Offside (General Discussion)

Kyle Campbell4 said:A third Russian general has fallen. It always happens the same way: once the momentum stalls on the battlefield, they try to get close to the front lines to boost troop morale or scout the situation personally. Then, when things inevitably spiral out of control, they start barking orders at Chechen units positioned in the rear, who end up setting up blockades and firing on their own retreating soldiers. You simply cannot kill off an endless wave of Orcs when they keep pouring in constantly. Honestly, I fail to understand what on earth the leadership in western Ukraine is waiting for. They have a massive pool of $15-20 billion just sitting there. They need to organize those brigades and deploy them immediately to support the efforts in both the north and the south of the country.

But how are you even supposed to move a convoy if the Russians have total air superiority? They tried that right at the beginning of the conflict, and the Russians just picked off several columns effortlessly...
The real question is how seriously the Ukrainians actually took the warnings from the Americans, and just how much equipment they have tucked away in the east... the most capable Ukrainian fighters are stationed in the Donbas, and if they try to move them anywhere else in a convoy, the Russians will likely intercept and destroy them on the road, which is exactly why the Ukrainians are pleading with NATO for a no-fly zone.
It’s basically down to guerrilla territory tactics and seeing who can endure the longest... that’s just how it’s going to play out.

feralcanyon73 said:Has the "Spirit of Kyiv" actually accomplished anything yet?

Three Russian generals and one Chechen general have already fallen. That is actually quite an impressive tally for just fifteen days of warfare. People are clearly being sent straight to glory.

Jonathan Smith12 said:But how are you even supposed to move a convoy if the Russians have total air superiority? They tried that right at the beginning of the conflict, and the Russians just picked off several columns effortlessly...
The real question is how seriously the Ukrainians actually took the warnings from the Americans, and just how much equipment they have tucked away in the east... the most capable Ukrainian fighters are stationed in the Donbas, and if they try to move them anywhere else in a convoy, the Russians will likely intercept and destroy them on the road, which is exactly why the Ukrainians are pleading with NATO for a no-fly zone.
It’s basically down to guerrilla territory tactics and seeing who can endure the longest... that’s just how it’s going to play out.

The Key to everything is Kyiv. That famous convoy has finally reached Kyiv, and now the deployment around the city is underway. Defenders in the north have been pushed even further 3.1 miles toward the city and the northern districts. Within a few days, we can expect a full-scale assault involving systematic artillery fire aimed at leveling the city.

Elizabeth Mendoza said:

The US military is shifting its borders. And apparently, we’re supposed to believe Scotch tape is going to protect us from radiation.

That’s just how it's done. The main thing is making sure no dust gets inside the suit.

I honestly don't see how this ends well for the Russians. Even if they manage to take Kyiv (if that's even their plan), the West's exodus is already a done deal. Screw all that talk about them being able to hold their own; they don't need anything from anyone else. By the end of the year, you won't be able to get your hands on—let alone see—anything from Europe or the US in Russia. Honestly, the whole thing still feels surreal to me.

Paul Sanders5 said:I honestly don't see how this ends well for the Russians. Even if they manage to take Kyiv (if that's even their plan), the West's exodus is already a done deal. Screw all that talk about them being able to hold their own; they don't need anything from anyone else. By the end of the year, you won't be able to get your hands on—let alone see—anything from Europe or the US in Russia. Honestly, the whole thing still feels surreal to me.

Nah, those sanctions will vanish a week after the attacks stop—I get the feeling half of Europe is just dying to wrap this up so they can get back to business as usual.

Anthony Jackson2 said:Nah, those sanctions will vanish a week after the attacks stop—I get the feeling half of Europe is just dying to wrap this up so they can get back to business as usual.

They absolutely do.

But you’ve gotta sell that narrative to the public, and right now? The vibe in Europe isn't really leaning that way. Fingers crossed I'm totally misreading the room here.

Anthony Jackson2 said:Nah, those sanctions will vanish a week after the attacks stop—I get the feeling half of Europe is just dying to wrap this up so they can get back to business as usual.

So you don't want that?

Matthew Collins20 said:So you don't want that?

Oh, I want it—just not in a way where Russia walks away as the winner.

