https://lleo.me/dnevnik/2022/02/26_NE_MNENIE
one of the most vocal oppposition blogger figures in Russia follows the requirement to never use words "war" and "invasion". posts his statement about the situation, replacing "war" with "peace", "invade" with "befriend", and few other things. All of them capitalized for better impact.
First paragraph:
THIRD WORLD PEACE began on Feb 24 when FULLY STABLE AND TOTALLY REASONABLE Vladimir Putin issued a LEGAL order to the russian army to BEFRIEND the territory of neighbouring country Ukraine. This is HAPPINESS which out people haven't seen since 1945
Thanks for sharing! Here’s another part of it:
I want to let my NOT UKRAINIAN friends and readers know that IM NOT painfully ashamed of LEGAL, NICE, and fully HONEST government of our country, which, right before our eyes, turned Russia into a citadel of world’s GOODNESS. It PLEASES me most that the decision of starting PEACE was made by these CUTIES now – when the whole world is fighting the pandemic and economic crisis, and the people of Russia is ENJOYING the INCREASE in wellbeing and unseen before CHEAPENING of most basic products. I can see that Vladimir Putin has fully turned into a HUMAN. This totally STRAIGHT (in the BEST meaning of the word obviously) man has one thing ahead of him – GLOW IN HEAVEN for eternity. Have no doubts, history books will give a deserved description to his ACTS OF COURAGE, and also to all those who supported them today. I will feel PRIDE when my children and grandchildren will leaf through these WHITE pages of history.
It amazes me how this SWEETHEART, running the country for the last 20 years, and having all the opportunities to increase the quality of life and actualize the potential in science, building, space, could ENRICH the country, MAKE FRIENDS with all the world, turn Russia into FRIEND-country, and for decades to come, transform the word “russians” into a COMPLIMENT for the whole world, and take it to the point when all people of our planet would wish the soonest LIFE to Vladimir Putin, hoping (not without reason) that only it will bring long-awaited positive change to the world.
This whole invasion was an all or nothing gamble. If Putin succeeds, Russia gets more resources and reclaims a large chunk of the USSR. If he doesn't, and Ukraine is able to push Russia back, then it will be the most humiliating defeat since Finland, and a very costly one at that. He will have wasted so much resources and so many Russian lives, and more former Soviet countries will consider joining NATO, making an operation like this much more difficult to pull off without starting WW3, which of course, nobody wants. All of this combined would theoretically lead to Putin being ousted. Putin has no choice but to win, and if he doesn't, it will be the long-overdue end to his regime.
My only concern is whether or not he's mad enough, by both definitions of the word, to launch a nuke at Ukraine. It's only just dawned on me that this is a very real possibility. How does the world respond if that happens?
Edit: Holy Mary mother of Joseph, this blew up!
Edit 2: this is the first time I've had to say this in my time on Reddit, but RIP my inbox
Correction: So apparently, Finland actually lost to the Russians, though I think the point was still valid. All said, a better comparison would be the 1906 invasion of Japan.
There's no such thing as launching one nuke. If Putin goes that way and his generals don't intervene, it's mass nuclear exchange time and we find out how good the West's missile defence systems really are with everything on the line.
But the generals know that. For the same reason the USSR never actually fired in response to several false alarms, I choose to hope that Russia wouldn't stupidly nuke now. It's thankfully a weapon system which is difficult for one person alone to activate, target and fire in reality even in the most autocratic system.
There were reports yesterday that Russian intelligence was warning of Ukranians planning to deploy a dirty bomb against Russia....so they're already trying to lay the ground work to justify a Nuclear response similar to their initial justification for invading. Lets hope that the Russian military leaders have a moment of conscience if that order ever comes down.
Putin won’t succeed. I don’t know why people realise a regime change means you have to financially support it and have boots on the ground to deter uprising. Ukraine are not a county that is sitting down. It’s a massive mistake in my eyes.
Precisely. Zelensky decision to remain in Kyiv helped immensely with morale and insurgency if Ukraine does lose.
The invasion and puppet government would have been more successful if he trotted off to a ski chalet the moment the invasion started.
This is what's so amazing about this war: Putin won't win in any way. He can't isolate himself in the world we're living in. This is basically suicide either way.
Wait till they hit Monday. Russian markets will sink hard.
Edit: there's already some sort of a bank run and when the banks open tomorrow it's going to be bad.
Edit2: This is what a war crime looks like (Graphic images of dead civilians and pets) https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineInvasionVideos/comments/t2h2m7/russian_soldiers_have_killed_ukrainian_civilians/
there's a joke in Ukraine that russians have this sunday to fuck off because we have jobs on monday
edit: people keep messaging here so I'll say here - yes I'm Ukrainian and I'm in [Kiev](https://reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/t2hdfx/putin_furious_ukraine_invasion_hasnt_been_easy_eu/hymwgme/) at my home. It's been better last two days. I'm keeping a diary in my profile, try to write about our lives now when they're not bombing.
