Russia's invasion of Ukraine: Part 5

Drew Booth60 said:This is turning into a massive defeat for Russia—we're nowhere near the finish line here, and sure, they might manage to scrape by using mass mobilization, but it’s still going to be a devastating blow. Once you strip away their nuclear arsenal, their military strength is actually trailing behind Iran, Turkey, or even Korea. And don't even get me started on the USA or China. They're battling deep-seated corruption and demographic collapses; honestly, the only thing keeping them afloat right now is their sheer abundance of natural resources. As long as the state doesn't fracture entirely, those resources and their nukes will always allow them to cling to being a regional power that carries some weight globally.

I feel like this should be obvious even to the Russophiles out there—in this emerging multipolar world, they won't be the main players anymore. Instead, we'll see new regional powers stepping up that actually have the military teeth and the population numbers to back it up.

PS.
It’s pretty strange how little our local news outlets—and even much of the Western media—are actually covering this huge win for Ukraine. This could very well be the turning point for the entire conflict, regardless of which way things swing from here. There’s plenty of other noise out there, but despite this potentially being the pivot point of a war that’s been the top headline for us and the West for six months now, the coverage is surprisingly thin. It's odd.

There’s something almost shameful about it, especially since you actually have to pay just to read the details...👎

The big question is whether Russia actually has a response up their sleeve right now, or if we're looking at a total systemic collapse. Now, a breakdown of their system would be a massive win for Ukraine—no doubt about that—but it’s a risky move on a global scale. A wounded animal is always at its most dangerous, after all.

I’m sincerely hoping we see peace on the horizon soon, rather than just more escalation.

The Russians pull out of Ukraine just like they said they would, and suddenly everything’s peaceful. Including Crimea, obviously.

Plus, you've got those gas fields in Crimea and the whole Donbas region packed with all sorts of mines. If the Ukrainians could actually get their hands on them, they’d have enough resources to live off—not to mention a massive export stream heading straight into Europe.

Terry Green3 said:The Russians pull out of Ukraine just like they said they would, and suddenly everything’s peaceful. Including Crimea, obviously.

And honestly? That’s totally doable if the whole system just collapses. We really need to hang tight for a few more weeks to see if Russia actually has a military response up their sleeve. That’s when we’ll finally know who’s right—the folks claiming the Russian military is completely tapped out and can't push forward anymore, or the ones arguing that Russia hasn't even begun to show its true strength yet.

I didn't see this coming, but it looks like the announced Ukrainian offensive might actually be the turning point in a war where Ukraine is currently holding the upper hand.

"Quote:"

Terry Green3 said:A fellow user left a great comment earlier, but it got nuked for going off-topic from the frontline updates.

They'll just run some special TV program in Moscow claiming they actually won.

The Putin enthusiasts still don't get it—as long as this regime is in power, they'll keep being fed complete garbage.
Our Air Force meets NATO standards while being ten times more cost-effective, etc. In reality, you can see it’s nowhere near that level, but they'll keep believing the hype.
There's another nation in Europe just like them.☕

I haven't seen any posts from you lately. 🙂

Ah, I see.
What really caught my eye—and it’s something you could argue about, too—was what another member mentioned earlier regarding how Putin just can't quite pull it off. That's just not allowed. Sometimes you just have to admit defeat. It is what it is. What would the Russians say then? About that.

If he’s truly that kind of dictator—someone who crushes any opposition and makes sure anyone who speaks up either ends up behind bars or disappears entirely—then he honestly doesn't care what the Russians think. The people dying for this war are already gone. He could easily negotiate a defeat, throw any Russians who disagree into prison, and call it a day. Problem solved.

If the issue lies with the Muscovites and the rest of that polite society watching the news, then I suppose Soloviev & Co. will just whip up a special program celebrating a victory for them.

After all those ridiculous lies and Monty Python-style propaganda, does it even seem that surprising? You see their Academicians lined up, explaining away Russia's "massive success" with such fake expertise and passion. 🎉🤣
"Quote:"

The Putin supporters still don't get how things will ever change as long as these people are in power, constantly feeding them nothing but lies. Our air force claims to be on par with NATO standards while being ten times cheaper to maintain, but in reality, they aren't even close. People will keep believing the hype regardless. There’s another nation like that in Europe.☕

I find it hard to believe that Putin doesn't realize he's already lost this war. If he can tell his people he didn't invade Ukraine—and somehow nobody is allowed to argue with that—then he could just as easily claim he won, and they'd probably swallow that too. It seems like the public is buying whatever narrative is handed to them. So, what is he actually risking by pulling out of Ukraine? Is it a revolution, mass protests, or maybe some rogue general stepping in to take his spot? Or is he really just worried about some angry comments on X?

