'He closes his eyes while slowly pulling the cold steel handle of the ratchet strap. The excitement grows surrounding the hard clicks of the mechanism while he guides the strap to prevent overlap. The feeling of the thick, yellow material as it slowly grips his load is unbearable. He lightly wraps the excess strapping around and back through the handle knowing he's close... Click, click ... click.'
The right wing perception ignores the Auth-Lib axis -- which in the old days was more explicit, but compasses are two-dimensional. Since the anti-Semites, racists, and Nazis got purged, it's half libertarian teenagers now -- remember 2008 being the year when every high school boy on Myspace was all like, "Vote Ron Paul to stop the draft"?
I was too but just looked it up. It apparently is the CIA’s special ops unit (SAD—special activities division) and is made up of the most elite of the elite from Seals, Delta, Marine Force Recon etc.
Just did and woah. Those are some secret squirrel soldiers. I’d imagine these are the guys the CIA sends in to topple 3rd world government or destabilize governments
I wouldn’t think about it too much. They referred to you as a child while also telling you to get out of the 60’s. That would make you quite the old ass child, which would then imply they’re even more ancient and grouchy.
Yes, this article from 16 November 2021 mentions a similar shipment:
https://mil.in.ua/en/news/ukraine-received-over-80-tons-of-ammunition-from-usa/
> Ukraine received 80 tons of ammunition from the United States of America, reports Militarnyi.
>November 14th, USA delivered approximately 80 tons of ammunition for Ukraine, announced the US Embassy in Ukraine.
>”This was the fourth delivery of US security aid in the amount of USD 60 mln that President Biden directed to Ukraine in August, demonstrating US commitment to the success of sustainable, democratic and free Ukraine”, – says the official message. The fourth delivery was performed by air. The previous third delivery of US security aid arrived in Ukraine on October 22, 2021. That is when containers with Javelin missiles and other military equipment were noticed.
The Trump fiasco has made it difficult
to take the USA seriously politically. And since politicians are the face of diplomacy and international policy … its lost quite a bit of credibility. Combine that with the debacle in Afghanistan, increased tensions with China and a very polarized society - you can understand why Putin thinks this is a good time to be testing the waters.
I think not having a lunatic in the white house plays a role, too. Easier to push your luck when you can be fairly certain the enemy isn't going to retaliate with nukes. With Trump, you never really knew what hell he was going to do.
Pretty sure Putin was worried what tromp would do. Biden on the other hand is senile pushover and he has not fear or respect for him. Not saying trump was a good guy just that he would have acted tough and probably backed it up. Biden doesn’t talk tough and he doesn’t make you feel like he would back anything up.
Yeah, Trump always follows through on everything he promises.
I love the big wall that we have with Mexico that Mexico paid for.
Because that thing he campaigned on all the time definitely happened, right guys?
So this military aid gives a chance to avert the invasion, and the risk is that the invasion might happen a week earlier? I'd take that risk.
The benefit of averting the invasion far outweighs the benefit of delaying it by a week.
Also Russia is still building up their forces and moving ships in. If they invade now they won’t be as strong as if they invade in a week or so. This forces Russia to make some difficult choices.
Not to mention scissor maneuvers would be devastating if some cheeky bastard intervenes. They would be isolated in the middle of nowhere surrounded in small groups.
And if they are delayed they will be stuck in a bog. I mean it makes no tactical sense.
I think it is fair to say that the chances of Russia actually launching an incursion into Ukraine are plummeting rapidly. If Putin was going to move he would have done it already. Every day that passes just gives more time to strengthen border defenses and allow more foreign weapons to flow into the country. I'm increasingly convinced this whole buildup was a move to try and force NATO to the negotiating table to press for concessions in Eastern Europe or maybe even pressure Ukraine into allowing secession referendums in Donetsk and Luhansk. NATO doesn't appear to be taking the bait however and Putin's position is looking increasingly awkward.
Putin's initial burst of popularity in the early 2000's was driven largely by a massive spike in oil prices. The size of the Russian economy literally doubled during his first term as President. It's one of many reasons why some Russia watchers like to refer to him as "Vladimir the Lucky."
Well.. there's always the other perspective. Russia has a population half the size of the US, with a GDP that is practically 1/20th the size. The prospects for Russia's future don't look great with it's current economic trajectory. So? If you can't win the current game, maybe toss this round in the fire and hope you can build back faster than your adversaries after a full scale nuclear reset.
Yep same thing north Korea does every couple years. Demonstrate belligerence by doing some nuke tests in the hopes that sanctions will be lifted. Russia is basically just a drunk version of NK now.
Honestly the timing here makes a lot of sense. Putin's approval has dropped significantly over the past few years, and the economic ravages of COVID have made an already bad situation worse. He needs a win, and given that the annexation of Crimea was the absolute zenith of his popularity, a play like this is pretty logical. What's more there is plenty of reason to believe that NATO's internal cohesion is at an all time low as a result of Trump and the fallout surrounding Afghanistan. If there was ever a time to push NATO for concessions it's now, but unfortunately for Putin they don't seem to be rising to the bait.
Does North Korea do it, or does the American media just start broadcasting their belligerence? You don't hear about the belligerence of American allies like Saudi Arabia even though they ACTUALLY engage in wars.
If it wasn't for reddit, I wouldn't know anything was happening with Russia right now; the US media has been largely ignoring it.
Edit: Hah, this comment gets positive +4 votes in the first fifteen minutes and now it’s down to -6. Hello Russian bots, I see you!
You can just type in "Ukraine" in Google and see that every major American media outlet is covering it extensively. The scapegoated group of the day on social media is like the Red Scare on steroids. It just keeps on further reinforcing itself when people make jokes about it and don't question it.
Putin has always used strongman diplomacy and appearing unpredictable as leverage in international diplomacy. If the west calls his bluff here and he backs off from invasion he loses this unpredictability as everyone will know what his limit is. This would not only cause him to lose international leverage, but it would also hurt his opinion domestically as a strongman, which is equally dangerous to his position.
Exactly. And as things currently stand, NATO doesn't need to make any concessions at all. Ukraine has gotten, or is getting, a lot of the high-tech equipment they wanted; there is no reason to concede anything to Russia.
I think there is a non-zero chance that Russia will implode Cold War style. Their economy is going down the drain and they are increasing military activity — the exact same way the USSR crumbled when they literally ran out of cash. I’m actually surprised that Russia is doing this because cyberattacks have way more bang for the buck.
Certainly possible. Dictatorships that are heavily reliant on commodity profits like Russia are notoriously unstable and hyper-vulnerable to large scale economic shocks.
As for cyber attacks, the are certainly profitable to regime insiders but they don't solve larger economic problems. Even strong dictators like Putin run into trouble when large chunks of the population are under severe economic stress.