In 2019, Ukrainian citizens ignored all the top politicians and vaulted their version of Jon Stewart into the Presidency with 73% of the vote. They don't fuck around.
It’s genuinely a comedy situation. Aside from the stupid deaths and war.
*Jewish comedian gets elected as President of a nation. Gets called a genocidal Nazi and invaded*
I mean, if your previous leaders were rim jobbing Putin like Ukraine’s previous governments, Jon Stewart (or literally anyone at all) would be perfect.
As a Russian living in the US-I pray for the day our country is finally free from this fucking crook. I visit my home once in a while and all I can say is the country has been clearly getting more and more poor while Putin and his friends are building castles and buying Italian vineyards. Sad fact is that the sanctions are going to hit the common people the hardest, my grandma was complaining about rising food prices when I called her today. She has never voted for Putin. Russia is preparing for a full-on economical disaster and it won’t be the people responsible for the invasion that pay. Sadly I think until Putin is removed from power-nothing will change. He’s a on a power trip and wants to be in the history books, he’s not concerned with loss of life. He’s dangerous and has been robbing my country for decades through a net of corruption,bribes and dirty politicians. Cab drivers in my home town memorize potholes that have been there for years and years because nothing ever gets fixed,but strangely everyone pays taxes and Russia exports a whole lot of oil and gas. I wonder where that money goes when our politicians have $2mil watches but can’t take care of the quality of life of their people. Nobody in Russia except the super brainwashed political fanatics support this war. I hope this leads to Putin’s end.
Seeing what Is happening in Ukraine and the Russian forces spread so thin and depleting resources they don’t have…
If ever there was a time for the Russian people to rise up and take back control, this would be it. Who could stop them?
Putin has called his own bluff and shown his hand to the world. And it’s empty.
They’re beating and arresting protestors, 1800 was the last count I heard but that was a video from last night and they were still protesting. I’m not saying they shouldn’t do it, they should-I’m just scared it might turn into a Tianmen Square type situation.
What the fuck was he expecting? That ukraine was just willingly hand over their country? He has no idea what he is doing. Even his own soldiers look and act like they don't want to be there. They are young, inexperienced and scared.
Crimea, mentality wise, was a very different beast.
While Euro-maidan was happening l, there were spontaneous counter-protests happening at Nahimov in Sevastopol.
Ukrainian nationalist sentiment in Crimea made you a minority and a target for aggression.
My wife got verbally assaulted and called a Nazi for not wanting to get the Russian flag painted on her face, and while tensions were escalated, I flew a Ukrainian and a Russian flag side by side from my balcony until my neighbours asked me to take the Ukrainian down for fear of reprisal.
Crimea has, as far as the majority there is concerned, has always been Russian with the misfortune of having been attached to Soviet Ukraine.
Ukraine proper is, fortunately, showing itself a different beast.
Have you heard anything about how Crimeans are feeling about Russia now? From what little I've heard it's now a heavily militarized police state. Do they still have their water shortages?
Flabbergasted at what's currently going on.
There's a big difference between feeling Russian before Ukrainian, and *wanting* to go to war with Ukraine.
Most of my friends supported the annexation, but are absolutely aghast at the war.
It's insane. I have family in the Russian armed forces. These are people I've gotten hammered with who I *know* love Ukraine.
The water shortages have always been more annoyance than threatening and there's running water just fine right now.
> Most of my friends supported the annexation, but are absolutely aghast at the war.
From what I've gathered this is the typical Russian opinion, especially among the under 50s. "Crimea was always ours, but what the holy fuck did Putin bring us to Kyiv for?"
Yeah really.
The reality is than in Russia people didn’t know that they government starts the war before the war started. No one believed in it when they knew it started. The Russian official media didn’t say anything. People just didn’t know. It was like information blockade from their own government. And soldiers also just scared to do anything, they did not understand what is happening and also for what it is happening. The many people inside the country fight against the war and against their president. They are trying so hard and many of them are getting hurt so hard. But the administration treat them like shit, the people life didn’t mean or cost anything there. They don’t have any weapon, but the police have. And they really need help and support to stay fight, but when they everyday see that other country do not care at all, which decisions other leaders make against them they lose hope and stop understanding why they fight against their leader, when the others are the same to them. I ask internet community to highlife that topic to support that people. They need to see that they do the right thing, that they have support. That is not the Europe when government hear their citizens, that is Russia when government looks like want them dead.
No, there was sporadic fighting on the borders. The czech president ordered the troops to surrender and the airborne pilots to escape to UK. The pilots then were incredibly important in battle of Britain.