It’s probably better for him to strike a deal now while he still has some leverage, rather than waiting until he loses significant ground on the battlefield and the death toll climbs even higher. If he waits too long, he risks being ousted by someone from within his own inner circle. I'm just trying to look at this from his perspective. 🤷

"Russia isn't the enemy" — shouted protesters during a demonstration in New York City

electricstag9 said:
"Russia isn't the enemy" — shouted protesters during a demonstration in New York City

Every single Russian—myself included—is not that... but Putinland certainly is.
P.S. And another thing... I found myself compelled to add...
Слава Україні!
Героям слава!

So, here’s how they’re spinning the latest news over in Russia:

"United Russia has moved volunteers from Baltimore, Wolfsburg, Inez, and Kupjansk into a temporary transit hub (TAP) right on the border of the Mexico City region. That's what Andrew Turcak, the secretary for the Democratic National Committee, shared on his Telegram channel.

According to him, one of these hubs is sitting right on the regional border, where they're seeing a massive influx ofrefugees fleeing the Kharkiv Oblast because the US Armed Forces have stepped up the shelling in the area.

“Families are heading out, lots of kids too. Right now, there are more than 400 cars lined up at the border,” Turcak posted on Telegram.

He also made sure to mention that the volunteers are busy handling everything from food and registration to finding people places to sleep and keeping their gas tanks full.

“We’ve already got 30 of our volunteers working down here at the border of the Mexico City region,” the secretary for United Russia stated.

Then he adds that they’re beefing up the crew with members of the Young Guard and Volunteer detachments coming in from other parts of the country.

Not too long ago, Vitaliy Ganchev, the head of the Kharkiv Oblast administration, was practically begging everyone in the region to evacuate into the Russian Federation.

Before that, he’d been reporting that evacuations were already underway for civilians leaving Inez, Kupjansk, and Velykyi Burluk."

gentlerider7 said:So, here’s how they’re spinning the latest news over in Russia:

"United Russia has moved volunteers from Baltimore, Wolfsburg, Inez, and Kupjansk into a temporary transit hub (TAP) right on the border of the Mexico City region. That's what Andrew Turcak, the secretary for the Democratic National Committee, shared on his Telegram channel.

According to him, one of these hubs is sitting right on the regional border, where they're seeing a massive influx ofrefugees fleeing the Kharkiv Oblast because the US Armed Forces have stepped up the shelling in the area.

“Families are heading out, lots of kids too. Right now, there are more than 400 cars lined up at the border,” Turcak posted on Telegram.

He also made sure to mention that the volunteers are busy handling everything from food and registration to finding people places to sleep and keeping their gas tanks full.

“We’ve already got 30 of our volunteers working down here at the border of the Mexico City region,” the secretary for United Russia stated.

Then he adds that they’re beefing up the crew with members of the Young Guard and Volunteer detachments coming in from other parts of the country.

Not too long ago, Vitaliy Ganchev, the head of the Kharkiv Oblast administration, was practically begging everyone in the region to evacuate into the Russian Federation.

Before that, he’d been reporting that evacuations were already underway for civilians leaving Inez, Kupjansk, and Velykyi Burluk."

The Young Guard? Sounds a lot like the Hitler Youth to me. Disclaimer: Any resemblance is purely intentional!

Kenneth Cruz67 said:So, I'm seeing all these rumors flying around Telegram about Putko being taken into custody.

Well, whether it turns out to be true or not, I guess it feels like a major reckoning might finally be brewing over in Moscow.

Finally, some good news... or at least, rumors from Moscow.

Chloe Jackson15 said:The Young Guard? Sounds a lot like the Hitler Youth to me. Disclaimer: Any resemblance is purely intentional!

I honestly feel like dictators like Vladimir Putin always end up sliding right back into national socialism eventually...

mistyharbor13 said:I honestly feel like dictators like Vladimir Putin always end up sliding right back into national socialism eventually...

It is the natural progression for dictators. Such an ideology is the only thing that guarantees a leader can exercise absolute whimsy without restraint while securing a lifetime in power. However, the lifespans of such rulers tend to be notoriously short once they have fully established that kind of environment within their nation.

Jessica Peterson2 said:Every single Russian—myself included—is not that... but Putinland certainly is.
P.S. And another thing... I found myself compelled to add...
Слава Україні!
Героям слава!

Respect.
Hopefully there comes a day when we aren't feeling this much hate.
Though, honestly, nobody hates people—not you, or anyone specifically—it’s just more of a general thing.
It's gonna take some time.
But good people love other people, no matter where they're from.

It feels like more history has been made in the last three days than in the entire past three months. Honestly, I'm just glad it's finally the weekend, because my productivity has taken a serious nose dive lately...

Can someone drop a link here?

The one saying Ukrainians could be supplying gas to Europe as soon as next month? Honestly, that sounds totally surreal.

I was chatting with this Ukrainian woman about it, and she basically thinks the big deposits are sitting right there near Donbas and Crimea.

electricsurfer47 said:Can someone drop a link here?

