Russian Invasion of Ukraine

[Wildbunny]

Did she also left out her credit card with code?

[Fergasun]

So what's Russia going to do in response?  Invade Ukraine?  Capture Ukrainian citizens and send them to Russia?  I saw someone calling this a "Franz Ferdinand moment..." be careful, this could start a World War...

 

"Hey, we are in your country indiscriminantly bombing civilians but you have the audacity to attempt to kill a political leader of our country and you killed his daughter..." 

 

Classic victim syndrome... 

 

 

[TheGreatBuzz]

51 minutes ago, Fergasun said:

Classic victim syndrome... 

 

I don't know if you noticed but that apparently works on about 40% of the population. 

[Die Hard]

1 minute ago, The Almighty Buzz said:

 

I don't know if you noticed but that apparently works on about 40% of the population. 

I understand what you’re saying.

 

But in reality, it’s universal. It’s just more prominent in the identities of some more than others.

[China]

Russian tourist in swimming trunks accidentally gives away position of artillery to Ukraine

 

 

[The Sisko]

Eight freaking mortar rounds that drop in silently. Now that's scary. Ivan, you're gonna have a bad day.

[ixcuincle]

 

[visionary]

 

[TradeTheBeal!]

Hilarious.

 

 

[China]

[gbear]

I feel a guilty pleasure constantly checking this thread.  I feel like I am rooting for Ukraine with an almost sports fan like glee.  Intellectually, I realize I am cheering for something which is life and death for Ukrainians which seems to belittle its importance.  Still, I follow this thread reading each new post. 

 

I also think we underplay the impact Russia has had here and in Europe trying to impact elections.  Further, I think they remain a real threat going forward as long as we lack understanding why they have done some of the things they have done and continue to do.  For example, I still don't understand why they are still in Ukraine.  What are they realistically hoping to accomplish? Is this all a face saving operation at this point? Is this an attempt to bleed out European and U.S. military stockpiles on hand and degrade European economies? 

[TradeTheBeal!]

54 minutes ago, gbear said:

I feel a guilty pleasure constantly checking this thread.  I feel like I am rooting for Ukraine with an almost sports fan like glee.  Intellectually, I realize I am cheering for something which is life and death for Ukrainians which seems to belittle its importance.  Still, I follow this thread reading each new post. 

 

I also think we underplay the impact Russia has had here and in Europe trying to impact elections.  Further, I think they remain a real threat going forward as long as we lack understanding why they have done some of the things they have done and continue to do.  For example, I still don't understand why they are still in Ukraine.  What are they realistically hoping to accomplish? Is this all a face saving operation at this point? Is this an attempt to bleed out European and U.S. military stockpiles on hand and degrade European economies? 

Short answer…Yes.

 

100% the UKR invasion is Putin throwing his kids, and theirs, into the wood chipper so the resulting inflation/instability would result in political gains in the west.

 

Thats why the fail is so delightful.  And it continues…

[Wildbunny]

1 hour ago, gbear said:

What are they realistically hoping to accomplish?

Looks like a robbery so far.

Robbery of lands and grains,

Robbery of children,

Robbery of energy.

 

That's all it is, because the military operation failed big time.

[DCSaints_fan]

1 hour ago, gbear said:

I feel a guilty pleasure constantly checking this thread.  I feel like I am rooting for Ukraine with an almost sports fan like glee.  Intellectually, I realize I am cheering for something which is life and death for Ukrainians which seems to belittle its importance.  Still, I follow this thread reading each new post. 

 

I also think we underplay the impact Russia has had here and in Europe trying to impact elections.  Further, I think they remain a real threat going forward as long as we lack understanding why they have done some of the things they have done and continue to do.  For example, I still don't understand why they are still in Ukraine.  What are they realistically hoping to accomplish? Is this all a face saving operation at this point? Is this an attempt to bleed out European and U.S. military stockpiles on hand and degrade European economies? 

