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

Joshua Myers432 said:We could be looking at the opening salvos of WW3, yet here you are, celebrating 🤦like it's nothing
.
Turkey is a key NATO member, and frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if an agitated Putin tries to force his way through with his fleet. Once he does, just shut down your computer and find a bunker to hide in.

Don't sweat it too much; gas prices would be the least of your worries.

Andrew Martinez8 said: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. 🙏

This honestly just reminds me of all that whitewashing nonsense and the "we're being divided" rhetoric I've been seeing all over this forum for years.

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.

Isn't the most logical solution simply for the Russians to get the hell out of Ukrainian cities and out of Ukraine entirely? Honestly, what kind of surrealist nonsense is this...

rustywalker42 said:Nicely put.

Russia didn't really have a choice, did they? They had to launch that military operation in Ukraine.

They aren't that efficient; they can't just swap out all the street signs in Kyiv in three days. Ukraine was caught completely off guard by the Russians.

neonheron9 said:Ukrainians are being told to tear down signs or swap them around just to mess with the Russian troops' heads

https://prnt.sc/CrrcsXXwwYAY

That's just standard guerrilla warfare in an urban setting. It's similar to how the Polish resistance fought the Nazis during the Warsaw Uprising.

Personally, I don't think it's a very effective method. Not then, and certainly not now.

Joseph Clark95 said:If you look at how things played out in Syria and then compare it to what’s happening in Ukraine, it becomes painfully obvious what "the West" actually means when they talk about "democracy."
The constant stream of propaganda and fake news being pumped into the airwaves—and the endless denials that follow—isn't just noise. It's a calculated media war designed to shape public opinion and justify their colonial ambitions.

Between the staged scenes on Snake Island, the convoys of charred remains coming out of the Azov region, and the actual reality on the ground...

Ukraine is doing everything in its power to drag the whole of Europe into this conflict, but more importantly, they want to pull the neutral Ukrainian population along with them.
To pull that off, they need civilian casualties. They need those classic propaganda pamphlets—think of the chemical attack narratives used in Syria—and an army of internet trolls to flood the web with lies.

Putin’s biggest challenge here is resolving this crisis without sacrificing neutral Ukrainians and actually returning Ukraine to the Ukrainians.
It’s a localized conflict that is costing the Russians lives, but if this turns into a full-scale confrontation, we’re looking at a massive restructuring of borders—maybe even a literal takeover of Ukraine, depending on how many Ukrainians decide to side with Russia.

And predictably, the usual script from Ukraine: "We’ll retake Crimea, we’ll liberate Donbas, we’ll defend Kyiv."
Crimea is Russia, Donbas is Russia. Let's just keep watching...

Well done 🙏.

So well known.
The only difference: this was about carving up America.

Honestly, those people pointing fingers and calling everyone else Russian trolls are actually the biggest trolls of them all...

Look, this is a free country—everyone is entitled to their own perspective here!

If that makes me a troll, then fine, call me one. I firmly believe that during the Euromaidan, a pro-Western president was essentially installed by force. You had "protesters" wielding weapons—including that infamous Azov battalion—firing shots in the square, all while refusing to allow for a new presidential election where the previously elected Janukovich would have likely won again.

And I just caught wind that Ukrainians aren't even allowing men between the ages of 18 and 60 to leave the country. At the end of the day, individual morality isn't designed for combat; I fail to see why anyone should be forced to die just to serve the conflicting interests of the West and the East.

Most people are simply operating with a limited set of facts—they rely entirely on Western media outlets, which, let's face it, dominate the landscape and are probably what 90% of the population consumes daily.

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.

Stalingrad—ever even heard of that place?🤦

mistycanyon67 said:So you actually want bombs dropped in your own backyard? 🤦

To be honest, if things truly come to that, I would rather face it now than live in a world ruled by Putin where every nation treats the next like prey. If there were an opportunity for serious military intervention to support Ukraine, I would back it. While I am firmly against American imperialism and forcing democracy on others through force, Putin has become a lethal threat to all decent people...

Richard Wilson4 said:Honestly, I'm betting it's just another rumor, kind of like all that stuff about the Bosphorus...

Who can really say for sure anymore? In this day and age, nothing feels certain... though I suppose it's possible Putin has already brought in some financial experts from Colombia to handle things...

gentleharbor3 said:We are dealing with a massive infodemic right now.
I personally stick to The Morning Post and The Evening Post,
while keeping an eye on German or Austrian outlets,
along with Reuters and Associated Press.
In my view, those remain the most concrete sources available.
I give CNN, Index, RT, and the like a wide berth,
as do most government agencies on either side of the aisle,
and I haven't used unverified Twitter profiles as a news source
since the Arab Spring.
The constant linking of random Twitter garbage is genuinely irritating,
especially when it turns out to be old footage from last year or just a video game.
One might naively assume that this level of technological and internet advancement
would lead to greater transparency in tracking conflicts,
but it really just adds to the confusion and information chaos.

