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

Rachel Richardson said:That is precisely the point.
Kyiv has 2 million residents; El Paso had about 40,000 back in '91.

Putin cannot conquer Ukraine with only 150,000 troops.
This is merely the opening act.

However—he clearly thought that amount would be sufficient.
Which is frankly laughable.

Kyiv could fall—but only through internal betrayal by those currently leading the Ukrainians. Otherwise, they only fall if the Russians decide to go on a bloody rampage, and from what I see, even the Russians are wary of a Stalingrad scenario. They know exactly how that looks firsthand, just as the Ukrainians do; hence, they've essentially left the path to Kyiv open, waiting in the city for street fighting. So far, the Russians haven't pushed hard into the city—clearly, they are acutely aware of what awaits them in this "adventure."

After seeing a country devastated, I’d be terrified too if someone sent me to a foreign capital, ready to be taken out within the first block of entry.

There will be more to come—this is far from a Ukrainian defeat, or a victory for Russia—or rather, for that little man.

It is very far from either. Regarding the general situation: if the Ukrainian leadership isn't acting with sincerity, then they are in deep trouble. Unfortunately, only time will tell who is playing what role in this game, and time costs lives. The only certainty is that this long, exhausting war suits certain interests, and everything points toward that.

And the KGB type—he clearly isn't ready for "total war" yet; he’s afraid of history, specifically the specter of Adolf Hitler. It seems he has that scenario burned into his mind—if he didn't, he would have leveled everything in his path by now.

Fortunately for the Ukrainians, the Russians realized the gravity of the situation in time. They aren't rushing blindly into the fire or pushing to extremes, because extreme measures could mobilize every Ukrainian living in the country. If that happens, God help them—even 1,000,000 soldiers under Putin wouldn't be enough; it would just be buttons being pressed, which he won't even touch unless the Americans intervene directly. And everyone knows they won't, as they got what they wanted: a war in Europe, right on Russia's doorstep.

All in all, every side played this dirty. I’m not rooting for anyone in this match, except for the obvious victim: Ukraine and its people. No matter how you look at it, they lose. If they win, they pay dearly in lives and ruined land; if they lose, it’s even worse. Even if they reach an agreement and the Russians take "only" half the country, they still lose massive territory. Even without a formal defeat, they are left without a functional homeland.

Ultimately, it’s a dire situation for them, which is why I can't help but feel solidarity. It's simply because Putin, Biden, and the European Union are playing a game that exclusively harms the locals while benefiting everyone else—except the Russians. In this war, the Russians have lost more than they've gained, and even if they "win," they lose. So, let the fans of that little man think for a moment about what follows for Russia. Half their country is already impoverished; aside from the major urban centers, they are a poor nation, much like us, just with better-developed hubs. Anyone thinking there won't be consequences for them is deeply mistaken. They aren't the Germans, the Japanese, the Chinese, or the Americans—they don't have the economic powerhouse required to quickly recover from the cost of war and sanctions.

So, who is the winner? China, the USA, and parts of the European Union. The Ukrainians are the absolute losers. So, go ahead and root for the others—just not for the Ukrainians.

rowdyraven112 said:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_(film)

Given all the Hollywood bullshit out there, I'd say this is a pretty solid film. It captures war much better than Saving Ryan, in my opinion. The Chinese just don't know how to make a good movie... 🤦

The music is probably good too. They have their own versions of Britney Spears and Taylor Swift, but I'm sure they have their own Dua Lipa and Elton John as well. It's just a difference in branding.

Fine then, go ahead and enjoy it. Open your soul up to Eastern culture if you want.
I won't. I'm sticking with Western capitalism... Hollywood, punk rock, reggae, and everything else. Plus Pornhub.