 

I'd say right now, they are hoping to grab and hold on to as much Ukranian territory as they can.  Ukraine so far has not been able to mount a major counteroffensive, so any territorial gains they have made they feel they can hold on to.  Long term, they are hoping to inflict so much pain the Ukrainians would break and/or the West drops support to them, and some type of peace negotiation favorable to Russia, at minimum,  ceding the Donbas, the land bridge to Crimea as well as control over the canal from the Dnieper.  Ukrainian resolve seems strong now yes, but if it comes down to several years down the road and there is no progress made, then that may start to change.

[visionary]

 

[EmirOfShmo]

 

[China]

Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant disconnected from power grid after shelling, Ukraine says

 

The Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant suffered a "complete disconnection" from Ukraine’s power grid Thursday for the first time in its history, officials said.

 

Intensifying fighting around the plant, which is Europe's largest, has sparked growing fears of a nuclear catastrophe. The two sides have traded blame for the attacks, while world leaders have called for a demilitarized zone around the site.

 

Ukraine has warned that Russia was planning to disconnect the plant in a potentially risky effort to divert it to the Russian grid.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[Riggo-toni]

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-08-23/why-russian-nationalists-like-dugin-are-a-big-target-for-both-sides

 

The Kremlin, however, appears to want nationalist fervor without the nationalists themselves. They — and Dugin first among them — advocate a general mobilization, hardcore reprisals against liberals, a smaller role for non-Russian ethnicities in the war effort, a non-capitalist, planned, wartime-style economy. Going all the way with them would mean irreversible changes that Putin rejects as too radical, at least for now.

The nationalists’ passion is, however, a finite resource. They cannot be both exploited and marginalized forever. As conservative religious thinker Andrei Kurayev wrote on Facebook,

It is often said these days that radical patriots are more dangerous to the Kremlin today than liberals are. Dugin, with his intellectual kabbalah, could not become a popular leader. But he was clearly prepping Darya, the beauty, for the role of a Russian Marine Le Pen.

The simultaneous attraction and tension between the Kremlin and the ultranationalists could explain why the Kremlin might benefit from an indirect strike against a figure as central to the community as Dugin. A warning would be sent to those “patriots” who might hope to benefit politically from Putin’s war — and at the same time, nationalist fervor could be whipped up by blaming the terrorist attack on Ukrainians. The FSB, Russia’s domestic secret police, has done just that, pinning the murder on a Ukrainian woman, allegedly affiliated with Ukraine’s nationalist Azov regiment, who, according to the FSB, fled to Estonia after Dugina’s death.

[The Sisko]

Probably like a lot of you, I've been wondering where in the hell is the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the south that Zelenski has been going on about for some time now. Here's an excellent breakdown of what they've planned and how it is working. It's not a huge push from massed forces, but instead a nice bit of chess on their part that will take time but exploits two areas of Russian weakness, i.e. dwindling troops/weapons systems and poor logistics.

 

20 hours ago, China said:

 

Correction...Yeah, we're old.😃

Edited August 25, 2022 by The Sisko

[China]

With Russia’s Depleted Forces Stalled, Putin Expands Army

 

With his army struggling to make significant progress in Ukraine, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia signed a decree on Thursday that increases the number of service members in the country’s armed forces by 137,000, starting next year.

 

The decree stipulates that the overall size of Russian armed forces will be raised to more than two million personnel, including more than 1.15 million service members. The rest are civilian workers. The decree also ordered the Russian government to allocate the money to pay for the increase.

 

While enjoying a significant superiority in artillery and in long-distance missiles, Russia’s forces have been unable to capture significant territory since the beginning of July, when the city of Lysychansk in the country’s Luhansk region fell.

 

Military analysts and reporters on the ground have been attributing the slowing pace of the Russian offensive to a lack of manpower. Western estimates of Russia’s total casualties, including both deaths and injuries, have run as high as 80,000. Over the past months, Russia has been scrambling to recruit volunteers to serve in Ukraine in what some analysts called a “stealth mobilization.”

 

Currently, Russia requires men aged 18 to 27 to do one year of active military service, although the precise number called up at any given time fluctuates. But the army also has career soldiers who serve under contract, including women.