Anthony Jackson2 said:Nah, those sanctions will vanish a week after the attacks stop—I get the feeling half of Europe is just dying to wrap this up so they can get back to business as usual.

A lot of global brands will head back to Russia because much of what's happening right now is driven by pure PR. However, if the Russians topple the current regime and occupy all of Eastern Ukraine, those Western sanctions will stay in place until there are direct negotiations between both sides. Given the latest version of Putin in the Kremlin, I don't see those talks being particularly productive...

Paul Sanders5 said:I honestly don't see how this ends well for the Russians. Even if they manage to take Kyiv (if that's even their plan), the West's exodus is already a done deal. Screw all that talk about them being able to hold their own; they don't need anything from anyone else. By the end of the year, you won't be able to get your hands on—let alone see—anything from Europe or the US in Russia. Honestly, the whole thing still feels surreal to me.

Taking Kyiv is an impossible task as long as the defenders have sufficient supplies of water, food, and ammunition. Look at Vukovar; that was just a small town that held out for three months, and they would have kept going if they had more weapons. Kyiv is a massive metropolis, and if the defenders possess the morale and the will for urban warfare along with enough firepower, they can hold out for months, pinning down a massive amount of enemy manpower and armor. I seriously doubt the Russians have enough personnel and equipment on the ground to operate effectively across the entire country while simultaneously fighting brutal street battles in Kyiv. They were pushed out of Kharkiv and lost two cities during their counteroffensive. Capturing Kyiv is far more difficult than capturing Kharkiv. The only thing that matters now is that the West doesn't grow weary and keeps the weapons flowing. Without those arms, Ukraine falls.

Joseph Clark37 said:A lot of global brands will head back to Russia because much of what's happening right now is driven by pure PR. However, if the Russians topple the current regime and occupy all of Eastern Ukraine, those Western sanctions will stay in place until there are direct negotiations between both sides. Given the latest version of Putin in the Kremlin, I don't see those talks being particularly productive...

Reading letters from Russian journalists has been one of the most absurd things lately. If even a fraction of it is true, then Putko has completely lost his mind and gone off the deep end.

Jonathan Smith12 said:But how are you even supposed to move a convoy if the Russians have total air superiority? They tried that right at the beginning of the conflict, and the Russians just picked off several columns effortlessly...
The real question is how seriously the Ukrainians actually took the warnings from the Americans, and just how much equipment they have tucked away in the east... the most capable Ukrainian fighters are stationed in the Donbas, and if they try to move them anywhere else in a convoy, the Russians will likely intercept and destroy them on the road, which is exactly why the Ukrainians are pleading with NATO for a no-fly zone.
It’s basically down to guerrilla territory tactics and seeing who can endure the longest... that’s just how it’s going to play out.

I think Ukraine realized the gravity of the situation too late, and I suspect Western intelligence services did as well. This has been brewing for years; they should have seen this coming months ago.
For the Ukrainians fighting the Russians, there isn't much choice left but to concentrate their forces within urban centers and fortified positions in the Donbas. That's one reason why the Russians are penetrating so deeply in the south. But like you said, with Russian air superiority, the Ukrainians simply cannot perform any significant tactical repositioning, and their logistics are being choked because of it.
In my view, NATO should have already taken a more aggressive stance against the Russians, unofficially targeting and destroying Russian objectives on both the ground and in the sky within Ukraine. Alongside the Russian buildup near the borders, they should have deployed the largest concentration of NATO forces in history in Poland. Putin is like a classic physical abuser; if you don't physically stand up to him, he'll never stop.

And yet, you can't find a single corrupt chef or server willing to slip anything into his food. It’s absolutely unbelievable.

Kyle Campbell4 said:Reading letters from Russian journalists has been one of the most absurd things lately. If even a fraction of it is true, then Putko has completely lost his mind and gone off the deep end.

Looking at his behavior and recent moves, Putin has definitely changed. Once someone adopts a new pattern of behavior, it’s an illusion to assume they’ll revert to their old ways. The West needs to gather every possible bit of intelligence to assess his actual plans and ultimate goals. Hoping that someone will return to their previous way of thinking is a lazy and dangerous strategy...

Anthony Jackson2 said:Oh, I want it—just not in a way where Russia walks away as the winner.

