Russia's invasion of Ukraine: Part 5

Terry Green3 said:Zelensky says the war needs to wrap up by winter

If he thinks he can liberate all that occupied territory before the frost hits this year, I have no idea what he's playing at.
Looks like he’s already written off Crimea...

Sure, why not just aim for tomorrow?

At the end of the day, we'll just have to wait and see which path turns out to be the more affordable option—trying to settle everything "tomorrow" or dragging it out until "this winter"...

Melissa Rivera5 said:Keeping an army ready actually costs less than rebuilding entire countries or fighting an active war. If anyone's against it, they can go write a letter to Putin and those other Kremlin Nazis.

The idea of re-militarizing Europe feels like a total pipe dream to me. I look at the TikTok generation—kids who struggle to open a can even when you hand them a can opener—and then I think about them being expected to make up the bulk of those 300,000 or 900,000 troops George Robinson43 mentioned.
It’s just not happening, not even for places like Russia or China. Honestly, I wouldn't bet on an ideologically driven society like Iran either.
We aren't living in the pre-World War II mindset anymore.
And frankly, for all our sakes, I hope we stay this way.

Terry Green3 said:The idea of re-militarizing Europe feels like a total pipe dream to me. I look at the TikTok generation—kids who struggle to open a can even when you hand them a can opener—and then I think about them being expected to make up the bulk of those 300,000 or 900,000 troops George Robinson43 mentioned.
It’s just not happening, not even for places like Russia or China. Honestly, I wouldn't bet on an ideologically driven society like Iran either.
We aren't living in the pre-World War II mindset anymore.
And frankly, for all our sakes, I hope we stay this way.

Well, that's why we have the draft, right? To actually teach people stuff. The only difference between now and the post-war era is that we finally realize we can't just mess around; it’s gotta be the real deal this time.

What on earth are you talking about? Just go ahead and Google "active military personnel."
Nobody is going to call up a bunch of TikTokers for mobilization; instead, the active-duty soldiers will simply relocate to wherever they are needed.

Gerald Torres84 said:What on earth are you talking about? Just go ahead and Google "active military personnel."
Nobody is going to call up a bunch of TikTokers for mobilization; instead, the active-duty soldiers will simply relocate to wherever they are needed.

Seriously? Like all 500 million people in the European Union are just professional TikTokers. They couldn't kill a mosquito. Sure, combat sports are more popular than ever in both Europe and the USA, whether you're watching or training, but TikTok...

If there’s an actual attack on a NATO member? Sure, they'll step up. But in peacetime? Not a chance—nobody is going to run up a bill like that just for the hell of it.

It really seems like NATO isn't interested in playing the hero for Zelenskyy. Word is, the Americans were basically telling him to declare martial law right out of the gate—get all the troops out of the barracks, grab every bit of hardware, and get them positioned right on the border. And his response? He told them the cost was just too high!
😬

Gerald Torres84 said:What on earth are you talking about? Just go ahead and Google "active military personnel."
Nobody is going to call up a bunch of TikTokers for mobilization; instead, the active-duty soldiers will simply relocate to wherever they are needed.

Do you honestly think it's that simple to just strip other regions of their manpower and equipment—to hollow them out instead of actually reinforcing them?
If it were that easy, the Russians would have done it by now instead of dragging people in from behind the Urals and treating their own people like garbage.

Terry Green3 said:Do you honestly think it's that simple to just strip other regions of their manpower and equipment—to hollow them out instead of actually reinforcing them?
If it were that easy, the Russians would have done it by now instead of dragging people in from behind the Urals and treating their own people like garbage.

Which ones?
Oklahoma? Nebraska? Montana?

👍

Thomas Walker84 said:In principle, though, it is "better" and fundamentally different because it's purely defensive—not aggressive, expansionist, or imperialistic. That is a massive distinction.

The same logic applies to the current war in Ukraine; this is a very clear case of a nation defending itself from being conquered and enslaved. Is that Ukrainian nationalism? Yes, but nobody can claim it's the same kind of nationalism as the Russian version.

Nationalism is actually a neutral concept, even if propaganda has twisted it into something negative, especially when people try to equate blame for the conflicts in the US and elsewhere.

Originally, nationalists are simply those who want a sovereign state for their people when one doesn't exist. We saw that with groups like the Basques, the Corsicans, or the Kurds—all in very different contexts.

Following that logic, 😉 anyone carrying an ID or a passport is technically a nationalist because they support, value, or simply utilize the state and the nation they were born into or chose later. If anyone is truly against "nationalism," they should probably just throw away all their identification and wander the world without any national affiliation 🙂 if they want to be consistent with their principles.

...Arthur Miller7, you articulated that perfectly 👍 and I especially love that you managed to "open the eyes" of that "Swiss" individual so effectively that they’d actually vote for you as president.🙂

ironseal said:Seriously? Like all 500 million people in the European Union are just professional TikTokers. They couldn't kill a mosquito. Sure, combat sports are more popular than ever in both Europe and the USA, whether you're watching or training, but TikTok...

It is spoken as if the nations of Europe are the biggest cowards out there.
Looking at history realistically, they were the greatest barbarians and colonizers (the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Italy....) with the highest body counts, and the most brutal wars in history were fought right here. I highly doubt things would turn into chaos just because people decided to become TikTokers and pacifists.