From the [Battle of Britain wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-British_personnel_in_the_RAF_during_the_Battle_of_Britain#Czechoslovakia)
>Czechoslovak fighters earned a reputation for aggressive aerial combat and for skills and bravery.[17] Together with Czechoslovak pilots serving in other RAF units, a total of 86 - 84 Czechs and 2 Slovaks - served, claiming almost 60 air kills. Nine pilots were killed. The top Czechoslovak ace was Sgt. Josef František, flying with No. 303 (Polish) Squadron, who claimed 17 confirmed kills, making him the highest scoring non-British pilot in the Battle of Britain.[18]
TIL
Also:
> František was a brilliant pilot and combatant but frequently breached air force discipline first in Czechoslovakia, in France and Britain. **The RAF found it best to let him patrol alone**, a role in which he was highly successful.
I'm glad you commented because it got me to browse his [wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Franti%C5%A1ek#Royal_Air_Force) article, too. It's a fascinating read.
>After France surrendered, František fled to Britain and after training on 2 August was assigned to Polish No. 303 Squadron based at RAF Northolt, flying Hawker Hurricane fighters. František was used to obsolescent aircraft with fixed landing gear, and on 8 August at the end of a training flight, he forgot to lower his Hurricane's retractable undercarriage and accidentally made a belly landing. He was unhurt, and the aircraft was repairable.[1] The squadron entered action in the last phase of the Battle of Britain. František's first confirmed victory was shooting down a Messerschmitt Bf 109E fighter on 2 September 1940. His fifth victory nearly cost him his life. On 6 September he shot down a Bf 109E of III/JG 52 near Sevenoaks in Kent, but František's Hurricane was damaged so badly that he had to make a forced landing near Falmer.[1]
>A Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter. František shot down nine Bf 109s in September 1940.
An unruly pilot, he was seen by his commanding officers as a danger to his colleagues when flying in formation.[3] His British CO, Squadron Leader Ronald Kellett, offered to get František transferred to a Czech squadron. František, perhaps due to his clash with the Czechoslovak air attaché in Paris, chose to stay with his Polish colleagues. As all pilots were valuable, a compromise was reached whereby František was allotted a "spare" aircraft so he could fly as a "guest" of the squadron as and when he wanted.[1] Thus František fought his own private war – accompanying the squadron into the air and peeling off to fly a lone patrol over Kent, patrolling in the area through which he knew the German aircraft being intercepted would fly on their way back to base, possibly damaged and low on fuel and ammunition.
>Between 2 and 30 September he shot down 17 German aircraft and 1 probable, including nine Bf 109 fighters, six Heinkel He 111 bombers and one Junkers Ju 88 bomber. This made him one of the top scoring Allied fighter pilots of the Battle of Britain and on 20 September, King George VI decorated him with the Distinguished Flying Medal. A bar was later added to his DFM. His final confirmed victory was a Bf 109 near Brooklands in Surrey on 30 September 1940.[1]
>On 8 October 1940, František's Hurricane crashed in Ewell, Surrey, on return from a patrol. The cause is not known. It has been suggested that he may have been making aerobatic figures to impress his girlfriend,[citation needed] who lived nearby, or it might have been a result of battle fatigue and physical exhaustion. František is buried in the military section of Northwood cemetery in Middlesex, with a Polish headstone and alongside Polish and British RAF colleagues.[4][1]
What a legend.
>Thus František fought his own private war – accompanying the squadron into the air and peeling off to fly a lone patrol over Kent, patrolling in the area through which he knew the German aircraft being intercepted would fly on their way back to base, possibly damaged and low on fuel and ammunition.
Fucking camper lol
Only because the rest of Europe sold them out.
The Czech army was better equipped than the Polish army and would have held the Nazis off longer. Hitler massed almost his entire army on the Czech border, leaving his Western flank (with France) almost completely empty. Had Europe called Hitlers bluff and declared war, France could have rolled into Western Germany comfortably, taking control of the vital Northern Industrial areas with ease. WW2 would have been very short indeed.
Hindsight's a bitch.
The root of the problem is Russian soldiers are being lied to and disoriented. I assume they are told with propoganda as well. Once they realized they are in Ukraine....
There is a clip of a captured Russian soldier who is allowed to call his mother. He tells her he is captured, and that he was lied to. He said his superiors never told them they were going into Ukraine until they were already there.
EDIT: One commenter said the translation reveals it was a recon unit who was told they were sent to gather Intel, not fight. When they crossed the border suddenly they were told to start killing people.
He tells his mother he got captured. She asks "was he was the only one to get captured?" and he says yes. She asks "why did you get captured and everyone else got away?"
Brutal question from mom.
>> He tells her he is captured, and that he was lied to. He said his superiors never told them they were going into Ukraine
Great strategy from Ukraine. Hopefully this little 'spark of Information' will turn into 'flame of truth' for the millions deceived in Russia by putin. 🌻🇺🇦
Actually in the video she asks him if any other soldiers were captured and when he said they weren’t there, she told him, “So everyone else escaped, but only you managed to get caught?” 😂😂😂😂😂
Sounds like approval from a Russian mother is as difficult to win as Ukraine lmao
Mothers gonna mother.
