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

I guess a special division from outer space just arrived to bail out the Russians.

Zachary Reyes6 said:Now, this might be an exaggeration—but honestly, it really isn't good that Ukraine isn't being led by an ethnic Ukrainian at this moment. Especially when you consider the deep-seated antagonism between the Ukrainian peasantry and the Jews in that region, which stretches back through all of history.

It is precisely through this kind of tension that antagonism is broken down and brotherhood is forged—by standing together to defend a shared home against a common enemy, where everyone unites against an aggressor attempting to impose his will through sheer force.

Putin acts as the architect of the Ukrainian national identity; his aggression has served to ignite a sense of self, much like how such actions unite free nations in collective condemnation and defense against these kinds of primitive worldviews.

rape_artist said:There’s zero data coming out of Ukraine because admitting the truth would be a total moral collapse. Plus, there are plenty of rumors they’re just cutting the internet to stop leaks from getting out.

Total nonsense... the internet in Kyiv hasn't gone down once.

I'm talking to people over there right now without any issues at all.

urbanotter said:Doesn't every sovereign nation have the fundamental right to decide for itself which alliances to join?

Or does that principle only apply when we're talking about NATO?☕

Ukraine would never have joined NATO anyway, and honestly, it wasn't even on the table.

Even the Germans are finally getting off their butts. They're gonna sneak 400 RPGs through some "
third party country"
tweet

Germany is in the process of approving delivery of 400 RPGs to Ukraine via a third country, an EU diplomat says

Morning Ukrainian
An intelligence officer from Ukraine reached out to tell me about a meeting held deep inside Putin's stronghold in the Ural mountains. It was basically a gathering of oligarchs all trying to find a way to escape Russia. According to Terras, who shared what looks like a leaked document, Putin is absolutely livid because he thought this whole war would be a breeze—something finished in just a few days.

- The Russians didn't actually have a tactical plan. This war is bleeding them about $20 billion every single day. They’re down to their last few missiles, so they're being extremely stingy with them. They're running out of gear; their factories physically can't keep up with the demand. At best, they're just scraping by making rifles and ammo,

- Any new Russian weaponry might take three or four months to build, if they can even manage it. They're completely out of raw materials. They used to rely heavily on supplies coming in from Canada, Finland, and Germany, but those taps have been shut tight now, writes Terras.

William Anderson5 said: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...

And then, predictably, you’d be the first of those forty to run for the hills, followed closely by the remaining thirty-nine.

It is quite evident that you have never participated in even two actual skirmishes in your entire life, unless one counts playing GTA on a keyboard.

That is precisely how the naive and gullible Ukrainians thought, and well, look where that landed them.

Where are those thirty-nine Ukrainian "allies and GREATEST FRIENDS" now?

Where are those supposed "strongest... smartest... most democratic..." entities in the world when it comes to providing the PROMISED AID AND SUPPORT?

The absolute cowards simply invent excuses while offering nothing more than lip service from their air-conditioned offices thousands of miles away.

If Russia manages to grab the southern border of Ukraine—meaning if they take Mariupol—and links up with Transnistria, then Moldova is absolutely screwed.
Wouldn't it be smart for them to ask for some EU troops on the ground before it's too late?

Betty Murphy3 said:You have Google—use it. We have veterans from the conflict who say, based on firsthand accounts from Ukrainians, that they’ve wiped 2,000 Russians out of the equation. If they're hitting 1,000 in three days, that’s massive—that’s 1,000 Russian mothers weeping in just seventy-two hours. Use your head.

And seriously, use Google; what else is the internet for? If everything were going according to their plan, the Russians would have seized a major strategic city by now—but they haven't. Putin calls for negotiations and a pause on weaponry, yet that jerk hasn't pivoted to total war—not because he's feeling humanitarian, mind you, but because he knows it would trigger even fiercer Ukrainian resistance and even more dead Russians. Please, give me a break.

