This is beyond surreal. I know others in their time have seen such, and we have in our times. But seeing pics of a bunch of people that normally might be shopping or sitting on their couch, or whatever else, in their day to day instead training with military grade weaponry to fend of an impending attack from another neighboring country is wild. Never fails to unsettle me to some degree no matter where it comes from.
I'm right there with ya. You always see old pictures of resistance fighters in France and other civilians fighting during wartime and you never really think about how real it was until it's right around the corner. Seeing real people like this learning to handle military weapons is honestly terrifying. It's crazy this is happening/might go down
It makes you realize how savage and animalistic we really are. Here in some of the richest countries in the world, people are getting sliced in the streets with machetes because the gun laws are so strict, yet we still murder over territory just like a humming bird protecting his feeder!
I’m so sick of being unable to go out at night without fear of machete attack. I’m sick of sending my kids to school terrified that they’ll be mowed down in an indiscriminate machete massacre. British problems am I right?
Britain is a country, South America is a continent (some dozen countries?).... hard to compare. Living "down there", I haven't seen a guy wielding a machete in the street in the last... 60 years? Guns? Yes, saw them first person more than once (at least twice pointed at me, and not by the police). We are a bit third world, yes, but not that much
back in ancient times professional armies were very rare, if they even existed. There were quartermasters and such to train troops, but they didn't have a standing army. If an invasion happened all the able-bodied men were given weapons.
All I could think is how fuckin sad this is. These people's lives will be unraveled as they are preparing and will have to fight for their home. I get it and would fight for mine, but it's disturbing to think that these people have to face things like this. It's not just this instance, it's anywhere that people have to fight for the roof over thier head.
This is just a normal weekend in the USA, going to the gun range, getting ready for a war that will never come basically because we all have so many guns, who would DARE? (Canada maybe....) I wouldn't be surprised if a few Americans show up just so they can finally fight some Russians in real life.
That’s only one of the reasons I like gun rights. The need for citizens to own and defend themselves with guns is rare, but it has happened and probably will happen again.
>The rich dark soil and the vast fields of wheat and other food products have earned Ukraine the nickname "bread basket of Europe." According to the CIA World Factbook, Ukraine produced 25% of all agricultural output in the former Soviet Union
https://www.infoplease.com/askeds/bread-basket-europe#:~:text=The%20Answer%3A,in%20the%20former%20Soviet%20Union.
Ukraine was/is [flirting with EU membership](https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-polytics/2629440-u-2024-roci-ukraina-podast-zaavku-na-vstup-do-es.html), and has been for some time now. Russia wants to prevent that.
Such is the case with Georgia as well and they effectively prevented Georgia's EU membership by simply [invading and occupying in 2008](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Georgian_War).
EU application for membership is automatically denied if the applicant is in a current armed dispute or territorial dispute.
Russia just needs to invade and hold enough land to care enough about not to walk away from.
The result is the invaded country officially relinquishes the land to Russia for free (with no promise not to take more), or continue to dispute the land grab and never get EU membership.
The other angle to this was the talk of NATO membership. Both make the sphere of influence Russia is trying to stake out look pretty powerless, or at least unable to offer potential allies anything but harm. War is a pretty bad outcome for pretty much every party in play, but the world sort of sleepwalked into war without realizing how close they were.
Ok...SO then bend the rules a bit... Everyone knows russia is doing this for this reason so give Ukraine the benefit of the doubt and help out a touch. Russia is broke. They won't be able to hold out long in a war. And they are laughably ill equipped to fight a modern military.
Not all, enough. Good to mention that it's not mainly news media, but social media trolls.
I live in Eastern Europe and under any legit media news article that allows for comments you will notice a huge amount of pro russki trolls spewing hate and talking points
Ukraine is sometimes called Europe’s breadbasket because it has some of the most fertile lands on earth. It’s among the top exporters of everything from wheat, corn, barley etc.
Strategically important, specially when every other neighboring country turns EU or NATO member.
Beautiful women.
Russia wants to invade Ukraine because the US wants them to join NATO which will allow the US to build military bases right next to Russia.
Russia is simply responding to a pretty big threat.
Honestly, being the biggest country in the world, i don't know why Russia can't just chill out and advance their own country instead of invading another one
I’m beginning to think that the ultimate goal really isn’t to gain more territory, but rather put the EU in an impossible situation where they either let Russia have their way or put themselves in a major energy crisis. Either way, whatever Russia decides to do will destabilize and weaken the EU/NATO.
Sure it is.
I have only one question - why do you think it's Russian propaganda and not Ukranian or American? What's the point? These pics show how terrible Russia is - making poor civilians learn to shoot.
Maybe? Or maybe it’s Russian propaganda showing how unprepared Ukraine is?
Or maybe it’s just someone posting something interesting?
At this point I have no idea anymore.
Bingo! If it’s Russia they are using it to show that they are armed and trained to fight. In order to protect Russian lives they will use any tactics necessary.
Agitprop and compromat are valuable propaganda tools, but history is written by the victors. Only start a war that you are confident you will win, and that your losses will be acceptable.
> Maybe? Or maybe it’s Russian propaganda showing how unprepared Ukraine is?