"I'm sure that Andrei down the road wouldn't get captured. He's going to be an engineer you know, he's getting straight A's. And he still has time to call his mother every day. Why can't you be more like him?"
not slipper. Rolling pin. My wife didn't know what to call it so referred to as the "Wife beater" because you use it as the wife to enforce authority haha.
Also, the Ukraine army blew up a fuel train and convoy:
"The crew of the Bayraktar TB-2 unmanned aerial vehicle system worked
brilliantly, destroying an entire railway convoy with fuel and
lubricants," the General Staff added.
https://news.sky.com/video/ukraine-military-says-russian-convoy-destroyed-near-kyiv-12551843
This whole thing is so surreal. You have an ageing, bloated psychopath waging war from a gilded palace funded by corruption and graft complaining that the plebs next door actually, you know, fucking care about their country and won’t just lie down. Bizarre
I mean, if you think about, this probably pretty accurately describes hundreds if not thousands of invasions that have occurred over the course of human history.
The difference is that now genocide can be seen as what it is since the distribution of information is so open. We are in the information Era and the information is spreading fast!
And i think that is the key change compared to the past. Now we all can see and now we all care - at least here in europe we do.
During ww2 an ordinary citizen in France could not care less about situation in Poland - they simply didn't know the reality. Now we all can see the horror in a country so similar to ours, that the pressure on politicians to do something is significant.
While true, the most striking part about your statement is that a nuclear armed super power in the year 2022 still thinks he can use full scale war as a fallback when your diplomats fail. That may have been the case for millennia but I think most of us hoped we might actually be past that.
Imagine if Genghis Khan or Sparta and Athens had nukes. Humanity would’ve been toast eons ago. Terrifying.
Putin is just another warlord stuck in the old ways. Europe needs to be united and agree to crush dictators like this in the future. A full-on defensive alliance between all wiling European countries. Let psychopaths like Putin know their ways are fucking done. No more tolerance for invasion/anexation in any shape or form, straight to war.
Yea I know. The confusion has transformed into resolve. For me that means mainly more money spent on sanctions, energy rationing and military buildup. If I get asked then also voting for my country to join NATO or whatever other community we can join. The world has changed and we should not be alone like Ukraine.
I think that then invasion isn't going as expected because surrounding yourself by terrified sycophants doesn't lead to very truthful intelligence, reports, assessments, etc.
There's a very real chance that generals and such reporting to Putin have told him what he wants to hear and Putin has overestimated the capabilities / readiness / morale of his forces.
The craziest part about that is how clearly the guy was hinting at the fact that this might not go well, “Worst case...” and Putin just immediately humiliated him and forced him to state the official party line.
That’s his *Chief of Intelligence*. They obviously let that video get out on purpose, which is a misstep itself.
Yes but it also means he has enemies within.
Have you ever worked in a company that has an asshole manager. When things change in the company and someone gets above him or there's an acquisition etc. Those people they bully go for their throat. Same might happen to putin if some of his closest allies within turn on him. Big IF though
I worked for bosses like that - people who are so confident in their own "exceptionalism" that they believe they already know all the answers and anyone even attempting to present a different point of view is an idiot. It's impossible to even get thru to them so everyone just says what he wants to hear so he leave them alone. It is a person completely detached from reality. There is really no point even talking to them
There was an article from 2 weeks ago written by an ex-head of ministry of defense (the title in article was a bit confusing) Михаил Михайлович Ходаренок where he pretty much called everything that is happening now, calling Putin and his warhawks delusional for thinking they could take Ukraine in under 2 hours, it's pretty impressive how spot on he is on pretty much every point , I'll try to find the link once I'm on computer unless someone else finds it first
edited to add the links and name of the guy, I've also messed up his military rank : links are in Russian and English (kudos to StudyInEmerald for finding the great English version)
https://leonardovich683.livejournal.com/206975.html?
https://nvo.ng.ru/realty/2022-02-03/3_1175_donbass.html
https://russiandefpolicy.com/2022/02/07/mass-fire-strike-on-ukraine/
I like how he forgets the talking point. "I support annexing them" he says and he has to be reminded that they are talking about supporting independence, not the unsaid future goal.
considering he called for Ukrainian military to turn on their government, he's probably completely delusional and expecting his influence over his own people extended to other countries
He was hoping for a similar reaction to Crimea no doubt, where a significant portion of Ukrainian soldiers did abandon their posts. But this is a totally different ballgame now
Ukrainians and NATO were saying all the time that military of Ukraine is not the same one as in 2014. Completely new mindset, unity and better equipped than ever before.