Fine, thanks. If Šeler says it's true, then it must be. There's certainly no need to bother with Google.

Lola 27 said:We should probably just ban anyone under 5'11" from running for office.☕
Just a bunch of clowns and psychos.

First off, what kind of people are we talking about here—under 5'11"? Like, barely hitting five feet?
So, according to this logic, everyone under 5'11" is just a total clown?
No comment. 🤦

Basically, back on Thursday, the first day of the invasion, Russia burned through $10 billion just trying to prop up the Ruble—and that was before any of these sanctions actually kicked in. It makes me wonder how much they’re hemorrhaging daily now to defend their currency following the sanctions, and even more so regarding what they'll be spending next week once they get booted from SWIFT.

By the way, the Russians actually made it illegal to disclose the exact figures regarding Ruble defense—this started after the annexation of Crimea—so we're stuck waiting on market data and whatever they choose to leak, since the Central Bank of Russia isn't allowed to publish those numbers officially.

Betty Murphy3 said:In Putin's case, he isn't physically imposing, yet he carries this massive arrogance—this sense of superiority over those he deems weaker. How should we interpret that? Is it the standard interpretation most people jump to? I call it an inferiority complex, or perhaps just a byproduct of his height. It's clearly something he struggles with.

Since he couldn't possibly pull off what his army is doing in Ukraine on his own, feel free to philosophize all you want about how his physique doesn't affect his decisions. Honestly, I’m curious—how would he fare in a one-on-one fight with a Ukrainian or a Russian man of average height? Someone who talks big about rats and cornered animals? Brrr, I'm shaking; I'm terrified. I just wonder how cold his eyes would look if, standing at 6'2", I grabbed him by the head at shoulder level. Would he still act so arrogant and powerful while issuing threats to Finland, Sweden, and everyone else from some basement under the Kremlin?

The moment his subordinates sit or stand ten yards away from him, you know exactly what time it is. It is incredible that people here still fail to grasp the reality of the situation based on examples like this. It isn't just that they fear him; he fears them too. That tells you everything you need to know about the actual dynamic at play.

It doesn't matter how Putin feels emotionally; what matters is understanding how he plays the game. He plays on fear—deliberately inciting terror in both allies and enemies, likely hoping it will yield results. Zelensky didn't give him an inch of respect, essentially mocking him, probably because he didn't believe a direct assault was actually coming. Now, Putin is taking it personally. His behavior is a calculated attempt to reclaim his reputation, because in that world, reputation is everything. It was the same with Navalny; he confronted the regime head-on without a hint of hesitation, which is precisely why they had to lock him up and try to eliminate him. It's about the hierarchy. If you don't command that specific kind of respect at the top, you won't live to see the sunrise.
It became perfectly clear what kind of player Putin is when he brought a dog to a meeting with Merkel, knowing full well his guest was terrified of dogs. You don't do that when hosting someone in your home—especially not at that diplomatic level.
But a power pyramid built on self-interest and intimidation has its own inevitable failures. The people surrounding him eventually stop speaking anything but praise out of sheer terror. When critical thinking is purged, you lose the mechanism required to correct mistakes. And under regimes like that, things can spiral into disaster very quickly.

Look, I’m not saying I’m on Russia's side, no matter how much that might sound like I am, but man, this whole wave of Ukrainian propaganda is just exhausting to watch and listen to.
It makes you feel like there's some massive, hidden agenda at play beyond just having NATO bases in the region.

I mean, was the US fighting that aggressively for support back in the 90s?

Pornhub blocks users from Russia

What sanctions? 🤣

boldotter2 said:It all comes down to human suffering, and honestly, even more so if things start wrecking the global economy.
I guess what China actually wants is for the West to pivot all that cash toward beefing up NATO and churning out weapons instead of investing in Chinese industry. For example, Americans are asking for $6.5 billion from the budget to help Ukraine. That’s basically $6.5 billion less flowing into China's pockets.