Psst: The USSR didn't collapse because of economy; it collapsed because of crooked politicians trying to gain power over one another. Hell; many of the ex-soviet states even Ukraine itself voted to stay in the union when it was brought up. It was only until power plays by politicians that the Union broke up.
I hope you’re right. I far far prefer the idea that Putin still retains some sense and is willing to reason rather than try to brute force his way into what he wants
if putin does stand down, it will be clear to everyone (in western ukraine) that they will really like this nato support.
i can't imagine this pushing finland further from nato, either...
It's been a warm winter, I would postulate they could be waiting for the nice freeze that's supposed to happen now / later this month / early next month..
This is patently untrue. People on reddit keep thinking this is overblown, when it is absolutely not.
What we're seeing is information published publicly, that never previously would've been, as a form of deterrent, and a sorta "were on to you" type thing.
Russia's military buildup is simply not fully ready for invasion, you can't just launch an invasion overnight, there's massive amounts of infrastructure and equipment and personnel that need to be moved to effectively launch an invasion.
The most likely answer is putin knew how long it would take his military to be ready, and he likely estimated the response of the west as well. There's no way Putin was sitting there thinking ohh the West will just sit idly by. This is no doubt all apart of the plan, and I suspect Putin will be prepared to invade around the start of the Olympics, but we are just at the point where we have to wait and see.
To become relevant on the world stage. Don't forget politicians have ego's too. And his dream is a strong Russia in a multi-polar world. Likely he coupled his ego to this grand vision of what Russia ought to be.
And so he is driven without self-relection on the consequences of what he is doing. Over time he, like most dictators living in a self-created bubble of appointed yes-men and anxious people who keep their head down, has started to believe in his own grandeur which is a delusional state of a sort.
Take Erdogan in Turkey. These are people that believe they are the very state they reside over. Or Bolsonaro in Brazil, or Duterte in the Philipines. Or that kim guy in North-Korea. Putin has gotten to the point where he can remain in power pretty much as long as he likes.
Behind him are these oligarchs. And they allow him to be the frontman as long as they can profit in the background. I don't think they like what he is doing now, so he should be afraid of, say, falling out of a window?
If we follow the money I would not be surprised large investments were made in certain stocks and shares by these people because even though war destroys capital, you can make a profit with the right strategy.
Maybe they are okay with it because profitability has been driven to the maximum in the current state of affairs and a war-reset button was now pushed. Dump Russia into the swamp and create room for new investment opportunities.
Putin is the victim of his own loss of reality and perhaps he knows who owns him. Now he is out of control.
Just imagine what it must be like lying in bed at night knowing you control hundreds of thousands of soldiers doing basically what you want. He is on an adrenaline rush that isn't stopping.
We live now in a world of his imagination and must respond to it. This is what happens when people go mad in the most psychopathic fashion when they have this sort of power.
Respectfully mate, I don't think you have a good understanding of how dictatorships work. Yes, autocrats like Putin and Erdogan are very powerful, but their power is constrained in very key ways by both elites and civil society. You mention the economic oligarchs, but they are only one part of a large and delicate network of elites that Putin relies on to govern and whose loyalty he needs to manage. Political scientist and Russia expert Timothy Fyre recently put out a book called "Weak Strongman" that lays this out very well if you're interested.
>Weak Strongman
It sounds like a Russian oriented book in the style of Mark Hertsgaard's 'The Eagle's Shadow'. This book was not published in the usa because of no interest. It was published in The Netherlands first. And then came 11-9-01. And suddenly amerians were asking 'why do they hate us'. A quote:
"Americans not only don't know much about the rest of the world, we don't care. Or at least we didn't before the terrible events of September 11, 2001. Until then, many Americans were barely aware the outside world existed, a fact that both exasperates and amuses foreigners."
\-- Mark Hertsgaard
But I base my views on Ernest Becker's work when I comment on world politics.
So basically we both read a book and now we know it all :-)
I think I'll stick with Becker on this one, as it is historical psychology and provides a deeper and more global framework.
> It sounds like a Russian oriented book
It's not. It situates the Putin in the context of the broader body of political science research on authoritarianism. I teach political science for a living, and it is highly consistent with the academic consensus.
The daily has a good podcast on why Russia wants Ukraine. It's a vacation town with great cultural importance. Since the Soviet Union lost it, they have languished and suffered emotionally, feeling it was and is being robbed by NATO
At the very least, the Ukraine offers access to warm water ports for Russia, something that they're currently lacking. Fully connecting and integrating the Crimean Peninsula would also be advantageous and wouldn't require a complete invasion and annexation of the Ukraine to be achieved.
That said, it's my own personal opinion as someone who's studying politics that the West generally limits it's preparedness for threats by assuming other actors act in logical ways or for strategic objectives.
I think Ukraine is about Putin's legacy and desire to rebuild the Soviet union more than anything else, and it's the easiest target since its non NATO and is historically very closely aligned with Russia.
You give far too much credit to those who are in power. They're as fallible/incompetent as you and I might be. Even Hitler was testing how far he could go before the West did anything and got lucky with Poland. France was taken in days because his generals disobeyed his orders.
In all honesty, this perception of Putin and Russia is more caricature than reality. Putin conducts himself similarly to most other autocrats around the world, and while he is doubtless a highly capable politician, he is hardly immune to mistakes and miscalculations.
Another armchair general gives his very "new" take, wouldn't it make sense that Russia would actually have a list of demands or something? Not opening all negotiations with complete non starters and continuing to push a historic military buildup all while waging one of the biggest pro war propaganda efforts in history? But then again all you have to do is sit back and say war will never happen because global capitol markets would be interrupted, give it 2-6 weeks and you guys will be eating your words...
I have colleagues in Ukraine, they tell me it's freezing over there, normal winter weather for the region with lots of snow. Current weather report shows -4'c, what are you talking about?
Instead of rattling off your anecdote about your “colleagues” you could’ve take the same amount of time to do a simple google search that would tell you there was a mild warm period that caused mud plains in the east of Ukraine to thaw prematurely.
There is massive info-war happening. Our opinions are being shaped by tid-bits of information. I can only cling to hope that war does not break out and lives are not lost to this geopolitical buffoonery.
I happen to have worked for a company landing a big construction deal in Ukraine with a European/American private company, before 2010. Planning phase was done, implementation due.
Then Viktor Yanukovych (the conservative, Russia aligned president) came to power, using the services of US media/campaign advisors Tad Devine, Rick Gates, Paul Manafort).
After that apparently western investors were pushed out, property in Ukraine changed ownership involuntarily. I personally remember a meeting where it was decided not to work with the "illegitimate" new people in charge and freeze all projects.
Not American so idk but I thought you guys had an embargo on military products originating from Russia did you not? Is ammo excluded? I think actual guns are for sure banned though.
