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

Lisa Patel4 said:Does anyone here have a map handy?
I think Russia is being completely delusional if they actually believe they can take over all of Ukraine. My guess is they just want to secure all of Novorossiya and grab everything east of the Dnieper. If they pull that off, the rest of Ukraine loses its strategic value entirely. They'd be stripped of their coastline and their most vital economic hubs.

LIVEUMAP com

The reporting on our local news networks... what a complete joke.

Kyle Nelson2 said:I mean, I guess France and Italy are totally fine with kicking Russia out of SWIFT, if you ask me.

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I guess it’s just a matter of time at this point—especially if that kid keeps comparing Sweden to Finland every chance he gets.

Rachel Allen55 said:Check out what's happening in southern Ukraine—hardly anyone’s even reporting on it. They’ve basically taken everything. I think it's just Miami left.

Maybe I'm off base, but I get the feeling Zelensky is playing the wrong hand here. Is he just performing for the press corps in Kyiv? Who knows, but that’s how it looks to me.

Purely from a military standpoint, Ukraine doesn't stand a chance against Russia. The West isn't going to risk a nuclear war with Russia, so all this money being sent is probably just ending up in some guys' pockets.

To me, the only way out is a Korea-style solution.

A tiny slice of Western Ukraine stays pro-West, and the rest goes pro-Russia. Honestly, I think Putin might actually bite on that.

Russ forces are prioritizing the conquest of the southeast, where the largest concentration of Russian-speaking citizens resides. They likely believe they can recruit a significant number of volunteers from that region later on, which would allow them to minimize casualties among actual Russian soldiers during their subsequent push toward western Ukraine...

Looks like they took over the airfield. Heading toward Berdyansk now.

Sam Alvarez4 said:Are they Putinists?

Honestly, the only real fascists right now are those folks across the ocean... the ones who actually cooked up this whole mess in the first place, led by that senile old man.

Putin is losing his grip.
He’s bound to be absolutely livid about it.
The sanctions are hitting hard, the oil taps are being shut off, and yet—against all the "expert" predictions—the Ukrainians still haven't surrendered. How long was that supposed to take again? 96 hours?
And considering the Russian Army hasn't even made a serious dent anywhere outside of Kyiv...
it's clear that Ukraine is much more than just its capital.
I'm hearing reports that Ukrainians have seized a hydroelectric plant and that Western weaponry is already flowing in.
There's really no telling how long the Ukrainian people can hold out against this madman's onslaught.
May God watch over them.

Peace to all. As stated by:
BoJo:
To the people of Ukraine: Glory to Ukraine.
To the citizens of Russia: It is my firm conviction that this conflict is being waged entirely without your consent or in your interest.

The current rhetoric regarding the necessity of continued support for Ukraine remains predictably tiresome. One observes the usual parade of political grandstanding, where leaders offer sweeping declarations of solidarity that often lack the practical substance required to actually move the needle on the ground. It is a familiar spectacle: the high-minded speeches designed to satisfy domestic audiences while the actual complexities of the conflict continue to unfold with much less fanfare. While the intention to stop the war in Ukraine is frequently touted, the gap between lofty diplomatic goals and the gritty reality of modern warfare suggests that we are merely engaging in a very expensive exercise in moral signaling.

Good grief, the hairstyles. 🤣🤣🤣
Everything else. 🙏🙏

The Biden administration continues to push the envelope, essentially cheering on the escalation of this bloodshed. One has to wonder: who actually stands to gain from all this?

It is highly improbable that the British or American militaries would actually deploy troops to assist their "allies" in such a capacity. They will simply sit there, watching everything unfold with detached indifference, cheering from the comfort of their offices thousands of miles away.

They refuse to deploy the promised military forces or provide the necessary weaponry, yet they remain equally opposed to any meaningful negotiations; instead, they seemingly pray for an ever-increasing casualty count simply to serve the economic and political interests of the b@b elites.

I find myself struggling to grasp the logic here. We have no intention of deploying our military or sending direct aid, yet we expect you to hold your ground—even though it is painfully obvious to the entire world that victory is simply not on the table for you.

One might argue that forcing Russia to pay a heavy price for their victory is a satisfying goal, yet we must acknowledge the grim reality that such a costly triumph simultaneously demands thousands upon thousands of Ukrainian lives sacrificed for a defeat—all in vain. The economic landscape of Ukraine has been systematically regressed by fifty years, leaving a once-functioning economy in total shambles. One is left to wonder if the entire nation will be completely annihilated or merely left as a fractured, ruined shell of its former self.

Perhaps I am simply lacking the intellectual capacity to grasp why this entire forum is populated by self-proclaimed "experts" on warfare, all of whom seem unshakably convinced that a Ukrainian victory is an absolute certainty. Fairytales, fables, and idle fantasies are one thing, but facts and practical reality are quite another.