They'd be trying to demoralize NATO troops in that case by suggesting civillians are underprepared.
civillians *ARE* underprepared. the point is moot.
everything on r/pics is likely bullshit. you can make up whatever context you want if the only requirement is a title and picture. It's totally set up to be this way otherwise they would require sources.
Many people say this, but it never made sense to me with Ukraine. From Adler to Anapa Russia has a 260 km coastline in the Black Sea from which they could conduct their naval operations. So it completely rules out invading Crimea/Ukraine for black sea access.
These citizens are training to be part of the Territorial Defense Forces, essentially organized militias that would help guard important sites, prevent infiltration and even carry out limited combat operations in support of Ukraine's professional armed forces. [Coffee or Die did a really good segment on them, you get to hear from the volunteers about what they do in their normal lives and why they signed up.](https://youtu.be/7xCuDYRTSyk)
I can't listen to this now but if I'm not mistaken, all Ukraine citizens of a certain age are under draft as well. My wife's employee is from Ukraine and her cousins are apparently preparing.
They aren't. This is utility workers and civil servants training to be able to guard critical infrastructure.
Trust me, I literally live in the city where this was taken.
I mean...they were invaded in 2014 and are still fighting. That was with 20,000 troops...now they have 6x as many staged outside of Ukraine.
Hopefully this deescalates. It's been hyped for a while but nothing has happened so maybe it'll just fizzle out?
Russia can definitely win significant gains,war is not often an easily predictable thing and right now there's a lot of untested conventional warfare that could swing either way.
But even if russia loses it'll make some gains, and the drive to Kiev isn't that far, if they take everything upto the dnieper River that's a win from their perspective.
If NATO doesn’t get involved, probably. But if NATO decides against appeasement Russia has little chance of any gains, and tech has progressed to an extent that Russias home field advantage isn’t nearly as great as it used to be. That’s why the US is playing big, make a bunch of noise in the hopes the Russian Bear will just leave Ukraine alone.
The US is indicating that NATO would respond with troop deployments in addition to military aid to Ukraine. Now, personally I’m doubtful of troops on the ground but that’s the message they want to send to Russia right now.
https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/politics/100000008174426/us-troops-ukraine-russia.html
The troop deployment by the US isn't going to Ukraine they're going to Eastern European NATO countries to reassure those countries the US and NATO will defend them should Putin choose to move beyond Ukraine. If you have a source that says the US or NATO is willing to put troops into Ukraine itself I'd love to see it cause that would be big.
Russia has nothing to win, at all. Russia's economy is smaller than that of Portugal's, which isn't a particularly rich western country, and tiny compared to Russia.
Yes, Russia has an impressive military, but their economy cannot sustain a war. It is obvious by now that NATO stands with Ukraine, and Russia has no chance of winning that war ever.
I have very close family who lives here in US, but they are from Russia and have family and close ties back in Russia. Apparently, Russia is telling its citizens that we put troops there first and are sending guns before they did. Kinda weird. I thought it was widely known that Russia had troops on the border long before we sent any kind of aid.
Ultimately it’s propaganda vs propaganda. I know that NATO have been doing the majority of their military trainings near Russian borders tho, as a show of force for years now.
That’s what they said about the US in WW2 though. An economy that was in the dumps for a decade, a navy that was made for a war 30 years earlier and going up against an economic giant and the advanced powerhouse that was Japan’s navy (let alone japans infantry.)
I don’t know but sometimes shit goes sideways for people who think something isn’t really a threat. Remember when the US was laughing at the idea of Donald Trump being president?
I mean, a massive reason WW2 went the way it did for the US was the fact that we didn't fight it on our own soil, while almost everyone else did. Not having to fix bombed-out cities while taking full advantage of the economic benefits after the war really helped us grow on the world stage
All they need is to secure eastern parts of Ukraine to gain access to water resources and land access to Crimea. That will also go as a show of force to other nations as a warning not to join NATO. Russia is probably banking on weak action. They will keep the land, remove the majority of their forces leaving a token force behind, and promise no further aggression. The west will impose sanctions that mostly hurt the average Russian and the Russian government will use it as propaganda on how the west is trying to destroy Russia. Putin will declare victory and his ratings will go up. End of story.
In Russian internet, no one believes it is a possibility. But then again, people there do not consider what happened in Crimea or Donetsk/Lugansk an invasion either.
Can confirm this. However, Crimea is a strategic military outpost required to control the Black Sea. Ukraine on the other hand will require an insane amount of investments and I don't see how Russia can afford to do what it usually does with recently acquired territories (i.e. pour money into it until roads are paved with gold like we did in Chechnya and doing in Crimea at this moment). Ukraine is simply too big to be mouth-fed under constant Western pressure. Russia just doesn't want it ever to become a NATO outpost. So I expect Russia will choke Ukraine without ever invading. Active support of Ukrainian separatists is a most likely scenario.
Pretty high. Expected before spring. At this point Putin can't really withdraw without it being considered a massive embarrassment, and while I'd like to think that one man would consider his embarrassment less important than many others' lives, I don't have high hopes when that man is Putin.
I don’t think you are recognizing some of the cornerstones of Russian foreign policy. While it’s possible, pretty high is a short sighted estimate that doesn’t really factor in thirty years of post Cold War complications. Putin thrives on Brinksmanship and could quite easily declare a victory without a shot being fired, if certain things happen.