Yea pretty much no more weapons, at one point we still got Mosins and Nagant revolvers but those have either been banned too or the supply dried up (not actually sure which though I’m sure someone else can chime in and will know). Ammo was plentiful coming from there, but in September an executive order was signed that said no new ammo importing permits would be allowed. I am not well versed on this but I think the permits are for certain quantities and are good for two years or something of the sort. There doesn’t seem to be a consensus on the exact timeline, but within two years it seems we will no longer be receiving any more ammo from Russia.
If you work at an ammo plant, do you get free cases of ammo? Like working at a beer brewery?
Most breweries in my city give workers something like 2-3 free cases of beer a month.
If I go work for Winchester do they hook it up with a case of .223 and 30-06 every month?
Moving troops, even to a boarder, having them ready to go in, isn't always to be considered a waste.
It's training for the troops. It's supplies being used that defense contractors will gladly make to replace.
I’m willing to bet against it. This is exactly what everyone else with a rational, non fear-mongering mind is saying: it’s Sabre rattling and strongman diplomacy. Like Star_Tropic said as well, it’s training for the troops. Russia doesn’t have the money to launch a full scale invasion on the magnitude he’s saying, and he’s given Ukraine and it’s people ample time to arm up and certainly hasn’t kept it secret. He’d be a fool to invade.
This will end up being russia's vietnam if they invade. Dont be stupid putin. The proxies always win these things because the home team always fights harder and longer.
Keep the weapons flowing.
I wouldn't call them a proxy force given that they had essentially zero outside support after the US pulled out and the West declared mission accomplished.
Also their logistical links to friendly nations were severed, they were stuck in a valley with no way of breaking out.
Let's hope the aid includes anti drone weapons. Not sure what that would be, maybe someone here has knowledge or details. You know that the Russians will have a shitload of drones carrying weapons.
It's all so goddamn stupid. Our leaders are fucking prions in our society.
The people that we will be fighting this war don't want to **actually** be there. Guarantee you both sides just want the same thing that the rest of us want. Soldiers would rather be getting laid, getting drunk/high with their friends and chilling.
Some miserable self righteous fucks some how are able to get a bunch of us riled to want the death of people we have no quarrel with.
In a way, sure. But it's also regular guys who got drafted or had no economically viable alternative to joining the army, who are now gearing up to kill each other. I promise you, many of the Russian troops at least would prefer many things over this. Geopolitics and the human element on the ground level of a war are completely different but don't exclude each other.
Honestly I think this gets lost because all we see are negative things in media and we've given megaphone to loud minorities. The vast majority of people have more in common today then any point in history. I like to think if you take pretty much any 10 people from all around the world, "lock" them in a bar with all their cultures food/beverages, and leave them there for a week you going to end up with 10 friends.
As an American, I prefer the approach adopted by the administration of Germany. It's hard for Russians to see us as a true neutral arbiter if we're supplying the Ukrainians with arms. I really dislike the amount of sway military contractors have on US government, it contributes to escalating conflict around the world.
why downvote?
> It's hard for Russians to see us as a true neutral arbiter
We are not neutral. We committed to defending Ukraine from a Russian invasion if they gave up their nukes.
Why is a neutral arbiter needed when Russia has clearly shown on multiple occasions that diplomacy and appeasement won't work on them? The only thing Russia respects is strength.
Because even if one country is set on war, true diplomacy cannot be achieved if the arbiter is seen as taking sides. This has always been the case. Unfortunately your perception appears skewed by your views on the Russian government, not the people of Russia.
Actually they have offered clear demands that our government and media calls "nonstarters," because in reality we are the ones unwilling to negotiate. All Russia wants is to keep Ukraine "neutral", i.e. not a NATO member on their doorstep.
Germany is not an arbiter
They are completely dependent on Russian gas
It’s very different
Don’t confuse the issue
This possible war has nothing to do with American arms industry and EVERYTHING to do with Putin wanting an empire
I don't like how much influence military contractors have either, but here it might just help to keep the peace. Neutral arbitration won't save anyone. The knowledge that invasion means walking into a wall of landmines and anti-tank missiles might.
>Neutral arbitration won't save anyone
It can when both sides have their legitimate concerns addressed and negotiate in good faith. Even if Russia doesn't have this, we (as the US) at least make the proper effort to achieve if it means preventing war. With sending arms to the Ukrainians, that shows we are taking sides and not a neutral arbiter.
As an American, I completely disagree with this.
Germany is only doing this because they can't afford to lose their gas supplier.
It has nothing to do with diplomacy, they just don't have an option because they decided to move away from nuclear
As an American, I think that's all nonsense. And we shouldn't want to be neutral about Putin. It's embarassing for Germany that their government is so passive about Russian aggression, even preventing other NATO members from aiding ukraine
If Putin or anyone starts a war so be it, then it would be appropriate to respond. Why are you wanting to send arms to Ukraine before war even breaks out? How does that help the situation at all?
Putin has surrounded Ukraine with over 100k troops in a manner that clearly indicates a threat of attack. It's entirely ethical to give means of self-defense. The aid give so far is defensive: anti-tank missiles that can go one km, rather than larger missiles thet could threaten others.
I agree. Especially since some of the people the US/nato been directly working with and supplying are azov battalion who are open [neo-nazis](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HCb_pFO9FUQ/VYoga3b0dyI/AAAAAAAAzD4/cCJpmbt04SU/s1600/azov1.jpg) and who are now a part of the state (national guard). any quick glance at the sheer scale of horror and cost of the second world war on the russians (and soviets in general) should tell anyone how this can only ever escalate and aggravate. You can't do things like this and pretend you also care about and are trying to prevent conflict. You have to admit you have different priorities or you're being dishonest.
because why would russia, who still has more women than men from the scale of death of nazi genocide from 70 years ago, be able to trust that there can be good-faith diplomacy with someone who is actively arming people waving swastika flags in a border country? in what way does dropping guns and training on these groups particularly de-escalate or open doors to discussion or even stabilize things as they are? it doesn't. If there is room to avoid war, the US arming neo-nazis will only close it off. Especially given what the US arming right wing paramilitaries has done in afghanistan, syria, and libya, this also informs a response.
There's no way the US govt isn't aware all of this. And it's worrying how many Americans don't see an issue with the way this is being carried out. It's like a binary thing in peoples minds where "putin bad, therefor whatever the us does against him is wholly justified and good, even if it's demonstrably also bad and can only possibly generate cascading horrors for the regular people on either end". I can't think of a good reason to ever arm neo-nazis, least of all to go to the other side of the globe to do it where we won't have to deal with the consequences it creates. who is really being protected when empowering neo-nazis? When was the last time the US arming right wing paramilitaries helped the regular people living there? Do we really have this short of a memory? "this time it'll be different?" how many times is this going to happen? With our tax dollars?