Dennis Davis8 said:Petro Poroshenko stands there in front of a CNN camera acting like some kind of legendary hero—it’s honestly a joke. Just a total soap opera.
---
If you look at the secret Jewish agenda laid out in The New York Times, the whole goal becomes crystal clear: they’re trying to establish a second Jewish state, which explains why the political chaos in Ukraine is spiraling the way it is. Basically, there's this push to reclaim an ancient homeland. They've got full backing from the US, with Victoria Nuland pulling the strings from within the State Department. The US is essentially telling Vladimir Putin to back off and just let Russia maintain its historical ties with that people—ties that lead straight to modern-day Israel. Even Obama basically went on the record admitting that the regime change in Ukraine was orchestrated; Yanukovych was forced out under intense pressure from the CIA, the CIA, and Israel just to clear a path for the Jewish billionaire Petro Poroshenko. According to the reports, Jewish money and military hardware are flooding through Ukraine while the local Ukrainian Christians—the non-Jews—get slaughtered and wiped out, all while their property gets snatched up by Jewish oligarchs. Everything else? It's just theater for the masses who don't know any better.
https://hamdocamo.wordpress.com/2016...-ne-zna-nista/

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.

swiftjackal11 said: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.

Good grief, even Goebbels didn't have an imagination this wild.

Germany OKs weapons for Ukraine in major shift on military aid

The Germans are finally sending the gear. I just really hope it gets there before it's too late.

Laura Scott7 said:Look, it’s pretty simple if you actually bother to look at the big picture: Russia is just looking out for its own backyard, especially after being backed into a corner by NATO constantly pushing its borders right up against Ukraine. Putin laid out the terms clearly—he wanted a guarantee that Ukraine wouldn't be joining NATO, plain and simple. But instead of taking that seriously, these folks got way too cocky, acting like Russia was some minor player in the Middle East that they could just push around. Now, they’re trying to flip the script and spin this whole thing to make it look like Russia just attacked Ukraine out of nowhere without any provocation. Give me a break... what a joke. And don't even get me started on those EU sanctions; as if they’ll actually do anything when half the stuff they produce is already being bought up by India and China anyway. But hey, the absolute best part of this circus? The USA won't even stop importing oil because heaven forbid they actually try to do something to keep energy prices from skyrocketing, right? Total joke.

If Russia were actually under direct attack, as you claim, I suppose I’d be siding with Putin and the Russians. The issue here is that this idiot talks about Russian security while completely erasing Ukraine—treating their history as something to be claimed or outright erased if they don't fall in line. It shouldn't be a surprise that only people just like him can support such a sick individual, regardless of nationality. Besides, if Russia is so "threatened," why treat Ukraine like a Russian child that can't survive without its father in Moscow? Please. If you're cheering for him, you're just being ridiculous.

What would actually happen if a legitimately elected government in Mexico suddenly announced they were pivoting toward a communist regime and seeking a military and economic alliance with Russia and China?

How exactly would the USA respond to such a move?

tweet

The US is seriously looking at hitting Russia's central bank with sanctions. We're talking about $634 billion

NEWS: I'm hearing the US is eyeing sanctions on Russia’s central bank, a massive move targeting most of the $643b in reserves Putin has hoarded

No final call yet, but the administration wants to coordinate with European allies to make sure this hits as hard as possible.

Blacklisting Russia's central bank would be without precedent for an economy this size

This would be absolutely "devastating" for Russia, according to
@tashecon
“We would see the ruble crash.”

Michael Davis10 said:I guess you can't even start a war unless you've planned for at least 3 or 4 months of fighting first.

Sure, but who actually has the cash flow to bankroll three or four months of combat these days? It’s not like the old days. Back then, a single cruise missile might run you a few million bucks, but now? Just look at the price tag when you start dumping hundreds of them onto the field.

rape_artist said:Putin removed the Chief of Staff of the US Army for the failure of the operation in Ukraine.

This is probably the worst-case scenario. His successor is going to be even more ruthless.

Plus, he’ll have to open up fronts globally just to stop all those foreign powers from piling into Ukraine. Ukraine is toast once the West gets tied up fighting in places like the North America or the Baltics.

On January 17th on HBO

Take a look—it’s actually a German documentary rather than some local production.