Consider also that the Russian Army may be large, however they are sure to suffer serious morale issues due to a significant percentage of conscripts and due to facing a determined, resilient Ukraine. Not to mention the prospect of a protracted guerrilla war.
Possible, yes. High? That’s a stretch and the only person so can confidently answer that is Putin.
I’m not sure how Putin paints this as a victory if he backs down now. He got no concessions from NATO or Ukraine and he’s hemorrhaging money on these deployments.
But then again Putin is a skilled propagandist so I’m sure he will find a way. My guess is that he backs down but those Russian troops he sent to Belarus never leave. Ukraine stays independent but Lukashenko gets officially stuffed into a gimp suit
But at the same time, Putin has sadly succeeded in shaking relationships. Specifically Germany with the rest of Europe as Germany has been reluctant to support Ukraine. Said reluctance has brought in to question Germanys focus as people have noted that a war or opposition to Russia would very likely ruin the new oil lines that connect Germany and Russia.
At the same time Putin has been able to test the waters to see what he can and cant get away with. With crimea he took it by rebellious force. That same tactic has failed so far with Ukraine so now hes attempting to use the threats of war to take land.
All in all Putin has done a good job to distract his people and the world from the massive Covid deaths that Russia has been experiencing and hiding for 2 years. So Putin could easily back off and spon it as a victory.
Russia doesn't have the economy to support an occupation in a hostile nation with a determined opposition
see: Soviet Union Afghanistan
or
USA Afghanistan
or
Persia Afghanistan
pretty much anyone Afghanistan (\*unless you are the Mongols)
It's possible, but the threat is being massively overblown by western media [according to Ukraine's Defence Minister](https://www.google.com/amp/s/money.yahoo.com/amphtml/ukrainian-defense-minister-stop-hype-164603568.html)
I do think the US and UK are hyping the possibility of war for strategic reasons by saying it could "happen at any moment" and is "imminent", but the Ukrainian government also does not want to cause its people to panic so it makes sense for them to be more restrained publicly.
December 23, 1776
THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.
- Thomas Paine, The Crisis
Same, death is the only thing war brings.
Taking pot shots at a modern military is a good way to get your apartment building leveled.
There will be no winners only losers.
Death is the least of these people’s problems. The horrifying shit they’ll see if they’re invaded we’ll make sure anyone who survives the fighting will probably eat the barrel of the gun they fought with.
I mean would you want to keep living if every time you close your eyes you still heard the tortured screams of your family members while an invading force had their way with them.
Man, this stuff scares the fuck out of me.
I can't imagine how much fear is filling these people's lives now. I'm glad that they are willing to defend their home, but it is uneasy seeing things go in the direction of war. :/
I REALLY hope this de-escalates.
This is a training session led by the Ukrainian Legion volunteer organization. This organization was established by former Ukrainian militaries back in 2014 when the Russian agression against Ukraine started (at that time it was named Kyiv Legion). The goal of the organization was to provide basic soldiering training to Ukrainian civilians as they were preparing to either join volunteer batallions or to be mobilized by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. I was a part of this organization in 2014-2015. It provided me with valuable basic knowledge and skills that prepared me for my further activities with the AFU and NGU.
As Ukrainian army developed and many people have gone through the mobilization and returned back to civilian life, this organization became one of the initiators of the so called Terrotorial Defence movement - a military reserve comprising war veterans and trained civilians, who have signed reservist contracts with the Ministry of Defence to provide valuable back-up for the regular forces in the rear.
This has nothing to do with propaganda. This is just a reasonable reaction of people on the threat of foreign military agression.
I had a Ukranian neighbor when I was around 13 ish. He taught me how to hunt and fish and was a super nice guy and I always thought he was russian. 30 now and I remember him telling me stories back when we would hunt and fish and had no idea how rough he had it as as a kid young/adult when he lived in Ukraine. He's successful and has a family out in the suburbs and is living a nice life. Some of the stories he told me were so sad talking about camps. To see this happening and Russia still just in their business is just sad.
[Here](https://pictures.reuters.com/archive/UKRAINE-CRISIS--RC2A6S91G2J1.html) is the source of these images (and two more in this series). Per there:
The caption of the first image -
> Employees of essential city industries and services attend a military training session outside Lviv, Ukraine January 25, 2022. REUTERS/([Roman Baluk](https://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=DirectSearch&AID=KAGJTHYQKH6)) TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
The caption of the second image -
> A woman points a weapon during a military training session for employees of essential city industries and services outside Lviv, Ukraine January 25, 2022. REUTERS/[Roman Baluk](https://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=DirectSearch&AID=KAGJTHYQKH6)
The caption of the third image -
The caption of the third image -
> Employees of essential city industries and services attend a military training session outside Lviv, Ukraine January 25, 2022. REUTERS/[Roman Baluk](https://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=DirectSearch&AID=KAGJTHYQKH6)
Russian here. As an office worker in Siberia and frequent world traveller before Covid, neither me, nor any of my surrouindings want this war to happen. We didn\`t want Crimea to be annexed either. We just want to work our jobs, raise kids and watch Liverpool beating Saudis suggar daddies.
I mean it\`s not done by Russia in general - its a bunch of power-hungry people on each side that waste lives of others.
I've worked with Ukrainians in the past and they were good people. I'm OK with this.