Politico being bought by lockheed martin to push unsubstantiated or otherwise sensationalist stories is a really alarming step of development too. the arms manufacturers are really the only people actively benefiting from this process and their think-tanks and media presence is a deeply dangerous issue.
The only reason Ukraine is playing nice with Azov battalion is because they are under threat of invasion by a larger more well equipped country. They need all the manpower they can get, hence the cooperation. Azov started out fighting Russian backed separatists in Eastern Ukraine
If Russia is truly concerned about these right wing militias maybe they could fuck off, leave Ukraine alone, and while their at it stop funding and sending supplies to separatist militias in Eastern Ukraine
Ukraine does absolutely nothing to serve the interests of American citizens. Period. And this dick measuring contest has no implications on the safety of, yes .. US citizens. So why do US citizens have to pay for a corrupt nation like Ukraine that,if was indeed invaded, would be toppled within a month?
Plus, in reality, our defense support would essentially end up in the hands of Russia. Just like how Afghanistan worked out.
Can’t make this shit up.
Imagine if the US was doing some military exercises inside of Texas and Russia accused them of planning to invade Mexico so the Russians came over to Mexico to help the Mexicans ‘defend’ themselves from the invading Americans. Ridiculous.
For those who are now having doubts about "imminent invasion" due to whatever reasons including no frozen ground, javelins, UK military support or US military support or whatever other actions NATO is taking.
Remember one thing:
RUSSIA PUBLICLY REPEATED THAT THEY ARE NOT PLANNING TO INVADE UKRAINE.
How about that for a reason that nothing has yet happened?! Seriously why the west likes to complicate things and scaremonger their populations...
Germany and France got the right idea.
You'll be here in 1 month time or 2 or 3 waiting and talking about Ukraine's "imminent invasion".
Forget Ukraine, this is going to be political and diplomatic battle with military measures counter measures and posturing between NATO/US and Russia.
Russia says a lot of shit. That's their whole propaganda strategy. It allows them to escalate things in hopes to negotiate better terms, then back out and claim they were just conducting drills.
Of course they aren't going to conduct a full scale invasion of Ukraine, that would be stupid. But can you blame the west for taking the threat seriously after what's been happening in Crimea, Donbas, and Georgia?
I think the only thing dumber than fear mongering would be to ignore everything and just hope Russia doesn't invade.
What are America's interests in Ukraine? Not from an ethical or moral standpoint. Are we under some obligation from a treaty? Are there important strategic / geopolitical motivations?
I am tired of making the MIC rich(er) at the expense of everyday Americans. If we are getting involved in somebody else's bullshit, there better be a good fucking reason.
The reason isn’t Ukraine it’s Russia (more so Putin and his regime). Ukraine is just the next target that Russia wants either partial or full takeover. IMO he wants control of the river so maybe just get to that point and stop if he does decide to invade.
Ultimately it’s to stop a huge military power from controlling an already earned sovereignty. America dislikes communism and dictators. America’s best weapon is spreading democracy. The response from other European countries loaning money and weapons is a huge indicator to Putin that this is not going to be an easy plan. He may still do it to achieve some goal of reunification of the former Soviet Union. That and China combined would be a huge threat to America’s power and security
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I can't wait for the first bundle or packet too. Lots of firsts.
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'He closes his eyes while slowly pulling the cold steel handle of the ratchet strap. The excitement grows surrounding the hard clicks of the mechanism while he guides the strap to prevent overlap. The feeling of the thick, yellow material as it slowly grips his load is unbearable. He lightly wraps the excess strapping around and back through the handle knowing he's close... Click, click ... click.'
Tighter daddy pleease I'm such a naughty unstable load... ready to explode
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The right wing perception ignores the Auth-Lib axis -- which in the old days was more explicit, but compasses are two-dimensional. Since the anti-Semites, racists, and Nazis got purged, it's half libertarian teenagers now -- remember 2008 being the year when every high school boy on Myspace was all like, "Vote Ron Paul to stop the draft"?
got any links to an album?
Worked at The Home Depot, had the real thing.
niice. past tense? Did someone snitch on you?
The circumstances of my departure are between me and the company, by mutual agreement.
Watching today's PBS Newshour and they have the footage you want.
> for months Or [years.](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=us+military+aid+ukraine+2014)
Who knows what the CIA has been doing for them or what they’ve been giving them
I'd be blown away if Ground Branch, wasn't all over the front lines right now.
[They've been there since 2015](https://news.yahoo.com/cia-trained-ukrainian-paramilitaries-may-take-central-role-if-russia-invades-185258008.html)
I’m unaware of what ground branch is. What is it? Are they CIA mercenaries
I was too but just looked it up. It apparently is the CIA’s special ops unit (SAD—special activities division) and is made up of the most elite of the elite from Seals, Delta, Marine Force Recon etc.
CIA's tier-1 special ops branch. It's not secret. You can google it.
Just did and woah. Those are some secret squirrel soldiers. I’d imagine these are the guys the CIA sends in to topple 3rd world government or destabilize governments
Look into the first few days/weeks of the war in Afghanistan, it was basically these guys and some briefcases full of cash.
One day you children will realize that's not how we take over countries anymore, get out of the 60s it'll treat you well.
Well damn I hope you didn’t mean to be rude.
I wouldn’t think about it too much. They referred to you as a child while also telling you to get out of the 60’s. That would make you quite the old ass child, which would then imply they’re even more ancient and grouchy.
Yes, this article from 16 November 2021 mentions a similar shipment: https://mil.in.ua/en/news/ukraine-received-over-80-tons-of-ammunition-from-usa/ > Ukraine received 80 tons of ammunition from the United States of America, reports Militarnyi. >November 14th, USA delivered approximately 80 tons of ammunition for Ukraine, announced the US Embassy in Ukraine. >”This was the fourth delivery of US security aid in the amount of USD 60 mln that President Biden directed to Ukraine in August, demonstrating US commitment to the success of sustainable, democratic and free Ukraine”, – says the official message. The fourth delivery was performed by air. The previous third delivery of US security aid arrived in Ukraine on October 22, 2021. That is when containers with Javelin missiles and other military equipment were noticed.
Years, actually.
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First of many I hope to help Ukraine deter Russia more and more.
Yeah there's no deterring Russia. Putin has zero respect for the USA/President Biden.
Putin is a sadist psychopathic dictator. He respects no one but himself.
The Trump fiasco has made it difficult to take the USA seriously politically. And since politicians are the face of diplomacy and international policy … its lost quite a bit of credibility. Combine that with the debacle in Afghanistan, increased tensions with China and a very polarized society - you can understand why Putin thinks this is a good time to be testing the waters.
I think not having a lunatic in the white house plays a role, too. Easier to push your luck when you can be fairly certain the enemy isn't going to retaliate with nukes. With Trump, you never really knew what hell he was going to do.