How exactly is Russia supposed to win this war?

It’s just impossible. What would they even do with Kyiv once they took it—if they hadn't already leveled the whole damn city to the ground first? And with everyone fleeing anyway... what then? Rebuild the ruins just to install some puppet government?

The whole thing makes zero sense anymore. We're deep in this spiral of war and atrocities where there isn't a single winning scenario left for Putin. Every possible outcome ends in his failure.

At best, he’ll be stuck in this total stalemate... just waiting for him to die before things ever get back to normal.

I honestly find what the Ukrainians are doing to Tymoshenko quite unsettling. From everything I’ve seen so far, the man hasn't even made an official statement on this issue, yet somehow that silence is being treated like a criminal offense. And then there's the fact that he's still working with Zenit in Russia. Is that supposed to be considered complicity or what? I don't get it. It is entirely possible that I don't have the full picture here, but from my limited understanding, it seems like everyone is being expected to explicitly declare their allegiances and pick a side immediately.
I don't know; it feels similar to these irrational retaliations we're seeing against Russians across the globe—targeting athletes, artists, and regular people whose only "sin" is having any connection to Russia at this moment.

To me, this isn't about trying to sit on two sides of the fence. It’s simply a personal choice in this specific moment to not take a side—or perhaps, more accurately, it's my own plea for peace and a refusal to participate in all this madness. But no, apparently we’re just going to erase your entire legacy and all 140 of your appearances. Who cares, right? So much for democracy.

hiddencyclist112 said:I honestly find what the Ukrainians are doing to Tymoshenko quite unsettling. From everything I’ve seen so far, the man hasn't even made an official statement on this issue, yet somehow that silence is being treated like a criminal offense. And then there's the fact that he's still working with Zenit in Russia. Is that supposed to be considered complicity or what? I don't get it. It is entirely possible that I don't have the full picture here, but from my limited understanding, it seems like everyone is being expected to explicitly declare their allegiances and pick a side immediately.
I don't know; it feels similar to these irrational retaliations we're seeing against Russians across the globe—targeting athletes, artists, and regular people whose only "sin" is having any connection to Russia at this moment.

To me, this isn't about trying to sit on two sides of the fence. It’s simply a personal choice in this specific moment to not take a side—or perhaps, more accurately, it's my own plea for peace and a refusal to participate in all this madness. But no, apparently we’re just going to erase your entire legacy and all 140 of your appearances. Who cares, right? So much for democracy.

Emotions run incredibly high when bombs are falling; people tend to adopt this "you're either with us or against us" mentality.

It's just like those folks who stayed behind in Belgrade to keep working back in late 1991—it's the exact same situation...

hiddencyclist112 said:I honestly find what the Ukrainians are doing to Tymoshenko quite unsettling. From everything I’ve seen so far, the man hasn't even made an official statement on this issue, yet somehow that silence is being treated like a criminal offense. And then there's the fact that he's still working with Zenit in Russia. Is that supposed to be considered complicity or what? I don't get it. It is entirely possible that I don't have the full picture here, but from my limited understanding, it seems like everyone is being expected to explicitly declare their allegiances and pick a side immediately.
I don't know; it feels similar to these irrational retaliations we're seeing against Russians across the globe—targeting athletes, artists, and regular people whose only "sin" is having any connection to Russia at this moment.

To me, this isn't about trying to sit on two sides of the fence. It’s simply a personal choice in this specific moment to not take a side—or perhaps, more accurately, it's my own plea for peace and a refusal to participate in all this madness. But no, apparently we’re just going to erase your entire legacy and all 140 of your appearances. Who cares, right? So much for democracy.

Something similar to what happened with Hakan Sukur. It's sick.
Look, maybe he's a coward, maybe he's pro-Russian, whatever—but you shouldn't strip away things he actually earned throughout his life. That kind of stuff is intangible.

Nancy Sanchez31 said:Something similar to what happened with Hakan Sukur. It's sick.
Look, maybe he's a coward, maybe he's pro-Russian, whatever—but you shouldn't strip away things he actually earned throughout his life. That kind of stuff is intangible.

The whole Sukur situation actually has nothing to do with Tymoshenko; in her case, it was an Erdogan-like regime that froze her assets.