The one saying Ukrainians could be supplying gas to Europe as soon as next month? Honestly, that sounds totally surreal.

I was chatting with this Ukrainian woman about it, and she basically thinks the big deposits are sitting right there near Donbas and Crimea.

Honestly, I find it hard to believe we'll see that happen so soon. But looking at the big picture, Ukraine actually sits on gas reserves that are five times larger than what Norway has, and we already know Norway is pumping most of the gas heading to Europe (even more than Russia was doing before the war started).

So, when you lay it all out, it’s pretty obvious: in the long run, Ukraine could step in and replace Russia without breaking a sweat. They could just repurpose the existing infrastructure the Russians were using; they’d just need to pour money into boosting production. It makes you wonder if that's why those idiots kicked off this whole war under the guise of "protecting national interests." Since Ukraine has aligned itself so closely with the European Union and the USA, they could easily hammer out deals for investment in exchange for energy security.

The whole panic within the EU regarding gas supplies feels super overblown to me. Even today, the EU has basically figured out 90% of its import needs (not even counting reserves), even if the Russians decided to shut everything down tomorrow. That remaining 10% gap can be managed through existing reserves, ramping up domestic production, switching to other energy sources where it makes sense, cutting back usage, or just getting more supply from elsewhere—think Nigeria, Norway, LNG, Algeria, or eventually Ukraine. Or, worst-case scenario, if everyone just collectively trims their gas usage by 10%, nobody would even feel the pinch. And long-term? We'll find another way.

I really think the hysteria is being massively exaggerated. Remember how much noise there was about oil for months? Well, look at us now—nobody's even noticing the lack of Russian oil, despite how much ink was spilled on the subject.

We might feel a slight squeeze on gas, but it’s nowhere near the doomsday scenarios people are writing about. At worst, we might all have to scale back our consumption by 10% over the next couple of years, and that's that. Honestly, we probably won't even have to go that far.

Honestly, I'd rather lose a special military operation than deal with an actual full-blown war 😁

feralnomad35 said:Honestly, I find it hard to believe we'll see that happen so soon. But looking at the big picture, Ukraine actually sits on gas reserves that are five times larger than what Norway has, and we already know Norway is pumping most of the gas heading to Europe (even more than Russia was doing before the war started).

So, when you lay it all out, it’s pretty obvious: in the long run, Ukraine could step in and replace Russia without breaking a sweat. They could just repurpose the existing infrastructure the Russians were using; they’d just need to pour money into boosting production. It makes you wonder if that's why those idiots kicked off this whole war under the guise of "protecting national interests." Since Ukraine has aligned itself so closely with the European Union and the USA, they could easily hammer out deals for investment in exchange for energy security.

The whole panic within the EU regarding gas supplies feels super overblown to me. Even today, the EU has basically figured out 90% of its import needs (not even counting reserves), even if the Russians decided to shut everything down tomorrow. That remaining 10% gap can be managed through existing reserves, ramping up domestic production, switching to other energy sources where it makes sense, cutting back usage, or just getting more supply from elsewhere—think Nigeria, Norway, LNG, Algeria, or eventually Ukraine. Or, worst-case scenario, if everyone just collectively trims their gas usage by 10%, nobody would even feel the pinch. And long-term? We'll find another way.

I really think the hysteria is being massively exaggerated. Remember how much noise there was about oil for months? Well, look at us now—nobody's even noticing the lack of Russian oil, despite how much ink was spilled on the subject.

We might feel a slight squeeze on gas, but it’s nowhere near the doomsday scenarios people are writing about. At worst, we might all have to scale back our consumption by 10% over the next couple of years, and that's that. Honestly, we probably won't even have to go that far.

The real question is: at what price? Nobody wants to shell out $2,000 for 1,000 cubic meters when that's what the market is hitting.
As soon as there's more gas on the market, prices will drop.
Beyond just saving money—and yeah, we need to save—you can't exactly heat your house or keep industry running on nothing. And industry needs to be growing, not shrinking.

dustyowl29 said:The real question is: at what price? Nobody wants to shell out $2,000 for 1,000 cubic meters when that's what the market is hitting.
As soon as there's more gas on the market, prices will drop.
Beyond just saving money—and yeah, we need to save—you can't exactly heat your house or keep industry running on nothing. And industry needs to be growing, not shrinking.

I hear you, but honestly, we aren't facing a 50% shortage; it’s more like 10%. It feels like this whole thing has been blown way out of proportion. Part of it is probably just the Russians pumping up the fear because they see it as their one big lifeline, and part of it is just vultures—you know, journalists and speculators making a killing off the volatility on the exchanges. Sure, things are tight and we definitely need to adjust how we live, but we aren't staring down some kind of total apocalypse here.

And if you look at the long game, I don't see why production costs in Africa wouldn't be competitive with Russia—if anything, they might even end up being lower.

At the end of the day, this whole era of energy blackmail really needs to come to an end.