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

James Chavez91 said:Zelenskyy gave thanks to Erdogan for banning those Russian ships from entering...
Is there an official report on this somewhere?

He basically just asked, but Turkey shot him down, saying they don't actually have the authority to do that under international maritime laws.
Plus, even if they could, doing that would pretty much be an open invitation to war.

Nadbiskup says: Check out this post
We are witnessing genuine resistance against the occupiers here. In this footage, Ukrainian citizens are using Molotov cocktails to strike back at the Russians.

Chris Chase5 said:It’s just so heartbreaking to see this happening again in 2022, though their courage is completely understandable...

The sheer absurdity of this situation is enough to move one to tears; Ukraine is riddled with oligarchs who fund private militias, leaving naive, impoverished citizens to perish for their interests while wielding nothing more than sticks and stones—honestly, they might have been better off charging tanks with spears.🙂 🙂 🙂

In terms of raw hardware, Ukraine should theoretically possess the military strength of three separate nations given the massive surplus of weaponry left behind by the USSR, but most of it was likely sold off or gifted away. 🙂 🙂 🙂They supposedly have tanks and enough anti-tank weaponry to fight a hundred wars, yet here we see civilians fighting with gasoline bottles because corrupt government officials have liquidated everything to line the pockets of their preferred militias, while the official army and police remain preoccupied guarding the estates of oligarchs and various ultra-nationalist politicians.

Intercontinental bombers were essentially sold for scrap metal, and missiles, tanks, and armored vehicles were likely funneled to the Middle East through various kickback schemes, leaving nothing for the people except sending civilians in pajamas to their deaths.

For an ordinary person to take up arms against the Russian army, which possesses far superior training, is nothing short of suicide.
Meanwhile, the politicians who orchestrated this entire mess, along with the extremists and oligarchs, simply lounge in their villas, completely unbothered.

Zelenskyy’s latest video is all about Ukraine joining the European Union, which honestly makes me wonder if he stumbled into the presidency by accident or if he’s just completely detached from reality regarding the actual odds of that happening given how things look right now. I’m leaning toward the latter, mostly because I’ve got this nagging fear that he actually thought NATO was going to step in and fight his battles for him instead of just sending supplies.

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.

Give me a break. Do you honestly believe nobody is going to take any action just because we might accidentally annoy the madman in Moscow? Are you people serious? Are we all supposed to be hostages to that bald guy's whims?

Henry Lopez10 said:It feels to me like this whole thing is just a massive trap set for Putin.

You’re dealing with an absolute ruler here—a nationalist who has zero interest in democracy or globalism. He’s someone who refuses to let globalism, the West, or mainstream Western corporations come into Russia to exploit national resources and everything else tied to that narrative... at least, not on their terms.
Russia is powerful.
And honestly, you can't just unseat him and his inner circle because he's too deeply entrenched. Your only real option would be a Kennedy-style move, but that would likely just solidify the current political status quo.
Not to mention the sheer amount of money it would cost amidst the resulting chaos. 😉
So, what’s the play?
You provoke him gradually. You irritate him, poking at his core ideologies and his ego. You identify his psychological vulnerabilities as both a man and a leader, then humiliate and manipulate him. You exploit those weaknesses. You basically get those hypothetical leaders in Europe to play right into your hands.
Putin launches an assault on an innocent, non-confrontational, West-leaning Ukraine, which allows you to frame him as a mad narcissist attacking a victim. Which, to be fair, is exactly what Ukraine is.
I'm just laying out the scenario.
You fuel the madness until, in the eyes of the world, the democracies, and even his own people, he looks like a warmongering lunatic. Everyone starts wanting him gone.
Between the sanctions and other strategic moves, the fallout eventually forces him out of power, whether through diplomacy or brute force.
Once he falls, the autocracy and the dream of a new USSR collapse along with him. Boom.
Modernity rushes in, bringing Western business and globalism in all its various forms.
The West grows stronger, and China gets even more powerful, even though they’re already an economic titan.

The people pulling the strings have him exactly where they want him. And if nothing else, at least Americans selling oil will make a killing.
They’re putting Putin exactly where they intended.
The pressure builds every single day, though unfortunately, the Ukrainians and Russians will be the ones footing the bill.
Interesting theory, isn't it?

Sign, this is a guaranteed game—a rigged match where only the major players know who's actually calling the shots.

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.

Do you seriously believe Ukrainians have any theoretical chance against the Russians out in open territory? If even much larger and more powerful militaries wouldn't attempt something like that, why would they?

Henry Lopez10 said: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.

For anyone applying the same questionable logic used by the author of the quote above:

Paul Patel95 said:Plus that extra $600 million Biden just signed off on earlier today

The real question now is when that money actually hits the ground, what kind of gear it buys, and honestly, whether the Ukrainians even have the trained crews ready to handle it.

crimsonlynx24 said: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.

Zelenskyy won 75% of the vote back in 2019. 👍

Rachel Allen55 said:If regular folks just grab guns and try to go toe-to-toe with the Russian army—who are way more trained than anyone here—it's basically suicide.

Look, I get the patriotism and the whole "defend your home" thing, I really do, but there’s a fine line between being brave and just being plain crazy.

Zensnsky is basically sending his own people straight to the meat grinder right now. If he had any sense, he'd be jumping on the phone to negotiate with Vladimir Putin immediately, whether that happens in Minsk or some neutral spot like Finland.