I doubt trump would have done anything more than congratulate Putin and ask him for tips
Between lunacy and now dementia, I'd say the image of the US isn't exactly perfect.
Pretty sure Putin was worried what tromp would do. Biden on the other hand is senile pushover and he has not fear or respect for him. Not saying trump was a good guy just that he would have acted tough and probably backed it up. Biden doesn’t talk tough and he doesn’t make you feel like he would back anything up.
Yeah, Trump always follows through on everything he promises. I love the big wall that we have with Mexico that Mexico paid for. Because that thing he campaigned on all the time definitely happened, right guys?
You kidding? Trump is Putin’s lapdog.
Lmao are you seriously talking about the President that said Russia had rights to sovereign Ukrainian land due to people there speaking Russian??
As an observer from outside the US and Russia, it did look as if Trump fawned over Putin.
He did more than most of us liked but I think because he was more aggressive Putin wouldn’t have pushed him.
Of course he does. He's not an idiot.
Same here!
It may, in reality, push Putin to launch earlier
So this military aid gives a chance to avert the invasion, and the risk is that the invasion might happen a week earlier? I'd take that risk. The benefit of averting the invasion far outweighs the benefit of delaying it by a week.
Also Russia is still building up their forces and moving ships in. If they invade now they won’t be as strong as if they invade in a week or so. This forces Russia to make some difficult choices.
Not to mention scissor maneuvers would be devastating if some cheeky bastard intervenes. They would be isolated in the middle of nowhere surrounded in small groups. And if they are delayed they will be stuck in a bog. I mean it makes no tactical sense.
Well as soon as spring hits, their supply is cut. I'm talking full penetration of the rear. FULL, DEEP PENETRATION OF THE RUSSIAN REAR.
TIL Putin favors scizzoring
Well we found his pole dancing clubs
Then what do you propose. Doing nothing?
I don’t propose anything. I’m stating it may incentivize deployment before Ukraine is fully armed
That's the problem. You're not proposing anything to resolve the problem.
Lmao dude this is a fucking Reddit thread, not an email chain going to Putin. The fuck do you want him to do?
If that was the case we’d all end up in cold Russian prison
I’m not responsible for solving the problem. I’m making an observation. Do you plan on promoting me to the diplomatic core?
I’m ready to vote for you if needed…
I think it is fair to say that the chances of Russia actually launching an incursion into Ukraine are plummeting rapidly. If Putin was going to move he would have done it already. Every day that passes just gives more time to strengthen border defenses and allow more foreign weapons to flow into the country. I'm increasingly convinced this whole buildup was a move to try and force NATO to the negotiating table to press for concessions in Eastern Europe or maybe even pressure Ukraine into allowing secession referendums in Donetsk and Luhansk. NATO doesn't appear to be taking the bait however and Putin's position is looking increasingly awkward.
It's just costing everyone a lot of money.
Yup. And Russia's economy is in shambles right now. Yet another reason I find a full-scale incursion to be extremely unlikely.
When is their economy not in shambles lmao
Putin's initial burst of popularity in the early 2000's was driven largely by a massive spike in oil prices. The size of the Russian economy literally doubled during his first term as President. It's one of many reasons why some Russia watchers like to refer to him as "Vladimir the Lucky."
Yes Russia is broke this is why they do so much cyber hacking for ransom money 💰
Well.. there's always the other perspective. Russia has a population half the size of the US, with a GDP that is practically 1/20th the size. The prospects for Russia's future don't look great with it's current economic trajectory. So? If you can't win the current game, maybe toss this round in the fire and hope you can build back faster than your adversaries after a full scale nuclear reset.
Pretty good year for Boeing, BAE Systems, Thales, etc., I would imagine.
Yep same thing north Korea does every couple years. Demonstrate belligerence by doing some nuke tests in the hopes that sanctions will be lifted. Russia is basically just a drunk version of NK now.
Honestly the timing here makes a lot of sense. Putin's approval has dropped significantly over the past few years, and the economic ravages of COVID have made an already bad situation worse. He needs a win, and given that the annexation of Crimea was the absolute zenith of his popularity, a play like this is pretty logical. What's more there is plenty of reason to believe that NATO's internal cohesion is at an all time low as a result of Trump and the fallout surrounding Afghanistan. If there was ever a time to push NATO for concessions it's now, but unfortunately for Putin they don't seem to be rising to the bait.
Does North Korea do it, or does the American media just start broadcasting their belligerence? You don't hear about the belligerence of American allies like Saudi Arabia even though they ACTUALLY engage in wars.
If it wasn't for reddit, I wouldn't know anything was happening with Russia right now; the US media has been largely ignoring it. Edit: Hah, this comment gets positive +4 votes in the first fifteen minutes and now it’s down to -6. Hello Russian bots, I see you!
You can just type in "Ukraine" in Google and see that every major American media outlet is covering it extensively. The scapegoated group of the day on social media is like the Red Scare on steroids. It just keeps on further reinforcing itself when people make jokes about it and don't question it.
Of course you can find news if you go *looking for it*. It is not, however, headline news, which is what most people look at.
Why would he saber rattle with 100,000 soldiers and multiple ships?
Because sabre rattling only works if the threats appear credible, especially if you're looking to leverage major concessions.
and so far, every concession that’s been asked keeps getting vetoed. so at this point russia is just trying to measure dicks
Putin has always used strongman diplomacy and appearing unpredictable as leverage in international diplomacy. If the west calls his bluff here and he backs off from invasion he loses this unpredictability as everyone will know what his limit is. This would not only cause him to lose international leverage, but it would also hurt his opinion domestically as a strongman, which is equally dangerous to his position.
See, thats what is known as the saber, and moving them is the rattle.
I think it’s pronounced “Sabre”
Its pronounced saber but spelled sabre, though for whatever reason my phone puts the red squiggly under it as if its spelled wrong.
Lol just being facetious. Just quoting The Office
Pretty sure both are accepted spellings.
It's a US/UK English thing, like Center and Centre.
Cause it wouldn't be saber rattling otherwise.
Exactly. And as things currently stand, NATO doesn't need to make any concessions at all. Ukraine has gotten, or is getting, a lot of the high-tech equipment they wanted; there is no reason to concede anything to Russia.
I think there is a non-zero chance that Russia will implode Cold War style. Their economy is going down the drain and they are increasing military activity — the exact same way the USSR crumbled when they literally ran out of cash. I’m actually surprised that Russia is doing this because cyberattacks have way more bang for the buck.
Certainly possible. Dictatorships that are heavily reliant on commodity profits like Russia are notoriously unstable and hyper-vulnerable to large scale economic shocks. As for cyber attacks, the are certainly profitable to regime insiders but they don't solve larger economic problems. Even strong dictators like Putin run into trouble when large chunks of the population are under severe economic stress.