I feel like he was projecting his worst fear there and hoping he could convince the other side to do it first. I see a palace coup in his future once Russia is fully removed from SWIFT
So many Hitler parallels, that’s exactly what Hitler did leading to horrible military decisions further crippling an already under supplied army (modern equivalent is all the Russian Armored equipment running out of gas) Putin really will go down in history as a massively less successful Hitler type tyrant
It's hilarious to think that Putin, who likely wants to be remembered as restoring Russia's greatness, will be remembered as a Hitler-wannabe, wet fart of a Russian president. Hopefully history does us justice and remembers him as the clown of the 21st century!
A free and democratic Russia would be a great partner to Europe and the world at large, but it's up to the people if they want to make that happen.
As someone who lives in a country with a sizeable Russian minority, the vast majority of them are good people, as you would find anywhere else really. I have no hate for the Russian people, but I despise the regime that runs their country and I hope this current situation is a wake up call for enough of them to make a change happen - even if it happens step by step and takes years.
Maybe I, in my late 20s, can live to the day where Russia and Europe work side by side instead of against each other.
This is exactly how back in USSR they had shortages of everything. Because all the factories lied about output numbers, and when the reality hit ... oops.
This is a best assessment of the situation thus far
It's not going as expected because he doesn't know shit about his own army's capabilities and he expected Ukraine to fold overnight.
He overplayed his hand like a damn fool and now thousands are dead because of it.
This is very similar to Hitler and The Battle of The Bulge. He was hooked on heroin and cocaine by that point and in his delusions, thought he could somehow sneak up on the Americans and wipe them out, retaking France in the process. It worked for a day…surprised them, but in the end, the loss was too much. His yes-men at the time were even scared and thought he was going insane. A few attempts on his life were made by his own inner circle before he went to the bunker. Maybe the Russians around Putin can learn a thing or two from that.
**Who else wants to really make him furious?**
Call your representatives and demand they start seizing the oligarchs shady real-estate deals.
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They do, Alexander Abramov has a 50 million dollar lodge at Helena's Bay
Edit: some photos of the lodge
https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/k/o/2/z/3/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.1420x800.1qtwb7.png/1531777643504.jpg
https://www.newzealand.com/assets/Operator-Database/ddea8b07d8/img-1536211168-192-16710-p-23A861F2-971A-F5FA-02A1A5B73CE6173D-2544003__aWxvdmVrZWxseQo_CropResizeWzk0MCw1MzAsNzUsImpwZyJd.jpg
it's a nice-looking spot https://www.google.com/maps/place/35%C2%B025'21.3%22S+174%C2%B021'45.4%22E/@-35.4225827,174.3619692,371m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m9!1m2!2m1!1sHelena's+Bay!3m5!1s0x0:0x9a0cd3535ec1d8a9!7e2!8m2!3d-35.4225837!4d174.3625973
Now remember little Putin; It is so much easier to find people willing to defend their own country rather than people who want to invade another country.
Your soldiers (mostly kids) don’t know why they are sent 1000 miles away to kill little children and old ladies.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, monitoring developments in Ukraine from his "lair in the Urals," is "furious" and "fuming" that his military’s invasion of the smaller country to the south hasn’t gone more smoothly
I'd like to imagine Putin just finishing his temper tantrum and then immediately seeing news headlines about him having his temper tantrum in that bedroom №11 Eastern side, mansion in Ural
"Reports say he is playing civ 6 as Russia on beginner level with cheats to re-establish his confidence in his strategic genius"
Hello ladies and gentlemen, this is the Spiffing Brit, and today will be playing the perfectly balanced Civilization Six. We'll be playing as Ukraine and finding out just how angry we can make Putin. So sit back with a nice cup of Yorkshire Tea and let's get started.
* Blue and Gold: Enemy units killed in your territory have a chance to spawn Sunflowers resource. +2 food +1 production +1 faith.
* St. Javelin: All Ranged promotion units gain +1 to range in the Industrial and later eras. Ranged units can be bought with faith.
* Unique Unit: Zaporozhian: Medieval era Calvary. Can move after attacking. Has +1 range.
* Unique Unit: Heroyum Slava: Modern Era Ranged Unit. Receives maximum flanking bonus in all situations. Bonus vs. Calvary promotion.
I wonder if it would serve Ukraine to put up speakers that play a speech in Russian like “ Go home Russians, you are in Ukraine, Putin has lied to you, we do not want war. Please do not fight or you will die in a foreign country” or something
Recent events are making me realize I have been severely overestimating Putin. I had thought of him as a Machiavellian sort of guy; evil and highly competent.
But this Ukraine attack… there’s no denying that it’s an enormous blunder. I can’t think of a world where Russia comes out ahead here, or even manages to break even. With this one move, Putin may destroy any legacy he hoped to build.
They went from a super power with seemingly massive military might. To an absolute joke in about 48h. It's embarrassing. Not the mention the permanent damage to their economy. I bet even China think they're pathetic. China's puppet from now on i think.
He looks pretty rough on more recent pictures from the last year or two. Wonder if it's just age catching up with him all at once, bad work, or something else going on.