In a situation like this, you should be playing the long game to save your nation, not just trying to protect your own seat at the table.

From what I can see, this Russian army operates more like a disorganized group of amateurs.

The only way they manage to make any headway is through sheer, barbaric brute force backed by heavy weaponry...

shadowdrifter20 said:Maybe it's because Putin wants to carry out de-nazification in Ukraine.
Ousting a Jewish president and killing a Jewish child seems like a pretty bizarre way to handle de-nazification.

In a town that's mostly Jewish, it’s just logical that a Jewish child would likely be caught in the crossfire—purely from a statistical standpoint.

I’m asking again: why is the Jewish identity being singled out so specifically when talking about the other children?

Sam Martinez9 said:I have to disagree. Nuclear weapons come in all different yields and ranges, and Putin would likely use the more powerful ones to target European cities far from the Russian border. I'm thinking specifically of major cities in the United Kingdom and the European Union—essentially, cities within NATO member states.

In my view, only a madman would initiate a war like the one Putin has started, and a madman will certainly resort to nuclear weapons if he feels like it. To him, individual lives aren't the priority; his objectives are.

His goal ceases to exist, along with him, the second he uses nukes.

The China Development Bank is already starting to tighten the screws on raw material trade with Russia. Sorry, Putin, but the market is a cold mistress. 😁

Anthony Taylor393 said: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.

Honestly, how incredibly dense can someone be to actually type out "who's trying to divide us?"

Laura Scott7 said:Honestly, it’s just a bunch of cowards from these paramilitary groups and extremists who have all retreated into the cities, basically using regular people as human shields because they know damn well that Russia Putin isn't going to go dropping airstrikes on urban centers with civilians everywhere. I mean, if there are really as many of them as they claim to be, why aren't they out there fighting on the front lines instead of hiding behind families and apartment buildings?

The Russians are going to strike regardless. If they don't use bombers, they'll just hammer them with artillery and various rocket launchers.

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.

While the Chinese and Russians might claim they invented the internet, Facebook, and all this modern tech,
it’s actually the brilliant minds in the garages of democratic nations who are truly inventing tools to improve life, producing incredible music, and making great films.

Sam Alvarez4 said:And will that actually get them Crimea and the Donbas back?

I was talking about Moldova. No one is getting Crimea back from Russia as long as they're sitting on a nuclear arsenal. As for those two new republics, maybe—but it's a long shot.

Henry Lopez10 said:It feels to me like this whole thing is just a massive trap set for Putin.

You’re dealing with an absolute ruler here—a nationalist who has zero interest in democracy or globalism. He’s someone who refuses to let globalism, the West, or mainstream Western corporations come into Russia to exploit national resources and everything else tied to that narrative... at least, not on their terms.
Russia is powerful.
And honestly, you can't just unseat him and his inner circle because he's too deeply entrenched. Your only real option would be a Kennedy-style move, but that would likely just solidify the current political status quo.
Not to mention the sheer amount of money it would cost amidst the resulting chaos. 😉
So, what’s the play?
You provoke him gradually. You irritate him, poking at his core ideologies and his ego. You identify his psychological vulnerabilities as both a man and a leader, then humiliate and manipulate him. You exploit those weaknesses. You basically get those hypothetical leaders in Europe to play right into your hands.
Putin launches an assault on an innocent, non-confrontational, West-leaning Ukraine, which allows you to frame him as a mad narcissist attacking a victim. Which, to be fair, is exactly what Ukraine is.
I'm just laying out the scenario.
You fuel the madness until, in the eyes of the world, the democracies, and even his own people, he looks like a warmongering lunatic. Everyone starts wanting him gone.
Between the sanctions and other strategic moves, the fallout eventually forces him out of power, whether through diplomacy or brute force.
Once he falls, the autocracy and the dream of a new USSR collapse along with him. Boom.
Modernity rushes in, bringing Western business and globalism in all its various forms.
The West grows stronger, and China gets even more powerful, even though they’re already an economic titan.

The people pulling the strings have him exactly where they want him. And if nothing else, at least Americans selling oil will make a killing.
They’re putting Putin exactly where they intended.
The pressure builds every single day, though unfortunately, the Ukrainians and Russians will be the ones footing the bill.
Interesting theory, isn't it?

That's it. Well done. 👍

crimsonwolf26 said:Do you seriously believe Ukrainians have any theoretical chance against the Russians out in open territory? If even much larger and more powerful militaries wouldn't attempt something like that, why would they?

They know they don't, which is exactly why they want everything to go dark there.

dustyfalcon122 said:“We need ammunition, not just a ride,”
The Ukrainians are absolutely fired up right now... honestly, it feels like things could go south fast in Kyiv.
Realistically, they’re facing an uphill battle, but unless this whole thing is a massive setup, they're actually dealing out more damage to Russia than anyone anticipated.

Still, these are the comments I find most striking—claiming they have no chance while Russians are dropping like flies in the winter.

Douglas Davis4 said:So, what? You think you'll find some idiot among the Russians willing to pull that off?
They know perfectly well they'd all be wiped out in that madness
unless his inner circle removes him first... honestly, god help us, the man is insane.

There are plenty of them, don't worry. At the end of the day, a military exists to follow orders. That is its entire purpose. Besides, any soldier is prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice. Death is just a daily reality in wartime.

Think back to World War II. Millions of Germans followed Hitler blindly and died for his cause.