be doing whatever they wanted across Western and Eastern Europe—either through force or by infiltrating governments using oil and gas money.

So, for anyone who thinks Americans are the ultimate villains, just try imagining an American neighborhood where Russia calls all the shots through its local proxies. ☕

Sure, in some perfect little utopia, Europe would be completely independent and focused on its own interests, and Russia would just be a peaceful neighbor that doesn't try to exploit the fact that they have a massive military advantage over everyone else.
But that's just not how reality works.

bluemason3 said:I don't see how Ukrainians could militarily retake those pro-Russian provinces. That's a much bigger mountain to climb than just pulling Russian troops into an urban fight.

Unless economic and political pressure becomes so overwhelming that it forces a change before I can even finish my sentence, I fear those breakaway regions might just get further entrenched during future peace talks. That would be the most optimistic version of a Ukrainian victory; anything else is likely worse.

Something like that would only happen if Putin falls and we see massive internal shifts within Russia. Expecting Ukraine to pull off a "Storm" militarily feels like a stretch to me.

Exactly—you hit the nail on the head in your closing remarks. If Ukraine can hold out for another year, he’s finished. They'll push him out of power. Do you really think everyone in Russia is as foolish as he is? It isn't like they're operating in a vacuum; there's enough intelligence left in the country to realize this path is just as fatal for them as it is for the Ukrainians.