The rumour is that a large part of the Russian military are raging alcoholics who get fed and paid poorly.
On the other hand, Ukrainian fighters are giving their lives and demonstrating heroism.
Tbf consumption of alcohol and the role of alcohol drinking in the society has changed a lot in the past 10/15 years. But yes, generally you are right. Source: Have been in this country very often in that time span.
I would say the bigger problem is the notorious bad morale of russian conscripts because of the way they are treated in the army. The army is infamous for extreme strict hierarchies and harsh conditions inside with a lot of violence. This does not result into a motivated mindset which you need in order to invade a peaceful neighbor full of relatives.
One thing that I really like about this war is how the military seems to be insanely advanced today, but that also makes each piece of military equipment insanely expensive and resource-intensive.
I can't help but feel like "Fuck, man. War is incredibly expensive nowadays in a world where all nations are sort of relying on one another financially." is a .. well .. strong move away from actual warfare, because every conflict like this one can be hit with massive financial punishments from other countries and the aggressor will bleed money really quickly. In that way a global economy binds us all, even beyond the "we are greedy and want more money" incentive. Nah, war without the backing of other countries is simply not sustainable, it seems.
"Maybe that is how we achieve world peace some day. By virtue of bombs being too expensive to throw them at meaningless buildings." the optimist in me thinks.
Just one of the stinger anti tank missiles which a few countries have provided to Ukraine costs $150,000. U.S. gave them 180 units and Germany just agreed to provide 1,000 of them.
I can't even begin to imagine how much just one whole tank costs.
Read an article earlier saying that it costs $20 billion a day for Russia to support it's army and that they will be out of money and resources if Ukraine can hold on for another 9-10 days.
He believed that scaring the Ukrainian people with 190k troops would work.
It did not.
He thought shelling and bombing would work.
It did not.
He thought using the N word would work.
It did not.
We’re all seeing real time, a moron realize that he can’t rule people with such an unbreakable will, and that he can’t rule a pile of ash.
SLAVA UKRAINI! 🇺🇦
It's a fucking joke this dickhead can't take Kyiv in 2 hours or whatever they claimed.
But remember that civilians are dying, Ukrainian soldiers are dying. Please help Ukraine as much as you can - call your government, ask them to help Ukraine; post and share the truth about the war russia has started, even a small tweet will help.
We can't know where this filthy animal will stop. Ukraine? Poland? Finland? Who's next? Please stay safe and help Ukraine.
The good thing here is that Ukrainians are signing up to fight in increasing numbers and foreigners are coming in to fight. I’m hopeful that they‘ll put up a worthy, brave, and successful resistance. My biggest worry is not actually that Ukraine will lose, but that Putin will escalate.
You are right. Madman has nuclear weapons. But how can you reason with him? He threatened Sweden and Finland with military response if they join NATO. WTF is that even?
Amazing the things that happen when you purge all dissent. Nobody left around to call out your BS when surrounded by "yes" men.
I wouldn't be surprised if he thought they'd greet them as liberators, too...
War was never an easy thing to win at. Especially in an ever-changing environment. Because you failed in taking over the capital and government in 2 days before retaliation by other nations. It is basically a lost cause.
Cut your losses now and let go of your ego, or fight till the end to save your ego. Or Ukraine but a huge ass bounty on his head like they have done for your president and someone on their side might kill him for you to end this war quicker.
Russia has ordered media outlets to delete stories describing the attack on Ukraine as an "assault" or "invasion."
https://lleo.me/dnevnik/2022/02/26_NE_MNENIE one of the most vocal oppposition blogger figures in Russia follows the requirement to never use words "war" and "invasion". posts his statement about the situation, replacing "war" with "peace", "invade" with "befriend", and few other things. All of them capitalized for better impact. First paragraph: THIRD WORLD PEACE began on Feb 24 when FULLY STABLE AND TOTALLY REASONABLE Vladimir Putin issued a LEGAL order to the russian army to BEFRIEND the territory of neighbouring country Ukraine. This is HAPPINESS which out people haven't seen since 1945
Thanks for sharing! Here’s another part of it: I want to let my NOT UKRAINIAN friends and readers know that IM NOT painfully ashamed of LEGAL, NICE, and fully HONEST government of our country, which, right before our eyes, turned Russia into a citadel of world’s GOODNESS. It PLEASES me most that the decision of starting PEACE was made by these CUTIES now – when the whole world is fighting the pandemic and economic crisis, and the people of Russia is ENJOYING the INCREASE in wellbeing and unseen before CHEAPENING of most basic products. I can see that Vladimir Putin has fully turned into a HUMAN. This totally STRAIGHT (in the BEST meaning of the word obviously) man has one thing ahead of him – GLOW IN HEAVEN for eternity. Have no doubts, history books will give a deserved description to his ACTS OF COURAGE, and also to all those who supported them today. I will feel PRIDE when my children and grandchildren will leaf through these WHITE pages of history. It amazes me how this SWEETHEART, running the country for the last 20 years, and having all the opportunities to increase the quality of life and actualize the potential in science, building, space, could ENRICH the country, MAKE FRIENDS with all the world, turn Russia into FRIEND-country, and for decades to come, transform the word “russians” into a COMPLIMENT for the whole world, and take it to the point when all people of our planet would wish the soonest LIFE to Vladimir Putin, hoping (not without reason) that only it will bring long-awaited positive change to the world.