 

So far, Mr. Putin has avoided mass conscription to provide soldiers for the war in Ukraine. One reason is that declaring a national draft would destroy the veneer of normalcy that the Kremlin has been able to maintain despite economic sanctions and the continuing fighting.

 

Instead, the Russian authorities have been luring recruits to join combat by offering them hefty cash incentives and other perquisites. At the end of May, Mr. Putin also signed a law that scrapped the age limit of 40 for contract soldiers.

 

Pavel Luzin, a Russian military analyst, said that he was skeptical about Russia’s ability to increase its armed forces without major changes.

 

He said that Mr. Putin’s decree would only increase the number of troops “on paper against the reality on the ground,” unless Russia is forced to increase the duration of compulsory service from one year to 18 months. Another solution, he said, would be absorbing some of the country’s national guard forces into the army.

[DCSaints_fan]

5 hours ago, The Sisko said:

Probably like a lot of you, I've been wondering where in the hell is the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the south that Zelenski has been going on about for some time now. Here's an excellent breakdown of what they've planned and how it is working. It's not a huge push from massed forces, but instead a nice bit of chess on their part that will take time but exploits two areas of Russian weakness, i.e. dwindling troops/weapons systems and poor logistics.

 

 

Correction...Yeah, we're old.😃

 

If they were trying to sucker the Russians into holding on and even reinforcing an undefensible position, then I get the strategy.   But, I think you are going to have to see substantial gains for Ukraine if not a complete expulsion of Russia in that sector by the time winter sets in - otherwise Ukrainian high command is going to have a huge egg on their face, and will lose quite a bit of trust from their population and supporters.

[China]

Biden, Zelensky discuss concerns over Zaporizhzhya nuclear plant

 

President Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke Thursday about a new $3 billion security assistance package for Ukraine, and the two leaders also demanded Russia relinquish control of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, according to the White House.  

 

The phone call took place a day after the White House announced the $2.98 billion assistance package for Ukraine, dovetailing with the country’s Independence Day. The package is the latest tranche of support to help Kyiv fight off the continuing Russian attack.  

 

Biden “congratulated Ukraine on its Independence Day and expressed his admiration for the people of Ukraine, who have inspired the world as they defended their country’s sovereignty over the past six months,” according to a White House readout of the phone call.  

 

“The two leaders also called for Russia to return full control of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant to Ukraine and for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) access to the plant,” the readout said.  

 

Russia has controlled the Zaporizhzhya plant since early on in the war. But fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces has intensified around the nuclear plant, raising concerns about the potential for a disastrous mishap.  

 

The plant, which is the largest in Europe, was temporarily disconnected from the power grid on Thursday as a result of fires that broke out around lines connecting it to the grid.  

 

International inspectors from the IAEA are seeking access to the plant.

 

Click on the link for the full article

[PokerPacker]

On 8/24/2022 at 3:39 PM, gbear said:

I feel a guilty pleasure constantly checking this thread.  I feel like I am rooting for Ukraine with an almost sports fan like glee.  Intellectually, I realize I am cheering for something which is life and death for Ukrainians which seems to belittle its importance.  Still, I follow this thread reading each new post. 

 

I also think we underplay the impact Russia has had here and in Europe trying to impact elections.  Further, I think they remain a real threat going forward as long as we lack understanding why they have done some of the things they have done and continue to do.  For example, I still don't understand why they are still in Ukraine.  What are they realistically hoping to accomplish? Is this all a face saving operation at this point? Is this an attempt to bleed out European and U.S. military stockpiles on hand and degrade European economies? 

They're hoping that the fascist seeds they've planted throughout western democracy will allow them to outlast the currently sitting leaders of the free world and get a bunch of Trumps elected that will turn the tides of war.

[The Sisko]

Sadly, Putin is probably right.

[China]

This guy's lucky the bomb hit above him and not down with him in his foxhole:

 

 

Sleeping Russian soldier gets ultimate wake-up call when Ukrainian drone drops a bomb next to him… sending him running in fear’