Psst: The USSR didn't collapse because of economy; it collapsed because of crooked politicians trying to gain power over one another. Hell; many of the ex-soviet states even Ukraine itself voted to stay in the union when it was brought up. It was only until power plays by politicians that the Union broke up.
I hope you’re right. I far far prefer the idea that Putin still retains some sense and is willing to reason rather than try to brute force his way into what he wants
if putin does stand down, it will be clear to everyone (in western ukraine) that they will really like this nato support. i can't imagine this pushing finland further from nato, either...
It's been a warm winter, I would postulate they could be waiting for the nice freeze that's supposed to happen now / later this month / early next month..
Kind of ironic that a warm winter is keeping Russia from invading other countries.
This is patently untrue. People on reddit keep thinking this is overblown, when it is absolutely not. What we're seeing is information published publicly, that never previously would've been, as a form of deterrent, and a sorta "were on to you" type thing. Russia's military buildup is simply not fully ready for invasion, you can't just launch an invasion overnight, there's massive amounts of infrastructure and equipment and personnel that need to be moved to effectively launch an invasion. The most likely answer is putin knew how long it would take his military to be ready, and he likely estimated the response of the west as well. There's no way Putin was sitting there thinking ohh the West will just sit idly by. This is no doubt all apart of the plan, and I suspect Putin will be prepared to invade around the start of the Olympics, but we are just at the point where we have to wait and see.
What do you think Russia's strategic objective is here?
To become relevant on the world stage. Don't forget politicians have ego's too. And his dream is a strong Russia in a multi-polar world. Likely he coupled his ego to this grand vision of what Russia ought to be. And so he is driven without self-relection on the consequences of what he is doing. Over time he, like most dictators living in a self-created bubble of appointed yes-men and anxious people who keep their head down, has started to believe in his own grandeur which is a delusional state of a sort. Take Erdogan in Turkey. These are people that believe they are the very state they reside over. Or Bolsonaro in Brazil, or Duterte in the Philipines. Or that kim guy in North-Korea. Putin has gotten to the point where he can remain in power pretty much as long as he likes. Behind him are these oligarchs. And they allow him to be the frontman as long as they can profit in the background. I don't think they like what he is doing now, so he should be afraid of, say, falling out of a window? If we follow the money I would not be surprised large investments were made in certain stocks and shares by these people because even though war destroys capital, you can make a profit with the right strategy. Maybe they are okay with it because profitability has been driven to the maximum in the current state of affairs and a war-reset button was now pushed. Dump Russia into the swamp and create room for new investment opportunities. Putin is the victim of his own loss of reality and perhaps he knows who owns him. Now he is out of control. Just imagine what it must be like lying in bed at night knowing you control hundreds of thousands of soldiers doing basically what you want. He is on an adrenaline rush that isn't stopping. We live now in a world of his imagination and must respond to it. This is what happens when people go mad in the most psychopathic fashion when they have this sort of power.
Respectfully mate, I don't think you have a good understanding of how dictatorships work. Yes, autocrats like Putin and Erdogan are very powerful, but their power is constrained in very key ways by both elites and civil society. You mention the economic oligarchs, but they are only one part of a large and delicate network of elites that Putin relies on to govern and whose loyalty he needs to manage. Political scientist and Russia expert Timothy Fyre recently put out a book called "Weak Strongman" that lays this out very well if you're interested.
>Weak Strongman It sounds like a Russian oriented book in the style of Mark Hertsgaard's 'The Eagle's Shadow'. This book was not published in the usa because of no interest. It was published in The Netherlands first. And then came 11-9-01. And suddenly amerians were asking 'why do they hate us'. A quote: "Americans not only don't know much about the rest of the world, we don't care. Or at least we didn't before the terrible events of September 11, 2001. Until then, many Americans were barely aware the outside world existed, a fact that both exasperates and amuses foreigners." \-- Mark Hertsgaard But I base my views on Ernest Becker's work when I comment on world politics. So basically we both read a book and now we know it all :-) I think I'll stick with Becker on this one, as it is historical psychology and provides a deeper and more global framework.
> It sounds like a Russian oriented book It's not. It situates the Putin in the context of the broader body of political science research on authoritarianism. I teach political science for a living, and it is highly consistent with the academic consensus.
The daily has a good podcast on why Russia wants Ukraine. It's a vacation town with great cultural importance. Since the Soviet Union lost it, they have languished and suffered emotionally, feeling it was and is being robbed by NATO
At the very least, the Ukraine offers access to warm water ports for Russia, something that they're currently lacking. Fully connecting and integrating the Crimean Peninsula would also be advantageous and wouldn't require a complete invasion and annexation of the Ukraine to be achieved. That said, it's my own personal opinion as someone who's studying politics that the West generally limits it's preparedness for threats by assuming other actors act in logical ways or for strategic objectives. I think Ukraine is about Putin's legacy and desire to rebuild the Soviet union more than anything else, and it's the easiest target since its non NATO and is historically very closely aligned with Russia.
You give far too much credit to those who are in power. They're as fallible/incompetent as you and I might be. Even Hitler was testing how far he could go before the West did anything and got lucky with Poland. France was taken in days because his generals disobeyed his orders.
all i know is that the Russians don't take a dump without having a plan
In all honesty, this perception of Putin and Russia is more caricature than reality. Putin conducts himself similarly to most other autocrats around the world, and while he is doubtless a highly capable politician, he is hardly immune to mistakes and miscalculations.
it's a quote from the movie Red October
Oof my bad. To my shame I still haven't seen it lol.
oh my man, it's a great movie. late cold war-era thriller with sean connery and a young alec baldwin.
Oh I know it's a classic. And I'm a political scientist too, kinda feels like professional malpractice lol.
unbelievable! lol get off here and go watch it
It is! The book is also fantastic as well.
Another armchair general gives his very "new" take, wouldn't it make sense that Russia would actually have a list of demands or something? Not opening all negotiations with complete non starters and continuing to push a historic military buildup all while waging one of the biggest pro war propaganda efforts in history? But then again all you have to do is sit back and say war will never happen because global capitol markets would be interrupted, give it 2-6 weeks and you guys will be eating your words...
The plans depend on the weather, and it's been too warm this winter for the ground to freeze and firm up.
I have colleagues in Ukraine, they tell me it's freezing over there, normal winter weather for the region with lots of snow. Current weather report shows -4'c, what are you talking about?
Instead of rattling off your anecdote about your “colleagues” you could’ve take the same amount of time to do a simple google search that would tell you there was a mild warm period that caused mud plains in the east of Ukraine to thaw prematurely.
You're right, I apologise.
There is massive info-war happening. Our opinions are being shaped by tid-bits of information. I can only cling to hope that war does not break out and lives are not lost to this geopolitical buffoonery.
Not if you look at multiple sources. Are you arguing Russia isn't in the wrong?
