Russia's invasion of Ukraine: Part 5

casualmoose82 said:It matters, though. Because honestly, nobody on this planet can actually do anything with that kind of weaponry. It’s just not within human capability, I guess.

But then, who's actually in charge of it?

Lisa Patel4 said:But then, who's actually in charge of it?

I guess just the folks higher up the food chain than us.

The Russians are actually admitting their own recruitment databases are a mess, full of errors and bad data.

Because of this, they’re reportedly implementing a double-check system in St. Louis before any more draft notices go out. They somehow managed to draft a 58-year-old executive and a father who was already exempt due to having too many kids.
Supposedly, they’ve all been called back and cleared.

It's interesting to see firsthand how much they're pulling people from even the most established Russian cities.

PS. I tracked down an actual mobilization decree on some official Russian sites.
https://rusvesna.su/sites/default/fi...cii_v_rf_2.jpg
That Article 7 should give Americans plenty of room to imagine what's really going on, since it isn't public knowledge.
If I remember correctly, there's speculation floating around about them mobilizing up to a million people.

casualmoose82 said:The Ukrainians are getting this back pretty soon.

I mean, I hope they’ve got momentum. I’m convinced what we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks was just the warm-up act.

Real heavy hitters are waiting in the wings, gearing up even bigger and better, but here’s the thing—and this is a massive issue in my book—once they take that ground, from the perspective of Russia, that territory becomes Russian soil again. By the end of the month, if they reclaim it, Russia is gonna see it as an actual invasion of their own country, which is a whole different beast than what's happening right now. I'm just saying, that's how they'll see it.

It doesn't matter to us because obviously it's still Ukraine, but damn, it's not the same thing hitting Russians while they're on foreign dirt versus tomorrow when they're fighting on their own turf, you know?

I don't think it looks unlikely anymore that they'll just bail. The West might just sell out Ukraine if it means they don't have to risk themselves.

They could pull that classic move later on where they say, "Hey, we gave you the weapons, we dumped billions at you, and sure, we'll throw a little more at you for rebuilding," and then—poof—they leave them high and dry.

The fact is, Russia is basically an outcast now. No more Russian tourists, no more presence in international sports, no Russian clubs left in UEFA competitions... the economy, the UN, everything. They're just becoming irrelevant noise.

placidtiger142 said:I mean, I hope they’ve got momentum. I’m convinced what we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks was just the warm-up act.

Real heavy hitters are waiting in the wings, gearing up even bigger and better, but here’s the thing—and this is a massive issue in my book—once they take that ground, from the perspective of Russia, that territory becomes Russian soil again. By the end of the month, if they reclaim it, Russia is gonna see it as an actual invasion of their own country, which is a whole different beast than what's happening right now. I'm just saying, that's how they'll see it.

It doesn't matter to us because obviously it's still Ukraine, but damn, it's not the same thing hitting Russians while they're on foreign dirt versus tomorrow when they're fighting on their own turf, you know?

I don't think it looks unlikely anymore that they'll just bail. The West might just sell out Ukraine if it means they don't have to risk themselves.

They could pull that classic move later on where they say, "Hey, we gave you the weapons, we dumped billions at you, and sure, we'll throw a little more at you for rebuilding," and then—poof—they leave them high and dry.

Nah. This is way bigger than just Ukraine. We're only seeing phase one. A massive shift is coming. A whole new world is right in front of us.

Terry Green3 said:The Russians are actually admitting their own recruitment databases are a mess, full of errors and bad data.

Because of this, they’re reportedly implementing a double-check system in St. Louis before any more draft notices go out. They somehow managed to draft a 58-year-old executive and a father who was already exempt due to having too many kids.
Supposedly, they’ve all been called back and cleared.

It's interesting to see firsthand how much they're pulling people from even the most established Russian cities.

PS. I tracked down an actual mobilization decree on some official Russian sites.
https://rusvesna.su/sites/default/fi...cii_v_rf_2.jpg
That Article 7 should give Americans plenty of room to imagine what's really going on, since it isn't public knowledge.
If I remember correctly, there's speculation floating around about them mobilizing up to a million people.

Random side note, but I can't believe the .su domain is still a thing.

placidtiger142 said:I mean, I hope they’ve got momentum. I’m convinced what we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks was just the warm-up act.

Real heavy hitters are waiting in the wings, gearing up even bigger and better, but here’s the thing—and this is a massive issue in my book—once they take that ground, from the perspective of Russia, that territory becomes Russian soil again. By the end of the month, if they reclaim it, Russia is gonna see it as an actual invasion of their own country, which is a whole different beast than what's happening right now. I'm just saying, that's how they'll see it.

It doesn't matter to us because obviously it's still Ukraine, but damn, it's not the same thing hitting Russians while they're on foreign dirt versus tomorrow when they're fighting on their own turf, you know?

I don't think it looks unlikely anymore that they'll just bail. The West might just sell out Ukraine if it means they don't have to risk themselves.