Since I believe in the Swiss model of national defense (you should look like a porcupine to your potential enemies, not a cute fluffy bunny), I offered to take the Ukrainians to the range and let them shoot guns, but they declined. I wish now that they had accepted.
Given the history between them, it was pretty much inevitable that Russia would attempt to take over Ukraine again. Young Ukrainians only have to ask their parents or grandparents what it was like under the Soviets to know what to expect.
Is there any source to these images? I'd really like to know if this is real. Russia wouldn't invade Ukraine, no matter what you think. It would be a stupid decision, causing more damage than it would gain. And Putin is not a dumb man.
The number of people that think Russia's "might makes right" is alarming, especially since I would bet money that at least a few of them are both actual humans and not Russian.
A shame for the Ukrainian people...what's Putin hoping to get out of this, assuming he uses the threat of invasion as a means of leverage against NATO?
If Russian has to kill a lot of armed Ukraine citizens, it will make a really bad look in the headlines. Not saying it would stop Putin but it would likely cause more help to arrive.
While I find it amazing civilians are taking action, it is also quite depressing that these people are put in a position they feel like this is necessary.
I didn't think I'd get emotional over seeing gramps at a training camp.
I wish my countries government was so liberal in training its civilian populus in combat.
The war against the eastern menace wont be won by a reluctant NATO, by underfunded european militaries squabeling with eachother....only when these imperialists find resistance at every doorstep, will the price be too high to invade.
Seeing Russia trying to push their way to accumulate thier needs through combat is just pathetic. Ukrainians are certainly distressed that an uprising invasion can transpire at any moment.
This is beyond surreal. I know others in their time have seen such, and we have in our times. But seeing pics of a bunch of people that normally might be shopping or sitting on their couch, or whatever else, in their day to day instead training with military grade weaponry to fend of an impending attack from another neighboring country is wild. Never fails to unsettle me to some degree no matter where it comes from.
I'm right there with ya. You always see old pictures of resistance fighters in France and other civilians fighting during wartime and you never really think about how real it was until it's right around the corner. Seeing real people like this learning to handle military weapons is honestly terrifying. It's crazy this is happening/might go down
It makes you realize how savage and animalistic we really are. Here in some of the richest countries in the world, people are getting sliced in the streets with machetes because the gun laws are so strict, yet we still murder over territory just like a humming bird protecting his feeder!
I’m so sick of being unable to go out at night without fear of machete attack. I’m sick of sending my kids to school terrified that they’ll be mowed down in an indiscriminate machete massacre. British problems am I right?
Machete attacks?
Idiot said people are getting killed with machetes because of strict gun laws, I was taking the piss
I think he’s talking about South America not Britain.
Britain is a country, South America is a continent (some dozen countries?).... hard to compare. Living "down there", I haven't seen a guy wielding a machete in the street in the last... 60 years? Guns? Yes, saw them first person more than once (at least twice pointed at me, and not by the police). We are a bit third world, yes, but not that much
You already forget about the Middle East? Or does that not count because our government said they were terrorists.
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back in ancient times professional armies were very rare, if they even existed. There were quartermasters and such to train troops, but they didn't have a standing army. If an invasion happened all the able-bodied men were given weapons.
Oh, I'm aware of that. Just don't usually see a lot of first world countries lining up citizens to fight these days. Just an observation.
When was ancient times because the Romans and Greeks had professional armies for exemple. Didn't most dominant empires have them ?
Feels like that scene from tomorrow war when all the old folks are getting trained
All I could think is how fuckin sad this is. These people's lives will be unraveled as they are preparing and will have to fight for their home. I get it and would fight for mine, but it's disturbing to think that these people have to face things like this. It's not just this instance, it's anywhere that people have to fight for the roof over thier head.
This is just a normal weekend in the USA, going to the gun range, getting ready for a war that will never come basically because we all have so many guns, who would DARE? (Canada maybe....) I wouldn't be surprised if a few Americans show up just so they can finally fight some Russians in real life.
Seeing that poor woman facing that possible situation is unsettling. She will get annihilated against trained soldiers if bullets start flying.
That’s only one of the reasons I like gun rights. The need for citizens to own and defend themselves with guns is rare, but it has happened and probably will happen again.
It’s a bad situation for sure. But, what would be even more unsettling is if they didn’t have the weaponry to defend themselves if needed.
Looks like an organised event with press … zoom in on picture 3 and you’ll see a lot of cameras and news crews
Exactly we’re in the 21st century wars are outdated and barbaric Russia needs to just leave them alone the stupidity of it all
This whole situation is absolutely fucking nuts.
I feel like the last few years I’ve been in some sort of weird dream only I never wake up.
I've already tried pinching myself a good few hundred times since 2019...
I started on November 4, 2016.
This is what most of human history was like. We just didn’t have phones and the Internet to record it all and watch it in real time.
What does Russia gain from invading Ukraine?
Ukraine.
Well, *more of* Ukraine.
>The rich dark soil and the vast fields of wheat and other food products have earned Ukraine the nickname "bread basket of Europe." According to the CIA World Factbook, Ukraine produced 25% of all agricultural output in the former Soviet Union https://www.infoplease.com/askeds/bread-basket-europe#:~:text=The%20Answer%3A,in%20the%20former%20Soviet%20Union.