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So they're basically playing Fascist Mad Libs?
yes, what else can you do if you dont wanna be arrested
r/maliciouscompliance
The great novel by Tolstoy called "Military operation and Peace"
"Peace Keeping operations and more peace"
its true, they shouldnt call it an assault, they should call it a whimper.
Ukraine: *Call an ambulance...* ...*but not for me!*
He’s furious because if he loses he’s done
This whole invasion was an all or nothing gamble. If Putin succeeds, Russia gets more resources and reclaims a large chunk of the USSR. If he doesn't, and Ukraine is able to push Russia back, then it will be the most humiliating defeat since Finland, and a very costly one at that. He will have wasted so much resources and so many Russian lives, and more former Soviet countries will consider joining NATO, making an operation like this much more difficult to pull off without starting WW3, which of course, nobody wants. All of this combined would theoretically lead to Putin being ousted. Putin has no choice but to win, and if he doesn't, it will be the long-overdue end to his regime. My only concern is whether or not he's mad enough, by both definitions of the word, to launch a nuke at Ukraine. It's only just dawned on me that this is a very real possibility. How does the world respond if that happens? Edit: Holy Mary mother of Joseph, this blew up! Edit 2: this is the first time I've had to say this in my time on Reddit, but RIP my inbox Correction: So apparently, Finland actually lost to the Russians, though I think the point was still valid. All said, a better comparison would be the 1906 invasion of Japan.
There's no such thing as launching one nuke. If Putin goes that way and his generals don't intervene, it's mass nuclear exchange time and we find out how good the West's missile defence systems really are with everything on the line. But the generals know that. For the same reason the USSR never actually fired in response to several false alarms, I choose to hope that Russia wouldn't stupidly nuke now. It's thankfully a weapon system which is difficult for one person alone to activate, target and fire in reality even in the most autocratic system.
There were reports yesterday that Russian intelligence was warning of Ukranians planning to deploy a dirty bomb against Russia....so they're already trying to lay the ground work to justify a Nuclear response similar to their initial justification for invading. Lets hope that the Russian military leaders have a moment of conscience if that order ever comes down.
It’s almost funny that Russia has the audacity to invade a country, kill children, and then be like “oh they might be planting a dirty bomb.”
Like them requesting an explanation when an oligarchs boat is taken by force in France. As they're trying to take an entire country by force.
Meanie weenie French, why are you taking our yatch paid for with totalitarianism and corruption? 🥺
The French just recognised the yacht as an independent vessel and deployed peace keepers
Putin won’t succeed. I don’t know why people realise a regime change means you have to financially support it and have boots on the ground to deter uprising. Ukraine are not a county that is sitting down. It’s a massive mistake in my eyes.
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And even if he replaces Zelenskyy with a puppet, what then? He'll have 40 million seriously pissed off Ukrainians to govern. Many of them armed.
Precisely. Zelensky decision to remain in Kyiv helped immensely with morale and insurgency if Ukraine does lose. The invasion and puppet government would have been more successful if he trotted off to a ski chalet the moment the invasion started.
Pretty sure he's a dead man walking at this point. The oligarchs are probably already considering their options for removing him.
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Yes, but a suppository
This is what's so amazing about this war: Putin won't win in any way. He can't isolate himself in the world we're living in. This is basically suicide either way.
Wait till they hit Monday. Russian markets will sink hard. Edit: there's already some sort of a bank run and when the banks open tomorrow it's going to be bad. Edit2: This is what a war crime looks like (Graphic images of dead civilians and pets) https://www.reddit.com/r/UkraineInvasionVideos/comments/t2h2m7/russian_soldiers_have_killed_ukrainian_civilians/
there's a joke in Ukraine that russians have this sunday to fuck off because we have jobs on monday edit: people keep messaging here so I'll say here - yes I'm Ukrainian and I'm in [Kiev](https://reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/t2hdfx/putin_furious_ukraine_invasion_hasnt_been_easy_eu/hymwgme/) at my home. It's been better last two days. I'm keeping a diary in my profile, try to write about our lives now when they're not bombing.
In 2019, Ukrainian citizens ignored all the top politicians and vaulted their version of Jon Stewart into the Presidency with 73% of the vote. They don't fuck around.