BTW, the Chinese people were pretty restrained at the Security Council today during the vote on the Ukraine resolution. It was a resolution drafted by Americans that mentions the word "aggression" about a million times. Russia used their veto, obviously. Nobody else was against it, though.

They might actually show up as a "yes" vote on some future roll call. They could play it smart by giving Ukraine some quiet support while trying to push some post-communist types in Russia who cause less trouble, all while keeping the path clear for China to grow.
The Russians are going to have to listen to someone eventually, and nothing in this world comes for free.

Michael Collins said:The Ukrainians signed all sorts of things with them too...

They should've just stuck to the Minsk agreements and we wouldn't be here. Look, Vladimir Putin isn't exactly sane, but do you really want some Walking dead dofura nuklearka statistician showing up in your backyard?
Americans carry a massive chunk of the blame for this mess. Ever since that clown started shouting "America First," they've been looking out for themselves while everyone else pays the price. Honestly, watching that dried-up mummy Nancy Pelosi struggle with basic geography just makes me want to weep.🤦

BoJo:
To the People of Ukraine : slava Ukraini.
To the people of Russia: I don't think this war actually represents you.

https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/sta...18170671128584

God, those hair choices. 🤣🤣🤣
Everything else aside. 🙏🙏

Thomas Nelson25 said:Hey, Mr. Gambler...

The market will decide... and the Chinese are definitely going to be looking for a discount.

Remember watching him on those news segments? Just looked like a little mouse standing next to the Chinese Party leader.

That’s just your personal take on it.
In my experience, a Chinese person will try to squeeze a discount out of everyone, always pushing for the absolute maximum possible.

Personally, I don't feel an ounce of guilt when I buy a stock in a product I use every single day; if the price is right, I'm in.

Steven Bennett5 said:From what we can see, the Russians have definitely achieved their strategic goals so far:

They've effectively pushed Ukraine away from any consideration of joining NATO or even the EU for a long time.
The fighting is happening on Ukrainian soil.

The forces prepared for the assault—maybe around 150,000 to 170,000 soldiers—simply aren't enough to "conquer" a nation of this size. But clearly, that isn't the goal here.

The aim is to squeeze Kyiv, to pressure that comedian and his boxer buddy to back down and save their people and their country.
The goal is to get Ukraine—either this current administration or likely whoever follows—to sign an unconditional agreement to remain militarily neutral.

You don't actually need to "occupy" all of Ukraine to achieve any of that!

Secondly, nobody really has reliable intel from the ground right now, which, unlike American or Western interventions in places like Iraq or Syria, is a relatively new factor.

It would be naive to fall for the nonsense on our mainstream news outlets claiming the operation is failing just because it’s only day three.
Operations like this aren't planned to last only three or four weeks.
Even in Chechnya (the second war, which the Russians won), it didn't wrap up in five or six days...
The Russians probably haven't even deployed their second or third waves of assault forces yet.
Will they actually march into the center of Kyiv and hold it under siege? Honestly, who knows.

As for casualties, of course there are losses on both sides. This is a war, not a ballet recital!

A 2-3% loss rate in an offensive operation of this scale is practically expected—if you assume there are 150,000 Russian troops involved, you can do the math yourselves.

Back home, during Storm, we had over 120 dead. Just near Turin by Karlovac, we lost about 10 people to mortars during the first attempt at a breakthrough. And generally speaking, those 120 or so people were killed by an enemy that often wasn't even putting up a decisive defense! They were mostly retreating.
Now, try putting that into the context of this current offensive operation!

All Putin has actually managed to do up to this point is turn the entire world against him. Aside from Lukashenko, Assad, Venezuela, and Cuba...

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 what if that huge psycho actually follows you and starts screaming, "You wanna fight?! You wanna fight?!"
What if he shows up right at your front door and starts kicking it in?
What if he breaks into your house?
What if he tries to lay a hand on your kid?

At what point do you finally lose it?