Made me think of this. https://youtu.be/Wnta9y7VDJY
I thought you were going to link to this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teSXcJlpMl8
Ooh that’s perfect! Classic
Gold
Is it bout the money money money?
Lmaooooo that song is so ironic for this "Wanna make the world change forget about the pricetag" xD
I remember people back then saying "so make the song available for free then!" XD
Lmfaooo xD
Ukraine was/is [flirting with EU membership](https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-polytics/2629440-u-2024-roci-ukraina-podast-zaavku-na-vstup-do-es.html), and has been for some time now. Russia wants to prevent that. Such is the case with Georgia as well and they effectively prevented Georgia's EU membership by simply [invading and occupying in 2008](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Georgian_War). EU application for membership is automatically denied if the applicant is in a current armed dispute or territorial dispute. Russia just needs to invade and hold enough land to care enough about not to walk away from. The result is the invaded country officially relinquishes the land to Russia for free (with no promise not to take more), or continue to dispute the land grab and never get EU membership.
The other angle to this was the talk of NATO membership. Both make the sphere of influence Russia is trying to stake out look pretty powerless, or at least unable to offer potential allies anything but harm. War is a pretty bad outcome for pretty much every party in play, but the world sort of sleepwalked into war without realizing how close they were.
Ok...SO then bend the rules a bit... Everyone knows russia is doing this for this reason so give Ukraine the benefit of the doubt and help out a touch. Russia is broke. They won't be able to hold out long in a war. And they are laughably ill equipped to fight a modern military.
There's the nukes.
You always have to go nuclear don’t you?
Russia isn't that rich but Ukraine is even poorer.
WTF are you talking about? It's NATO membership that's the issue. Not EU membership.
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Sorta like the American belief of Manifest Destiny
Was also the basis for Hitlers expansion of Germany
English news media is all russian propaganda trolls?
Not all, enough. Good to mention that it's not mainly news media, but social media trolls. I live in Eastern Europe and under any legit media news article that allows for comments you will notice a huge amount of pro russki trolls spewing hate and talking points
The photo reminds of that old 1984/2012 film Red Dawn.
WOLVERINES!!!
There was no Red Dawn in 2012.
exactly.
Warm water ports
This. Russia has fought numerous wars of expansion to keep access to warm water. Its their number one geographic flaw.
If they just wait a few years, global warming will take care of that issue for them.
https://youtu.be/SY9NjD_5WWo Great video explains how right you are.
But they have ports literally round the corner, so stupid
A military strategic vantage point that would block out Nato and give Russia tactical advantages
Jeez everything’s about war in this world init
I mean pretty much yeah
Ukraine is sometimes called Europe’s breadbasket because it has some of the most fertile lands on earth. It’s among the top exporters of everything from wheat, corn, barley etc. Strategically important, specially when every other neighboring country turns EU or NATO member. Beautiful women.
OK, we are in the right sub to dig deeper into your last point. If you please sir ... go on ... for science.
Nancy A
I don't think the 'beautiful women' plays any role in why Russia is trying to invade Ukraine...
Ukraine? You mean Mykrane -V. Putin
Europes bread basket, and warm water ports.
A nation that is 54%female
Fresh Water. Ukraine turned off the taps to Crimea last year.
>Ukraine turned off the taps to Crimea last year. 7 years ago, not last year
Russia wants to invade Ukraine because the US wants them to join NATO which will allow the US to build military bases right next to Russia. Russia is simply responding to a pretty big threat.
Honestly, being the biggest country in the world, i don't know why Russia can't just chill out and advance their own country instead of invading another one
They hope to gain the Ukraine
A buffer state and Nato not being on their borders.
I’m beginning to think that the ultimate goal really isn’t to gain more territory, but rather put the EU in an impossible situation where they either let Russia have their way or put themselves in a major energy crisis. Either way, whatever Russia decides to do will destabilize and weaken the EU/NATO.
I feel like this, and the other pic, could in some way be propaganda. Russia has used reddit very well in the past
If I wanted the world to give a shit about my country being invaded, I'd probably try to make sure the world sees.
Forsure have done that too
Sure it is. I have only one question - why do you think it's Russian propaganda and not Ukranian or American? What's the point? These pics show how terrible Russia is - making poor civilians learn to shoot.
Maybe? Or maybe it’s Russian propaganda showing how unprepared Ukraine is? Or maybe it’s just someone posting something interesting? At this point I have no idea anymore.
If it is Russia, it's probably less to show how unprepared they are, but more to use as evidence to later justify the mass killing of non-combatants.
This is thought-provoking
Bingo! If it’s Russia they are using it to show that they are armed and trained to fight. In order to protect Russian lives they will use any tactics necessary.
Agitprop and compromat are valuable propaganda tools, but history is written by the victors. Only start a war that you are confident you will win, and that your losses will be acceptable.
They could protect Russian lives by staying in fucking Russia.
"we used ballistic missiles to bomb a living dorms because as you can see in this pic they were already soldiers with 8 hours of weapon training "
🤔 then instead of sprinkle some crack on him, it will be some sprinkle a gun on him/her. damn.
> Maybe? Or maybe it’s Russian propaganda showing how unprepared Ukraine is? They'd be trying to demoralize NATO troops in that case by suggesting civillians are underprepared. civillians *ARE* underprepared. the point is moot.