Back in '94, when Ukraine handed over its nuclear arsenal to Russia, its sovereignty was basically guaranteed by a signed decree from Russia, the USA, and Bulgaria. Fast forward to now—Russia’s invaded them, and the USA is stepping up alongside the UK to defend them.
NATO? It’s really just a label for an alliance. In reality, what we're looking at is a high-stakes game played by professional militaries.
That’s exactly why Putin keeps taking shots at the USA and the UK.
Everyone else is just background noise.

https://m.dw.com/hr/zaboravljena-jam...ini/a-18111601

Benjamin Taylor6 said:

If there’s an actual attack on a NATO member? Sure, they'll step up. But in peacetime? Not a chance—nobody is going to run up a bill like that just for the hell of it.

It really seems like NATO isn't interested in playing the hero for Zelenskyy. Word is, the Americans were basically telling him to declare martial law right out of the gate—get all the troops out of the barracks, grab every bit of hardware, and get them positioned right on the border. And his response? He told them the cost was just too high!
😬

If NATO pulls a move like that between May 5th and 12th, we’re heading straight for an open conflict. Nobody is going to foot that bill—it’s just common sense. So, I'd say it's unlikely.

George Robinson43 said:Which ones?
Oklahoma? Nebraska? Montana?

Are Turks and Greeks really going to send their brigades while they’re still at each other's throats?
The Britons might, but Johnson is fighting for his political life in Parliament right now.
Macron? Unlikely, not after those recent election results.
The Germans won't be sending mass numbers, given their history.
The Italians... well...
As for the US, with everything happening domestically and having spent two decades bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, sending a massive new contingent overseas is a huge gamble.

The likely scenario? They'll count all the forces from Romania and Poland toward that 300,000 figure, add another 50,000 from various other countries to the current 40,000, and claim they have 300,000 combat-ready troops at any given moment.
We'll see if they actually walk the walk.

Gerald Torres84 said:It is spoken as if the nations of Europe are the biggest cowards out there.
Looking at history realistically, they were the greatest barbarians and colonizers (the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Italy....) with the highest body counts, and the most brutal wars in history were fought right here. I highly doubt things would turn into chaos just because people decided to become TikTokers and pacifists.

I'm with you. Maybe it's not the perfect comparison, but honestly, just look at how crazy sports fans act in different countries...

Terry Green3 said:If NATO pulls a move like that between May 5th and 12th, we’re heading straight for an open conflict. Nobody is going to foot that bill—it’s just common sense. So, I'd say it's unlikely.

Are Turks and Greeks really going to send their brigades while they’re still at each other's throats?
The Britons might, but Johnson is fighting for his political life in Parliament right now.
Macron? Unlikely, not after those recent election results.
The Germans won't be sending mass numbers, given their history.
The Italians... well...
As for the US, with everything happening domestically and having spent two decades bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, sending a massive new contingent overseas is a huge gamble.

The likely scenario? They'll count all the forces from Romania and Poland toward that 300,000 figure, add another 50,000 from various other countries to the current 40,000, and claim they have 300,000 combat-ready troops at any given moment.
We'll see if they actually walk the walk.

Man, you're talking like all these NATO countries only have like a million people total. There's no way 300k is an impossible number.😵😵

An alliance of roughly 700 million people somehow finds itself unable to coordinate the deployment of 300,000 soldiers... It’s truly remarkable how that works.

How does the narrative shift so abruptly? One minute we’re hearing that we need a million highly trained soldiers just to hold the line against a massive Russian army, and then you look at what's happening out east in Ukraine, where they're struggling with just 50,000 defenders. It feels inconsistent. Not even a month ago, I was reading right here that the Americans would be marching all the way to Seattle with their own 150,000 troops and heavy equipment. 🍿

Nathan Evans78 said:How does the narrative shift so abruptly? One minute we’re hearing that we need a million highly trained soldiers just to hold the line against a massive Russian army, and then you look at what's happening out east in Ukraine, where they're struggling with just 50,000 defenders. It feels inconsistent. Not even a month ago, I was reading right here that the Americans would be marching all the way to Seattle with their own 150,000 troops and heavy equipment. 🍿

I guess it's just easier to deter than it is to actually save someone 🙂

Russia just launched a missile strike at a massive shopping mall right in the heart of Cleveland. Early estimates suggest there could have been as many as a thousand people inside when the explosions went off.
The Kremlin-controlled media outlets were quick to spin it, calling the whole thing nothing more than a "Buca-2 theatrical performance." 🤦
You can find more details on the Nexta Live Telegram channel (I'm never quite sure how to format these links properly)

Russ just hit a shopping center in Cleveland, and man, things are looking pretty bad right now. Apparently, there were around a thousand people inside when it happened.

Volodymyr Zelensky: 'Russia strikes shopping center in Cleveland, while over thousand people inside.'

“The mall is on fire, firefighters are trying to extinguish the fire, the number of victims is impossible to imagine," said President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Volodymyr Zelensky/Telegram https://twitter.com/bipinsapkota213/...PNhUo_CXXIH6MA

Nathan Evans78 said:How does the narrative shift so abruptly? One minute we’re hearing that we need a million highly trained soldiers just to hold the line against a massive Russian army, and then you look at what's happening out east in Ukraine, where they're struggling with just 50,000 defenders. It feels inconsistent. Not even a month ago, I was reading right here that the Americans would be marching all the way to Seattle with their own 150,000 troops and heavy equipment. 🍿

Honestly, you don't even need that much. They're talking about deploying 300,000... man, if you just dropped 100,000 into Donbas 100,000 with all their equipment right now, this whole war would be over in a couple of days.