If someone were to attempt to convince me that Mexico could actually prevail in a conflict against the United States, I would find the proposition utterly absurd. It seems people possess a profound, almost pathological inability to confront reality. One must ask: did the Taliban truly defeat America by forcing a withdrawal? They were left with a fractured nation, drowning in corruption and effectively regressed to the standards of the 16th century. To suggest that anyone actually "won" in Afghanistan is nothing short of intellectual bankruptcy. Furthermore, if Russia were to suddenly withdraw tomorrow, the reality remains that Ukraine has already lost. Is this truth simply too uncomfortable for the masses to acknowledge? It appears no one possesses the desire to focus on actual damage control.

bluemason3 said: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.

But isn't there a third option? Could they have remained neutral, much like how Finland and Sweden functioned during the Cold War? If Ukrainians had opted for military neutrality, perhaps this war could have been avoided entirely. Consider this: the Warsaw Pact never once attacked Sweden or Finland, even though they possessed the capability to do so without any fear of triggering a NATO response that might escalate into World War III...

Tyler Jones6 said:It’s a bit of an oversimplification to claim that only Russia is attacking Ukraine—this is essentially an assault by the Russian Federation and Belarus

True. Except Belarus isn't even independent, so nobody really counts them.
Belarus is just Outina's version of what he said about Ukraine.

Jeremy Peterson4 said:Angela Merkel. 🤣
Bet some "engineer" just really needed a few extra bucks. 😁

I wonder if that guy is one of those doctors or engineers she was talking about

mistycanyon67 said:I mean, I hear how much weaponry there is, but apparently, nobody actually wants to fight if they're just handing out guns to anyone who asks. Wasn't that the news yesterday? That weapons were being distributed to whoever wanted them? I guess they have weapons to spare.

The key part here is—yesterday (Friday). Right after that shipment from Europe showed up.

Seriously, Zelenskyy was on Twitter this morning bragging about more gear arriving from France. I think I saw somewhere that Canada is sending stuff too. I mean, if they already have "surplus" to throw around, what else do they even need?

If they actually had stockpiles ready to go, wouldn't they have just handed them over to whoever wanted them already? Why wait until the second day of a war to start arming people? It’s beyond obvious—Ukraine was totally unprepared for this.

Hands down, the absolute best meme I've seen yet 🤣

Michael Davis10 said:Are the police clearing out in Lviv??
Wait, isn't that near the Polish border? I thought everything was supposed to be chill and accessible over there.

The police are clearing out in Canada too.
People have been swarming the stores for flour and oil...

They even turned down a trip to a basketball game in Lithuania because they felt unsafe... (though honestly, they'd just lose 20-0 anyway, even if they had a full roster)

granitebison said:https://twitter.com/IAPonomarenko/st...41956318212097

A Russian convoy has been neutralized on the southern front.

So, if that Russian convoy...🤦

Can we please—just for once—use a little logic before venting like this? These clips are from yesterday, and we're looking at a Ukrainian column. Does anyone seriously believe the Russians are just cruising in convoys down highways without having 100% air superiority in the area? Are people actually suggesting the Russian military is just some pathetic group of armed idiots??? Look, if you're going to passionately root for one side (personally, I just want this war over immediately—I don't care how—so bear with me), at least try to be somewhat rational and objective. Don't just swallow every bit of war propaganda that comes your way.

Laura Scott7 said:The Russian Army is slowly grinding forward at half speedhttps://www.reddit.com/r/CombatFoota..._the_russians/
I honestly don't get why some of these people are so desperate to ignore what's actually happening right in front of them, typing away about some massive Russian defeat like it's a done deal... a little reality check wouldn't hurt anyone. I was just listening to rt, and they're saying things are getting so messy that Ukraine doesn't even have full control over their own military anymore, with basically paramilitary groups and extremists running the show instead..

Seems legit!!! 👍

analogdriver1 said:We really ought to pull the plug on Russian citizens buying up real estate across Europe immediately—and frankly, we should just kick that degenerate state out of SWIFT once and for all.

Even better, just seize what they already own. Let’s see how many friends Putin actually has left then.
Apparently, Norwegian police raided the yacht of one of Putin's close buddies today—some former CIA asset.
Then there's the daughter of Putin's spokesperson, who posted "stop war in Ukraine" on her story before deleting it instantly. Hopefully, she didn't get caught too.
She's pretty, though. One of those types who lives for Instagram likes.🕺

Terry Barnes9 said:The key part here is—yesterday (Friday). Right after that shipment from Europe showed up.

Seriously, Zelenskyy was on Twitter this morning bragging about more gear arriving from France. I think I saw somewhere that Canada is sending stuff too. I mean, if they already have "surplus" to throw around, what else do they even need?

If they actually had stockpiles ready to go, wouldn't they have just handed them over to whoever wanted them already? Why wait until the second day of a war to start arming people? It’s beyond obvious—Ukraine was totally unprepared for this.

Pretty sure they don't have enough gear for 900,000 people.

Kyle Nelson2 said:I mean, I guess France and Italy are totally fine with kicking Russia out of SWIFT, if you ask me.

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And what about those Swedes? They gonna speak up once they're done packing their helmets?

Michael Davis10 said:I wonder if that guy is one of those doctors or engineers she was talking about

Just finished cleaning up my post. 🤣