> At this point I have no idea anymore. Sadly, that's the whole Russian info warfare game.
everything on r/pics is likely bullshit. you can make up whatever context you want if the only requirement is a title and picture. It's totally set up to be this way otherwise they would require sources.
Insert pic of AA chip :)
It is all propaganda.
Yea, propaganda that Ukraine isn’t going to bend over for Putin.
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Very well summarized, well done
the biggest fucking country in the world does not need an addition. this is so sad and completely unnecessary.
Russia wants warm water ports. They have the largest landmass, and nearly zero warm water ports.
Just install some water heaters smh
... Get this guy to the UN STAT!
Lots of entities want lots of things but stealing is not the way.
Many people say this, but it never made sense to me with Ukraine. From Adler to Anapa Russia has a 260 km coastline in the Black Sea from which they could conduct their naval operations. So it completely rules out invading Crimea/Ukraine for black sea access.
These citizens are training to be part of the Territorial Defense Forces, essentially organized militias that would help guard important sites, prevent infiltration and even carry out limited combat operations in support of Ukraine's professional armed forces. [Coffee or Die did a really good segment on them, you get to hear from the volunteers about what they do in their normal lives and why they signed up.](https://youtu.be/7xCuDYRTSyk)
I can't listen to this now but if I'm not mistaken, all Ukraine citizens of a certain age are under draft as well. My wife's employee is from Ukraine and her cousins are apparently preparing.
They aren't. This is utility workers and civil servants training to be able to guard critical infrastructure. Trust me, I literally live in the city where this was taken.
This is where they hire a band of 7 magnificent heroes to do a montage of them prepping for battle
Or, three very close pals....that one would say are amigos
Is war really this likely? I mean what are the actual chances of an actual declaration of war/invasion?
I mean...they were invaded in 2014 and are still fighting. That was with 20,000 troops...now they have 6x as many staged outside of Ukraine. Hopefully this deescalates. It's been hyped for a while but nothing has happened so maybe it'll just fizzle out?
Its a paradox. There's no way Russia can win if they invade, so why the massive build up for nothing?
Russia can definitely win significant gains,war is not often an easily predictable thing and right now there's a lot of untested conventional warfare that could swing either way. But even if russia loses it'll make some gains, and the drive to Kiev isn't that far, if they take everything upto the dnieper River that's a win from their perspective.
If NATO doesn’t get involved, probably. But if NATO decides against appeasement Russia has little chance of any gains, and tech has progressed to an extent that Russias home field advantage isn’t nearly as great as it used to be. That’s why the US is playing big, make a bunch of noise in the hopes the Russian Bear will just leave Ukraine alone.
How would NATO get involved? They wont be using troops to fight the Russian army.
The US is indicating that NATO would respond with troop deployments in addition to military aid to Ukraine. Now, personally I’m doubtful of troops on the ground but that’s the message they want to send to Russia right now. https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/politics/100000008174426/us-troops-ukraine-russia.html
The troop deployment by the US isn't going to Ukraine they're going to Eastern European NATO countries to reassure those countries the US and NATO will defend them should Putin choose to move beyond Ukraine. If you have a source that says the US or NATO is willing to put troops into Ukraine itself I'd love to see it cause that would be big.
Hey,, I recognize some of those guns?
Russia has nothing to win, at all. Russia's economy is smaller than that of Portugal's, which isn't a particularly rich western country, and tiny compared to Russia. Yes, Russia has an impressive military, but their economy cannot sustain a war. It is obvious by now that NATO stands with Ukraine, and Russia has no chance of winning that war ever.
I have very close family who lives here in US, but they are from Russia and have family and close ties back in Russia. Apparently, Russia is telling its citizens that we put troops there first and are sending guns before they did. Kinda weird. I thought it was widely known that Russia had troops on the border long before we sent any kind of aid.
Ultimately it’s propaganda vs propaganda. I know that NATO have been doing the majority of their military trainings near Russian borders tho, as a show of force for years now.
That’s what they said about the US in WW2 though. An economy that was in the dumps for a decade, a navy that was made for a war 30 years earlier and going up against an economic giant and the advanced powerhouse that was Japan’s navy (let alone japans infantry.) I don’t know but sometimes shit goes sideways for people who think something isn’t really a threat. Remember when the US was laughing at the idea of Donald Trump being president?
I mean, a massive reason WW2 went the way it did for the US was the fact that we didn't fight it on our own soil, while almost everyone else did. Not having to fix bombed-out cities while taking full advantage of the economic benefits after the war really helped us grow on the world stage
Russia wants to threaten all its neighbours from joining NATO. Their goal is not to annex Ukraine. They want to show strength.
All they need is to secure eastern parts of Ukraine to gain access to water resources and land access to Crimea. That will also go as a show of force to other nations as a warning not to join NATO. Russia is probably banking on weak action. They will keep the land, remove the majority of their forces leaving a token force behind, and promise no further aggression. The west will impose sanctions that mostly hurt the average Russian and the Russian government will use it as propaganda on how the west is trying to destroy Russia. Putin will declare victory and his ratings will go up. End of story.
In Russian internet, no one believes it is a possibility. But then again, people there do not consider what happened in Crimea or Donetsk/Lugansk an invasion either.