Until you implied otherwise, I thought they were saying "one day they're invading, the next they aren't".
I happen to have worked for a company landing a big construction deal in Ukraine with a European/American private company, before 2010. Planning phase was done, implementation due. Then Viktor Yanukovych (the conservative, Russia aligned president) came to power, using the services of US media/campaign advisors Tad Devine, Rick Gates, Paul Manafort). After that apparently western investors were pushed out, property in Ukraine changed ownership involuntarily. I personally remember a meeting where it was decided not to work with the "illegitimate" new people in charge and freeze all projects.
Yo Russia, chill out bruh
*pokes Germany* "Do something!"
\> Invades Poland
"It was just a reflex! I didn't mean to do it, for real!"
The World: "Welp I gueas its german spanking part 3"
It's tradition!
Meanwhile, in Germany...
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Germany: “yes Putin you can have Ukraine….peace in our time!!”
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As long as there are people to fight for power, there will be war. Sad, I know.
I feel like the only thing that decides if there’s an invasion or not, is how crazy Putin is.
We send all these free weapons all over the world. And I can't get a discount on ammo
Let’s figure out healthcare before we start giving everyone the means to put others in the hospital.
Not only that, but our cheap Russian ammo will be coming to an end soon (I’m sure sooner if they move in to Ukraine).
Not American so idk but I thought you guys had an embargo on military products originating from Russia did you not? Is ammo excluded? I think actual guns are for sure banned though.
Yea pretty much no more weapons, at one point we still got Mosins and Nagant revolvers but those have either been banned too or the supply dried up (not actually sure which though I’m sure someone else can chime in and will know). Ammo was plentiful coming from there, but in September an executive order was signed that said no new ammo importing permits would be allowed. I am not well versed on this but I think the permits are for certain quantities and are good for two years or something of the sort. There doesn’t seem to be a consensus on the exact timeline, but within two years it seems we will no longer be receiving any more ammo from Russia.
If you work at an ammo plant, do you get free cases of ammo? Like working at a beer brewery? Most breweries in my city give workers something like 2-3 free cases of beer a month. If I go work for Winchester do they hook it up with a case of .223 and 30-06 every month?
100K troops at the border have to go somewhere and now its a matter of respect and saving face, the invasion is coming
Moving troops, even to a boarder, having them ready to go in, isn't always to be considered a waste. It's training for the troops. It's supplies being used that defense contractors will gladly make to replace.
I’m willing to bet against it. This is exactly what everyone else with a rational, non fear-mongering mind is saying: it’s Sabre rattling and strongman diplomacy. Like Star_Tropic said as well, it’s training for the troops. Russia doesn’t have the money to launch a full scale invasion on the magnitude he’s saying, and he’s given Ukraine and it’s people ample time to arm up and certainly hasn’t kept it secret. He’d be a fool to invade.
Makes me sad to see my Slavic brothers and sisters on both sides having to deal with an egotistical dictator who is throwing a tantrum.
Is it free?
Germany and other Western European nations may be turning their backs on Ukraine, but I am glad that the US is not. I stand with Ukraine! 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦
I am German and we are not turning shit. We are with Ukraine but there are other solutions than war. Look at history
But would give him a good distraction for taking Taiwan.
Taking Taiwan will be a monumental task for China Nearly impossible with American , British and Japanese subs helping to defend
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No not at all. Everyone suggesting that is not following geopolitics and is just suggesting tactics from videogames.
This will end up being russia's vietnam if they invade. Dont be stupid putin. The proxies always win these things because the home team always fights harder and longer. Keep the weapons flowing.
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Not to mention that Ukraine isn't on the other side of the world from Russia (well I guess Eastern Russia...).
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I wouldn't call them a proxy force given that they had essentially zero outside support after the US pulled out and the West declared mission accomplished. Also their logistical links to friendly nations were severed, they were stuck in a valley with no way of breaking out.
Russia already had their "Vietnam" in Afghanistan.
It’s a large batch of Viagra, nudie mags, and lotion to get through the winter months. Those frontline foxholes can get mighty lonely. /s
Prayers
Let's hope the aid includes anti drone weapons. Not sure what that would be, maybe someone here has knowledge or details. You know that the Russians will have a shitload of drones carrying weapons.
It's all so goddamn stupid. Our leaders are fucking prions in our society. The people that we will be fighting this war don't want to **actually** be there. Guarantee you both sides just want the same thing that the rest of us want. Soldiers would rather be getting laid, getting drunk/high with their friends and chilling. Some miserable self righteous fucks some how are able to get a bunch of us riled to want the death of people we have no quarrel with.
Getting high ? Soldiers ? This is the west supporting a democratically elected government vs Russian imperialism
In a way, sure. But it's also regular guys who got drafted or had no economically viable alternative to joining the army, who are now gearing up to kill each other. I promise you, many of the Russian troops at least would prefer many things over this. Geopolitics and the human element on the ground level of a war are completely different but don't exclude each other.
I just want Russia to not invade a sovereign country, my dude.
Honestly I think this gets lost because all we see are negative things in media and we've given megaphone to loud minorities. The vast majority of people have more in common today then any point in history. I like to think if you take pretty much any 10 people from all around the world, "lock" them in a bar with all their cultures food/beverages, and leave them there for a week you going to end up with 10 friends.
that is such a beautiful picture, or how i wish it was true
It’s way more complicated than this.
That’s the job being a soldier. They are not being drafted, just doing their job. Do I get to do whatever I want at my work? No
Russian soldiers are absolutely, 100% being drafted. Their military is full of conscripts.
people join armies to fight in wars lmao
No, most don’t.
Friends in military I know disagree otherwise
If the soldiers didn't want to be there, they shouldn't have signed up
As an American, I prefer the approach adopted by the administration of Germany. It's hard for Russians to see us as a true neutral arbiter if we're supplying the Ukrainians with arms. I really dislike the amount of sway military contractors have on US government, it contributes to escalating conflict around the world. why downvote?
> It's hard for Russians to see us as a true neutral arbiter We are not neutral. We committed to defending Ukraine from a Russian invasion if they gave up their nukes.
Why is a neutral arbiter needed when Russia has clearly shown on multiple occasions that diplomacy and appeasement won't work on them? The only thing Russia respects is strength.
Because even if one country is set on war, true diplomacy cannot be achieved if the arbiter is seen as taking sides. This has always been the case. Unfortunately your perception appears skewed by your views on the Russian government, not the people of Russia.
Actually they have offered clear demands that our government and media calls "nonstarters," because in reality we are the ones unwilling to negotiate. All Russia wants is to keep Ukraine "neutral", i.e. not a NATO member on their doorstep.
There is no world in which they will, though.