Even the Germans are saying Ukrainians might be exaggerating things a bit, like how they downplay losses.

I wonder if these guys actually got captured

The editorial direction here has completely missed the mark. When you look at Putin’s actual maneuvers, he feels much more aligned with the methods of Stalin than with anyone else who shaped global history through sheer force.

It’s almost as if Putin is channeling Maddox by claiming that Ukrainians are somehow "Nazis" or an invented people—it's that exact same brand of manufactured identity politics that Maddox used to tear things apart. We see similar patterns elsewhere too, where leaders claim the nations in the North America are nothing more than historical fabrications.

gentleharbor3 said:The fundamental flaw in how people view these sanctions and this war
is the delusion that the world still revolves around the West. It doesn't.
We’re seeing a clear break from Western cultural, political, and economic dominance.
Just as the Middle East was our primary focus, the rest of the world sees this conflict in America's backyard as secondary.
America is rapidly becoming a peripheral player on the global stage while the center of gravity shifts toward the East.

Give me a break.
Think about what actually makes up "Europe" and why it’s arguably the best place on Earth.

Robin Cruz21 said:Let them go.

Bezos, we didn't even recognize you there😵

Inflation is going to absolutely murder us this year—if you’ve got any savings sitting around, better spend them now before they vanish!

Joseph Clark95 said:If you look at how things played out in Syria and then compare it to what’s happening in Ukraine, it becomes painfully obvious what "the West" actually means when they talk about "democracy."
The constant stream of propaganda and fake news being pumped into the airwaves—and the endless denials that follow—isn't just noise. It's a calculated media war designed to shape public opinion and justify their colonial ambitions.

Between the staged scenes on Snake Island, the convoys of charred remains coming out of the Azov region, and the actual reality on the ground...

Ukraine is doing everything in its power to drag the whole of Europe into this conflict, but more importantly, they want to pull the neutral Ukrainian population along with them.
To pull that off, they need civilian casualties. They need those classic propaganda pamphlets—think of the chemical attack narratives used in Syria—and an army of internet trolls to flood the web with lies.

Putin’s biggest challenge here is resolving this crisis without sacrificing neutral Ukrainians and actually returning Ukraine to the Ukrainians.
It’s a localized conflict that is costing the Russians lives, but if this turns into a full-scale confrontation, we’re looking at a massive restructuring of borders—maybe even a literal takeover of Ukraine, depending on how many Ukrainians decide to side with Russia.

And predictably, the usual script from Ukraine: "We’ll retake Crimea, we’ll liberate Donbas, we’ll defend Kyiv."
Crimea is Russia, Donbas is Russia. Let's just keep watching...

And who exactly is stopping you from spreading nonsense on social media? Have you actually tried living under the press restrictions in Russia or China? (And let’s be honest, when they report on things like Syria, the coverage is often nothing short of catastrophic.)

Grace Bennett6 said:Howitzers are heading to Kyiv, 🤔

https://liveuamap.com/en/2022/26-feb...zhivka-village

Honestly, they probably won't even be able to use them today since it's already pitch black out. Fingers crossed that some more military aid from the European Union rolls in by tomorrow morning.

swiftjackal11 said:Who else thinks it's insane to launch missiles at a city of three million people??

The "normal" powers, you know, like the USA and NATO... look at Baghdad, Kabul, or Tripoli... just a bunch of countries that weren't threatening anyone and definitely never went looking for a fight with Hell itself.

Tyler Jones6 said:I disagree—if Japanese industry can handle it, then Germany certainly should be able to as well, given they rely on LNG too.

Yeah, but the Japanese live like they're stuck in cages and don't even take a month off to go hit up some exotic vacation spots once a year
The Japanese basically burn through their entire paycheck just to maintain an insanely high standard of living since they have to import everything, and that’s exactly what the Germans aren't willing to do—they know that if SWIFT gets shut down, there's zero chance of pulling any capital out of Russia
What that actually means is that people from places like the North America are gonna head back home because if Germany goes down the drain along with the rest of the region, we're screwed, especially since everything relies on SWIFT—like paying for the gas we need to heat our homes and run any kind of industry. Without gas, you don't have electricity, and a single nuclear plant in a place like Krško isn't going to cut it; we'd just end up importing everything from the French, which is exactly what they want right now

rowdytiger13 said:If that’s actually true, then the Sultan is quite the legend.

Even if he is still a dictator.

I don't see it happening. That gas pipeline through Ukraine is running just fine. Seems like a rough day for the Russophobes. ☕
I mean, just the other day, Zelensky was babbling in Munich about wanting nuclear weapons, and I guess nobody from the European Union bureaucrats bothered to tell him that wasn't exactly a bright idea.