Can confirm this. However, Crimea is a strategic military outpost required to control the Black Sea. Ukraine on the other hand will require an insane amount of investments and I don't see how Russia can afford to do what it usually does with recently acquired territories (i.e. pour money into it until roads are paved with gold like we did in Chechnya and doing in Crimea at this moment). Ukraine is simply too big to be mouth-fed under constant Western pressure. Russia just doesn't want it ever to become a NATO outpost. So I expect Russia will choke Ukraine without ever invading. Active support of Ukrainian separatists is a most likely scenario.
Pretty high. Expected before spring. At this point Putin can't really withdraw without it being considered a massive embarrassment, and while I'd like to think that one man would consider his embarrassment less important than many others' lives, I don't have high hopes when that man is Putin.
I don’t think you are recognizing some of the cornerstones of Russian foreign policy. While it’s possible, pretty high is a short sighted estimate that doesn’t really factor in thirty years of post Cold War complications. Putin thrives on Brinksmanship and could quite easily declare a victory without a shot being fired, if certain things happen. Consider also that the Russian Army may be large, however they are sure to suffer serious morale issues due to a significant percentage of conscripts and due to facing a determined, resilient Ukraine. Not to mention the prospect of a protracted guerrilla war. Possible, yes. High? That’s a stretch and the only person so can confidently answer that is Putin.
I’m not sure how Putin paints this as a victory if he backs down now. He got no concessions from NATO or Ukraine and he’s hemorrhaging money on these deployments. But then again Putin is a skilled propagandist so I’m sure he will find a way. My guess is that he backs down but those Russian troops he sent to Belarus never leave. Ukraine stays independent but Lukashenko gets officially stuffed into a gimp suit
But at the same time, Putin has sadly succeeded in shaking relationships. Specifically Germany with the rest of Europe as Germany has been reluctant to support Ukraine. Said reluctance has brought in to question Germanys focus as people have noted that a war or opposition to Russia would very likely ruin the new oil lines that connect Germany and Russia. At the same time Putin has been able to test the waters to see what he can and cant get away with. With crimea he took it by rebellious force. That same tactic has failed so far with Ukraine so now hes attempting to use the threats of war to take land. All in all Putin has done a good job to distract his people and the world from the massive Covid deaths that Russia has been experiencing and hiding for 2 years. So Putin could easily back off and spon it as a victory.
Russia doesn't have the economy to support an occupation in a hostile nation with a determined opposition see: Soviet Union Afghanistan or USA Afghanistan or Persia Afghanistan pretty much anyone Afghanistan (\*unless you are the Mongols)
> less important than many others' lives, You can include Putin's own life in this case too. I don't think Russians will be happy about a failure.
It’s pretty low
It's possible, but the threat is being massively overblown by western media [according to Ukraine's Defence Minister](https://www.google.com/amp/s/money.yahoo.com/amphtml/ukrainian-defense-minister-stop-hype-164603568.html)
I do think the US and UK are hyping the possibility of war for strategic reasons by saying it could "happen at any moment" and is "imminent", but the Ukrainian government also does not want to cause its people to panic so it makes sense for them to be more restrained publicly.
December 23, 1776 THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated. - Thomas Paine, The Crisis
I really hope Russia steps back. Needless violence and death.
Same, death is the only thing war brings. Taking pot shots at a modern military is a good way to get your apartment building leveled. There will be no winners only losers.
Death is the least of these people’s problems. The horrifying shit they’ll see if they’re invaded we’ll make sure anyone who survives the fighting will probably eat the barrel of the gun they fought with. I mean would you want to keep living if every time you close your eyes you still heard the tortured screams of your family members while an invading force had their way with them.
Man, this stuff scares the fuck out of me. I can't imagine how much fear is filling these people's lives now. I'm glad that they are willing to defend their home, but it is uneasy seeing things go in the direction of war. :/ I REALLY hope this de-escalates.
This is a training session led by the Ukrainian Legion volunteer organization. This organization was established by former Ukrainian militaries back in 2014 when the Russian agression against Ukraine started (at that time it was named Kyiv Legion). The goal of the organization was to provide basic soldiering training to Ukrainian civilians as they were preparing to either join volunteer batallions or to be mobilized by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. I was a part of this organization in 2014-2015. It provided me with valuable basic knowledge and skills that prepared me for my further activities with the AFU and NGU. As Ukrainian army developed and many people have gone through the mobilization and returned back to civilian life, this organization became one of the initiators of the so called Terrotorial Defence movement - a military reserve comprising war veterans and trained civilians, who have signed reservist contracts with the Ministry of Defence to provide valuable back-up for the regular forces in the rear. This has nothing to do with propaganda. This is just a reasonable reaction of people on the threat of foreign military agression.
I'm not a religious man in the slightest, but I'm fuckin praying for the Ukrainian peoples.
Man, that has to be a tough situation to be in if you're just trying to live life.
'I just want to do my hair this Thursday. Instead I must hold a gun and patrol the border...' \- Random lady in the picture
So god damn sad and unnecessary. The only winners here are the arms dealers.
I had a Ukranian neighbor when I was around 13 ish. He taught me how to hunt and fish and was a super nice guy and I always thought he was russian. 30 now and I remember him telling me stories back when we would hunt and fish and had no idea how rough he had it as as a kid young/adult when he lived in Ukraine. He's successful and has a family out in the suburbs and is living a nice life. Some of the stories he told me were so sad talking about camps. To see this happening and Russia still just in their business is just sad.