They could pull that classic move later on where they say, "Hey, we gave you the weapons, we dumped billions at you, and sure, we'll throw a little more at you for rebuilding," and then—poof—they leave them high and dry.

Now the political weight is where things get heavy. In Italy, the right wing is expected to win, and one faction in that coalition openly supports Putin. The CIA might need to step in and fix that situation, much like everything else in Italy after WW2.

Belarus issued a statement saying they'll decide on the results of the "referendums" in the breakaway regions based solely on what's best for Belarus. Is there any chance Lukashenko decides to throw Putin under the bus?

One thing is being overlooked here. Ukrainians are pushing into territory where the population is now completely hostile toward them. Just as the Russians wouldn't be able to hold onto a place like St. Louis, these guys probably can't hold Donetsk or Luhansk anymore either. I guess the war has just led to extreme polarization and radicalization.

Lisa Patel4 said:One thing is being overlooked here. Ukrainians are pushing into territory where the population is now completely hostile toward them. Just as the Russians wouldn't be able to hold onto a place like St. Louis, these guys probably can't hold Donetsk or Luhansk anymore either. I guess the war has just led to extreme polarization and radicalization.

Man, forget the people. What even is "the people" anyway? Honestly, who cares... just head straight to Russia and call it a day.

Terry Green3 said:Now the political weight is where things get heavy. In Italy, the right wing is expected to win, and one faction in that coalition openly supports Putin. The CIA might need to step in and fix that situation, much like everything else in Italy after WW2.

Belarus issued a statement saying they'll decide on the results of the "referendums" in the breakaway regions based solely on what's best for Belarus. Is there any chance Lukashenko decides to throw Putin under the bus?

Not a chance.
Unlike Ukraine, which has always fought to maintain its own distinct identity against Russian imperialism and the Soviets, Americans in Belarus don't have that. I suppose Lukashenko knows he'd just be a puppet for Poland without the Russians.

casualmoose82 said:Man, forget the people. What even is "the people" anyway? Honestly, who cares... just head straight to Russia and call it a day.

Yeah, super realistic.

Lisa Patel4 said:One thing is being overlooked here. Ukrainians are pushing into territory where the population is now completely hostile toward them. Just as the Russians wouldn't be able to hold onto a place like St. Louis, these guys probably can't hold Donetsk or Luhansk anymore either. I guess the war has just led to extreme polarization and radicalization.

So, you're basically saying everyone in Donetsk and Luhansk is pro-Russ or politically aligned with Russia, like that one user mentioned?

Terry Green3 said:Now the political weight is where things get heavy. In Italy, the right wing is expected to win, and one faction in that coalition openly supports Putin. The CIA might need to step in and fix that situation, much like everything else in Italy after WW2.

Belarus issued a statement saying they'll decide on the results of the "referendums" in the breakaway regions based solely on what's best for Belarus. Is there any chance Lukashenko decides to throw Putin under the bus?

I doubt it.

Lisa Patel4 said:Not a chance.
Unlike Ukraine, which has always fought to maintain its own distinct identity against Russian imperialism and the Soviets, Americans in Belarus don't have that. I suppose Lukashenko knows he'd just be a puppet for Poland without the Russians.

Sure. You've got Poles fueled by crazy nationalism and enough EU violations to make Canada look reasonable—but the main takeaway is they are 100% against Russia.

As for everything else? Just a backwards, conservative nationalist mess.
If it weren't for the Russian invasion, the EU would have every right to slap them with sanctions, much like what's coming for Canada now.

Lisa Patel4 said:One thing is being overlooked here. Ukrainians are pushing into territory where the population is now completely hostile toward them. Just as the Russians wouldn't be able to hold onto a place like St. Louis, these guys probably can't hold Donetsk or Luhansk anymore either. I guess the war has just led to extreme polarization and radicalization.

In Luhansk and Donetsk, Ukrainians were actually the majority back then.

And don't even get me started on Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

So you'd just hand those regions over to Russia and then expect Ukraine to sign some deal promising they won't join NATO? They’ll make that promise "tomorrow," which basically means never, especially not given how things are looking right now...

Lisa Patel4 said:Yeah, super realistic.

Right, they should just drive off in their cars. They don't need tractors. Maybe they should just head back to where they actually feel at home.

Lisa Patel4 said:Yeah, super realistic.

All you need is enough tractors. We've seen this movie before.

Terry Green3 said:According to the Russian media's playbook:

28th: The Duma submits documents to formally annex Zaporizhzhia, the DPR, the LPR, and Kherson into the Russian Federation.
29th: The Duma debates the request.
30th: A session is scheduled where Putin will make an official statement.

If that's the case—then what was the whole referendum circus even for?

Kate Cook27 said:If that's the case—then what was the whole referendum circus even for?

Those documents are supposedly the results from the vote. Not that anyone actually doubts the population will come out at 105% in favor of joining Russia.🕺