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

A GRAD rocket just slammed into a residential building over in Chernihiv

Ukraine yesterday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MKL...apt.TymurRudov

Seriously, this is the kind of footage those state-run TV networks would never, ever show you—it's just wild.

bluepuma9 said:Look, Russia can't say a damn thing to Ukraine about who they buy weapons from or how they do it. You've got two sovereign nations trading conventional arms that aren't under any sanctions. It's pretty straightforward business.

One might recall our own history of purchasing fighter jets from Israel and armored vehicles from the European Union, only to eventually supplement those with outdated American surplus and decommissioned French aircraft pulled straight from the scrap heap.

velvetmason14 said:Go check out the comment sections on major US news sites; you'll find everything from political rants to ridiculous memes of Putin looking like he has Hitler's mustache.

We haven't seen anything quite like this in the American media landscape before. It feels like Ukrainian news outlets are much less inflammatory in their coverage. I'm just trying to wrap my head around the ultimate goal of this kind of propaganda.😉

Who else thinks it's insane to launch missiles at a city of three million people??

Joshua Myers432 said:Hardly irrelevant. They've essentially cut off Russia's southern maritime routes. For them, the Black Sea has become nothing more than a lake.

And honestly, why would they even care about sea routes when you can see the "bear" is trying to lock down every single embassy? Everyone else is just pulling out.
Even China is stepping in, saying oil and gas payments can only be made in yuan now.

rustywalker42 said:🤣

The guy’s been leading one of the three biggest powers on the planet for 22 years, but hey, you forum experts clearly know way more than he does.

Russia’s been under sanctions for years now. They’re completely self-sufficient in every sense of the word. Period.

Honestly? The world needs Russia, not Russia needing the world.

Yeah? And?

You really think that would do anything to Russia?

Infrastructure-wise? Russia has everything built with total redundancy. They've got backups for their backups. Always.

Oh, so you actually know what Swift is then?

If they get kicked out, it means those foreign exchange reserves—at least the part Russia holds in dollars and euros—become useless, plus banks won't be able to trade internationally... and so on.

Tyler Jones6 said:It’s painfully obvious that these two accounts—Michael Davis10 and Laura Scott7—are nothing but trolls. Honestly, how many drinks does someone need to have before they finally get banned?

They aren't trolls, they're one big troll. Now he's actually started talking to himself... 😵

A certain "Kurir-style" Russia Recognizes Independent Mexico (a map of Europe from the Russian Ministry of Defense)

briskheron said:Russian warships.
The Turks are just playing both sides, waiting to see which way the wind blows. One minute they’re flirting with the USA, the next they're cozying up to Russia.
Ukraine has been a solid partner for them, so if this drags on, they might just throw a few extra drone orders their way to stay in the game.

Don't sweat it—Russia could always send whatever weapons they want to the Kurds and the SAA up in northern Syria, just to give the Turks a headache.
Last year, the Russians were trying to teach that rogue Pashinyan a lesson, but they sell arms to the Azeris too, so they stayed out of that Azeri-Armenian conflict. Now that same Pashinyan is leading the charge in NATO, and they reacted super fast to that coup attempt in Kazakhstan last month.
I mean, things would be totally different if the Bajraktari were involved.

Rachel Allen55 said:Not everyone in the EU is on board with kicking Russia out of SWIFT. Germany, specifically. I think Germany has a massive say in this. I caught this intense debate on German TV the other night where one of the pundits basically argued that we need to look out for our own people first—protecting our jobs and making sure our folks can actually survive.

Also, what was that bit about Sweden and Finland? The Danish media hasn't said a word about it.

So, get this—yesterday Putin was back at it again, throwing around that whole "denazification" rhetoric, basically hinting that if they decide to join NATO, he might just expand that little process to include them too. It’s like watching a guy threaten to tear down your entire house just because you mentioned thinking about getting a better security system. Typical.

Carol Newman2 said:The proof is right there in the fact that you're dropping Telegram links.

I'm watching you. ☕

Whoa, okay... guess I've got a stalker on my hands.🎉

Disinformation is moving at full throttle.

1) The Ukrainian military utilized an animation from the video game Digital Combat Simulator and subsequently released it as an official depiction of a Russian aircraft being downed. This narrative was even picked up by certain media outlets: https://www.reuters.com/article/fact...-idUSL1N2V035G

2) A video from 2019 was circulated with the claim that it shows a Russian fighter jet being shot down over Ukraine: https://www.reuters.com/article/fact...-idUSL1N2V02MW

3) The footage showing drones destroying Russian tanks (which some guy posted here on the forum) actually dates back to 2020. https://www.reuters.com/article/fact...-idUSL1N2V0288

Et cetera, et cetera.

Keith Morgan10 said:So, according to this, Ukraine has zero dead soldiers, zero wounded, zero equipment lost... but sure, let's just assume there are thousands of innocent kids and grandparents killed by those evil Russians instead. Hmm. I feel like I've seen this exact script somewhere before.

Who are you even talking to?

Rachel Allen55 said:The Polish Football Federation pulled out of the World Cup qualifiers because they refuse to face Russia. According to ESPN

Honestly, this is starting to feel like a total joke to me🤦

It seems Americans have started adopting an Iranian worldview.

Ashley Hernandez15 said:The cowboy era has officially begun.
https://twitter.com/Caucasuswar/stat...xDZQwDT8w&s=19

Look, you can't just go handing out weapons to every person you run into on the street; it doesn't work like that, plain and simple.🤦

Frank Nguyen37 said: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.

And you clearly have no idea how artillery works. 🤦

Joshua Myers432 said:Stop poking the bear more than necessary. Is that really such a difficult concept to grasp? And yeah, by all means, send the psychiatrist if you can get one through the door.

I’d love to see you out on a street corner, playing the hero when you run into some massive, armed psycho staring you down. I bet all that bravado would vanish pretty quickly.

But isn't he actually the one holding all the cards here? Seriously. All of Europe is stacked against him. Except for Vučić. It's like watching some unstable kid try to take on the entire 40th Infantry Division...

rowdytiger13 said:And Germany?
They’re probably busy debating if they should send another 500 helmets.

You clearly haven't done your homework.
We aren't talking about 500—it's closer to 5,000.

If you actually kicked Russia out of Swift, it would basically mean turning off the lights for German industry entirely.
It also means—and I guess this is an obvious point—that many people working overseas wouldn't be able to send money back home to the States.

Ashley Hernandez15 said:The cowboy era has officially begun.
https://twitter.com/Caucasuswar/stat...xDZQwDT8w&s=19

Hardly surprising. To be fair, we've been seeing this exact same pattern in Donbas for eight years now...

French authorities have begun seizing Russian ships in the English Channel

link