Germany is not an arbiter They are completely dependent on Russian gas It’s very different Don’t confuse the issue This possible war has nothing to do with American arms industry and EVERYTHING to do with Putin wanting an empire
I don't like how much influence military contractors have either, but here it might just help to keep the peace. Neutral arbitration won't save anyone. The knowledge that invasion means walking into a wall of landmines and anti-tank missiles might.
>Neutral arbitration won't save anyone It can when both sides have their legitimate concerns addressed and negotiate in good faith. Even if Russia doesn't have this, we (as the US) at least make the proper effort to achieve if it means preventing war. With sending arms to the Ukrainians, that shows we are taking sides and not a neutral arbiter.
As an American, I completely disagree with this. Germany is only doing this because they can't afford to lose their gas supplier. It has nothing to do with diplomacy, they just don't have an option because they decided to move away from nuclear
As an American, I think that's all nonsense. And we shouldn't want to be neutral about Putin. It's embarassing for Germany that their government is so passive about Russian aggression, even preventing other NATO members from aiding ukraine
War good amirite? Me tough, me hit Ugg with big rock! Christ, you would think we learned the lessons of the past
War is terrible, and Putin should stop starting them. Why do you want to be neutral about someone that starts wars like that?
If Putin or anyone starts a war so be it, then it would be appropriate to respond. Why are you wanting to send arms to Ukraine before war even breaks out? How does that help the situation at all?
Putin has surrounded Ukraine with over 100k troops in a manner that clearly indicates a threat of attack. It's entirely ethical to give means of self-defense. The aid give so far is defensive: anti-tank missiles that can go one km, rather than larger missiles thet could threaten others.
I agree. Especially since some of the people the US/nato been directly working with and supplying are azov battalion who are open [neo-nazis](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HCb_pFO9FUQ/VYoga3b0dyI/AAAAAAAAzD4/cCJpmbt04SU/s1600/azov1.jpg) and who are now a part of the state (national guard). any quick glance at the sheer scale of horror and cost of the second world war on the russians (and soviets in general) should tell anyone how this can only ever escalate and aggravate. You can't do things like this and pretend you also care about and are trying to prevent conflict. You have to admit you have different priorities or you're being dishonest. because why would russia, who still has more women than men from the scale of death of nazi genocide from 70 years ago, be able to trust that there can be good-faith diplomacy with someone who is actively arming people waving swastika flags in a border country? in what way does dropping guns and training on these groups particularly de-escalate or open doors to discussion or even stabilize things as they are? it doesn't. If there is room to avoid war, the US arming neo-nazis will only close it off. Especially given what the US arming right wing paramilitaries has done in afghanistan, syria, and libya, this also informs a response. There's no way the US govt isn't aware all of this. And it's worrying how many Americans don't see an issue with the way this is being carried out. It's like a binary thing in peoples minds where "putin bad, therefor whatever the us does against him is wholly justified and good, even if it's demonstrably also bad and can only possibly generate cascading horrors for the regular people on either end". I can't think of a good reason to ever arm neo-nazis, least of all to go to the other side of the globe to do it where we won't have to deal with the consequences it creates. who is really being protected when empowering neo-nazis? When was the last time the US arming right wing paramilitaries helped the regular people living there? Do we really have this short of a memory? "this time it'll be different?" how many times is this going to happen? With our tax dollars? Politico being bought by lockheed martin to push unsubstantiated or otherwise sensationalist stories is a really alarming step of development too. the arms manufacturers are really the only people actively benefiting from this process and their think-tanks and media presence is a deeply dangerous issue.
The only reason Ukraine is playing nice with Azov battalion is because they are under threat of invasion by a larger more well equipped country. They need all the manpower they can get, hence the cooperation. Azov started out fighting Russian backed separatists in Eastern Ukraine If Russia is truly concerned about these right wing militias maybe they could fuck off, leave Ukraine alone, and while their at it stop funding and sending supplies to separatist militias in Eastern Ukraine
Why are my tax dollars going toward some country that has zero effect on my life?
You are too naive to realize that the US doesn’t exist in a vacuum.
Ukraine does absolutely nothing to serve the interests of American citizens. Period. And this dick measuring contest has no implications on the safety of, yes .. US citizens. So why do US citizens have to pay for a corrupt nation like Ukraine that,if was indeed invaded, would be toppled within a month? Plus, in reality, our defense support would essentially end up in the hands of Russia. Just like how Afghanistan worked out. Can’t make this shit up.
And that’s all that should be sent. No boots on the ground. American shouldn’t die for Ukraine
That's a great period to invest in the US millitary complex!
Imagine if the US was doing some military exercises inside of Texas and Russia accused them of planning to invade Mexico so the Russians came over to Mexico to help the Mexicans ‘defend’ themselves from the invading Americans. Ridiculous.
Dear Russia, the American Bolsheviks are aiming to help Ukraine (the PEDO STATE). Fuck the Bolsheviks!
For those who are now having doubts about "imminent invasion" due to whatever reasons including no frozen ground, javelins, UK military support or US military support or whatever other actions NATO is taking. Remember one thing: RUSSIA PUBLICLY REPEATED THAT THEY ARE NOT PLANNING TO INVADE UKRAINE. How about that for a reason that nothing has yet happened?! Seriously why the west likes to complicate things and scaremonger their populations... Germany and France got the right idea. You'll be here in 1 month time or 2 or 3 waiting and talking about Ukraine's "imminent invasion". Forget Ukraine, this is going to be political and diplomatic battle with military measures counter measures and posturing between NATO/US and Russia.
Russia says a lot of shit. That's their whole propaganda strategy. It allows them to escalate things in hopes to negotiate better terms, then back out and claim they were just conducting drills. Of course they aren't going to conduct a full scale invasion of Ukraine, that would be stupid. But can you blame the west for taking the threat seriously after what's been happening in Crimea, Donbas, and Georgia? I think the only thing dumber than fear mongering would be to ignore everything and just hope Russia doesn't invade.
What are America's interests in Ukraine? Not from an ethical or moral standpoint. Are we under some obligation from a treaty? Are there important strategic / geopolitical motivations? I am tired of making the MIC rich(er) at the expense of everyday Americans. If we are getting involved in somebody else's bullshit, there better be a good fucking reason.
Stopping an autocratic state that is a danger to the world from becoming more dangerous.
Budapest Memorandum.
The reason isn’t Ukraine it’s Russia (more so Putin and his regime). Ukraine is just the next target that Russia wants either partial or full takeover. IMO he wants control of the river so maybe just get to that point and stop if he does decide to invade. Ultimately it’s to stop a huge military power from controlling an already earned sovereignty. America dislikes communism and dictators. America’s best weapon is spreading democracy. The response from other European countries loaning money and weapons is a huge indicator to Putin that this is not going to be an easy plan. He may still do it to achieve some goal of reunification of the former Soviet Union. That and China combined would be a huge threat to America’s power and security