Russian Cyber Army
RUSSIA'S CYBER ARMY, 2021, Germany, 52 min.
documentary

They meddle in foreign elections, breach government networks, and siphon off millions of dollars. Back when Olga Maltseva worked for one of those troll farms, the directive was incredibly straightforward: "Russia is always the good guy; everyone else is the villain." But those trolls are really just the tip of the iceberg. In reality, Russian hackers have been leading the charge in global cybercrime for years. For quite some time now, the Kremlin has been working to systematically exploit highly skilled hackers for its own strategic ends. In exchange for a sense of freedom and state protection, these individuals carry out the government's dirty work. As journalist Lilija Japarova explains, "Hackers don't necessarily care about political secrets themselves; they find much more profit in stealing databases or cold hard cash. However, because hackers can stumble upon those secrets, certain people in power become very interested in what they are doing."

slyfox43 said:By that metric, how would you size up the leadership in Russia and Ukraine?

Zelensky and the Ukrainian government are right there in Kyiv, sharing the same fate as their people; they didn't run.

Meanwhile, where are Putin and Medvedev? They’re likely staring at each other across some massive ten-foot table tucked away in a deep bunker somewhere.

Just hanging out with some random cronies, I guess.🤣

Honestly, it feels like Germans just swing from one extreme to the other. One minute they were looking to dominate all of Europe, and now they want to act like none of this affects them at all—as if they can just stay completely untouched by everything happening right in their backyard.🤣

vividtiger72 said:Based on what people are saying online, this is actually happening in Syria

It actually just crossed my mind that this might be related to that recent conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
You can find just about anything online if you look hard enough.

An interview with a man who spent years advising Putin leading up to February 23, 2022.

I guess you can get a pretty clear look at how Putin and his inner circle actually think from this.

They honestly believed that 70-80% of the population in Chicago would back them up, and that they'd just basically stroll through eastern Ukraine.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/video...e-impact-video

bluerider63 said:If it doesn't compromise anyone else's safety, then who cares, right?

The Russian seizure of Crimea and the Donbas, along with the targeting of the Ukrainian people, isn't just some side issue affecting their national security; those are merely rumors.

Melissa Ward said:What is Ukraine, really, if not just a rebranded version of the old Soviet State? I mean, look at the facts! The Americans absolutely dismantled the USSR, much like how they tore through America. It’s wild when you think about it. One minute, you have this massive global superpower, and then suddenly, in the 90s, it’s nothing more than a total joke... at least until Putin stepped up to take charge.

Targeting major cities across Europe? Once those first nuclear weapons start falling, there’s absolutely no turning back. It’s over. Period. Everyone knows that. You don't just pull that trigger unless you've been backed into a corner and it's truly your absolute last resort. It's like playing a game of high-stakes poker where you bet everything on one final, desperate hand—once the cards are on the table, the game is done!

A breakaway republic? You really ought to study history a bit more closely. The USSR essentially imploded from within. Yeltsin practically told every republic to go its own way—which effectively severed the Russian Federation from the rest of the USSR, and since they were the center of gravity, the whole state fell apart. He did it primarily to dismantle the political system that controlled the entire USSR (and was actively working against his own interests). While some republics welcomed it—like the Baltics—the vast majority were caught completely off guard and certainly weren't prepared for such a shift. Most of those states had lived under Moscow's thumb for 70 years; they struggled immensely at first to function as independent nations.

Hahhaa, honestly, if you could just erase Russians and Mexicans from the map, we’d all be better off.

Ukraine is probably going to drop a nuke on Russia eventually.

zeljko_ri As specified by:
Politics and sports—they really ought to stay in their own lanes... it's a concept that seems to be increasingly lost on everyone lately. 🕺

Oh, sure. Let’s all just play pretend—act like nothing is happening and everything is perfectly fine. It’s a brilliant strategy. Ukrainians won't be able to leave their own country anytime soon, let alone enjoy sports, culture, or any semblance of a normal life... yet we're supposedly supposed to let the aggressors and criminals enjoy a nice summer dip in the Atlantic right next to the refugees? If possible, of course...

bluemason3 said:True, but that’s just cushioning the blow. It won't stop the long-term fallout from sanctions.

Relying solely on China as a strategic partner is even riskier than depending entirely on selling energy to the European Union. Russia and China have conflicting interests in plenty of areas, and frankly, the West is still much more financially vital to China than Russia is.

There will be consequences on both sides. I guess the question is how long the sanctions will actually last if the European Union starts feeling the hit too. It's all interconnected.

Either way, I get the impression the Russians were much more aware of the potential blowback than Zelenskyy was about how quickly the West might bail him once things go south.