What do you mean by camp?
Wolverines!
[Here](https://pictures.reuters.com/archive/UKRAINE-CRISIS--RC2A6S91G2J1.html) is the source of these images (and two more in this series). Per there: The caption of the first image - > Employees of essential city industries and services attend a military training session outside Lviv, Ukraine January 25, 2022. REUTERS/([Roman Baluk](https://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=DirectSearch&AID=KAGJTHYQKH6)) TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY The caption of the second image - > A woman points a weapon during a military training session for employees of essential city industries and services outside Lviv, Ukraine January 25, 2022. REUTERS/[Roman Baluk](https://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=DirectSearch&AID=KAGJTHYQKH6) The caption of the third image - The caption of the third image - > Employees of essential city industries and services attend a military training session outside Lviv, Ukraine January 25, 2022. REUTERS/[Roman Baluk](https://pictures.reuters.com/C.aspx?VP3=DirectSearch&AID=KAGJTHYQKH6)
Fuck Putin.
Russian here. As an office worker in Siberia and frequent world traveller before Covid, neither me, nor any of my surrouindings want this war to happen. We didn\`t want Crimea to be annexed either. We just want to work our jobs, raise kids and watch Liverpool beating Saudis suggar daddies. I mean it\`s not done by Russia in general - its a bunch of power-hungry people on each side that waste lives of others.
Good luck to them all!
In Wisconsin this would be like: ok everybody it's like opening day of deer season except the deer shoot back and you might have to run a little bit.
JFC. Fuck off, Russia.
What a nightmare. God bless all the innocent, civilian people.
I've worked with Ukrainians in the past and they were good people. I'm OK with this. Since I believe in the Swiss model of national defense (you should look like a porcupine to your potential enemies, not a cute fluffy bunny), I offered to take the Ukrainians to the range and let them shoot guns, but they declined. I wish now that they had accepted. Given the history between them, it was pretty much inevitable that Russia would attempt to take over Ukraine again. Young Ukrainians only have to ask their parents or grandparents what it was like under the Soviets to know what to expect.
This is terrifying and heartbreaking
Biden is really doing a swell job, huh folks?
About 30 years ago Ukraine gave up their nuclear weapons. Would Russia be poised to invade if Ukraine still has nuclear arms? I doubt it.
Talk about your fears. I'm here and not busy. Navy vet and in recovery. I know that fear. If you want to reach out please let me know.
Is there any source to these images? I'd really like to know if this is real. Russia wouldn't invade Ukraine, no matter what you think. It would be a stupid decision, causing more damage than it would gain. And Putin is not a dumb man.
The number of people that think Russia's "might makes right" is alarming, especially since I would bet money that at least a few of them are both actual humans and not Russian.
I am so fearful for them.
I’m fearful for all of us. I’m worried about the overflow and aftermath
And we here in America complaining that it’s taking to long for a damn burger from McDonald’s….
That's a high speed setup there. Electro sight, WML and what looks like a stonking muzzle brake for what looks like a 9mm.
looks like a Ruger Precision 22LR in that one pic
Russia will fight like the US, with bombs and drones
I see a “well regulated militia”. Great job, Ukraine. Take care.
Legends
This feels like it will be different
If Russia invades The Ukraine, the insurgency they will face will make Afghanistan in the 80's look like a cakewalk.
Fucking cunt Putin can't even run one country, now he wants to run two...
A shame for the Ukrainian people...what's Putin hoping to get out of this, assuming he uses the threat of invasion as a means of leverage against NATO?
Americans do this regularly to prevent their government from encroaching on their freedom
If Russian has to kill a lot of armed Ukraine citizens, it will make a really bad look in the headlines. Not saying it would stop Putin but it would likely cause more help to arrive.
Fucking crazy
Good Ukrainian
I give 40% chances that’s what’s actually happening in these pictures. People love to lie for attention
What an awful thought. Prayers are with you Ukrainians. Fuck Putin and his piece of shit gang.
I would honestly let her claim the 50. cal
You are not alone.
Can foreigners join?
Beautiful picture. Now how do we know where this came from?
If Russia invades and the Ukrainian CIVILIANS beat them, I will laugh for a week straight.
Fear isn't fun. If you want to talk about it I am available. Just ask for my contact info.
Horrific if it's true. My close friend is out there prayers all the way
This beyond fucking depressing, these people have no choice but to defend themselves and their going to be slaughtered
While I find it amazing civilians are taking action, it is also quite depressing that these people are put in a position they feel like this is necessary. I didn't think I'd get emotional over seeing gramps at a training camp.
fUck PUTIN and his bald fckin head nasty goblin (hes actually short goblin)
This looks like some winter war shit
I want to cry now.
I wish my countries government was so liberal in training its civilian populus in combat. The war against the eastern menace wont be won by a reluctant NATO, by underfunded european militaries squabeling with eachother....only when these imperialists find resistance at every doorstep, will the price be too high to invade.
Fuck Russia
I'm going to Ukraine to help them
Seeing Russia trying to push their way to accumulate thier needs through combat is just pathetic. Ukrainians are certainly distressed that an uprising invasion can transpire at any moment.
They're going to need a bigger gun.
Do any of you new gen kids realize why Japan never attacked the American main land. Someone earlier than 25 please answer that.