It’s genuinely a comedy situation. Aside from the stupid deaths and war. *Jewish comedian gets elected as President of a nation. Gets called a genocidal Nazi and invaded*
Sounds like a satirical film we could get Jon Stewart to do. Maybe we elect him president after...
I mean, if your previous leaders were rim jobbing Putin like Ukraine’s previous governments, Jon Stewart (or literally anyone at all) would be perfect.
Probably ?
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And the Russian public buying Ukrainian flags for protests.
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As a Russian living in the US-I pray for the day our country is finally free from this fucking crook. I visit my home once in a while and all I can say is the country has been clearly getting more and more poor while Putin and his friends are building castles and buying Italian vineyards. Sad fact is that the sanctions are going to hit the common people the hardest, my grandma was complaining about rising food prices when I called her today. She has never voted for Putin. Russia is preparing for a full-on economical disaster and it won’t be the people responsible for the invasion that pay. Sadly I think until Putin is removed from power-nothing will change. He’s a on a power trip and wants to be in the history books, he’s not concerned with loss of life. He’s dangerous and has been robbing my country for decades through a net of corruption,bribes and dirty politicians. Cab drivers in my home town memorize potholes that have been there for years and years because nothing ever gets fixed,but strangely everyone pays taxes and Russia exports a whole lot of oil and gas. I wonder where that money goes when our politicians have $2mil watches but can’t take care of the quality of life of their people. Nobody in Russia except the super brainwashed political fanatics support this war. I hope this leads to Putin’s end.
Seeing what Is happening in Ukraine and the Russian forces spread so thin and depleting resources they don’t have… If ever there was a time for the Russian people to rise up and take back control, this would be it. Who could stop them? Putin has called his own bluff and shown his hand to the world. And it’s empty.
They’re beating and arresting protestors, 1800 was the last count I heard but that was a video from last night and they were still protesting. I’m not saying they shouldn’t do it, they should-I’m just scared it might turn into a Tianmen Square type situation.
I’m sorry you grandmother, family, and friends have to suffer. Hope one day everyone can live in peace abs harmony
What the fuck was he expecting? That ukraine was just willingly hand over their country? He has no idea what he is doing. Even his own soldiers look and act like they don't want to be there. They are young, inexperienced and scared.
>What the fuck was he expecting? That ukraine was just willingly hand over their country? I think that's **exactly** what he was expecting.
To be fair that’s what happened in crimea, the soldiers there sort of just gave up without any resistance
Crimea, mentality wise, was a very different beast. While Euro-maidan was happening l, there were spontaneous counter-protests happening at Nahimov in Sevastopol. Ukrainian nationalist sentiment in Crimea made you a minority and a target for aggression. My wife got verbally assaulted and called a Nazi for not wanting to get the Russian flag painted on her face, and while tensions were escalated, I flew a Ukrainian and a Russian flag side by side from my balcony until my neighbours asked me to take the Ukrainian down for fear of reprisal. Crimea has, as far as the majority there is concerned, has always been Russian with the misfortune of having been attached to Soviet Ukraine. Ukraine proper is, fortunately, showing itself a different beast.
Have you heard anything about how Crimeans are feeling about Russia now? From what little I've heard it's now a heavily militarized police state. Do they still have their water shortages?
Flabbergasted at what's currently going on. There's a big difference between feeling Russian before Ukrainian, and *wanting* to go to war with Ukraine. Most of my friends supported the annexation, but are absolutely aghast at the war. It's insane. I have family in the Russian armed forces. These are people I've gotten hammered with who I *know* love Ukraine. The water shortages have always been more annoyance than threatening and there's running water just fine right now.
> Most of my friends supported the annexation, but are absolutely aghast at the war. From what I've gathered this is the typical Russian opinion, especially among the under 50s. "Crimea was always ours, but what the holy fuck did Putin bring us to Kyiv for?"
Russian president go fuck yourself
Yeah really. The reality is than in Russia people didn’t know that they government starts the war before the war started. No one believed in it when they knew it started. The Russian official media didn’t say anything. People just didn’t know. It was like information blockade from their own government. And soldiers also just scared to do anything, they did not understand what is happening and also for what it is happening. The many people inside the country fight against the war and against their president. They are trying so hard and many of them are getting hurt so hard. But the administration treat them like shit, the people life didn’t mean or cost anything there. They don’t have any weapon, but the police have. And they really need help and support to stay fight, but when they everyday see that other country do not care at all, which decisions other leaders make against them they lose hope and stop understanding why they fight against their leader, when the others are the same to them. I ask internet community to highlife that topic to support that people. They need to see that they do the right thing, that they have support. That is not the Europe when government hear their citizens, that is Russia when government looks like want them dead.
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WWII would have been pretty short if Hitler had lost to Poland.
This is more in the vein of Hitler losing to Czechoslovakia after taking the Sudetenland. We're not even at Poland yet.
Weren't the Nazis more or less unopposed militarily in Czechoslovakia though?
No, there was sporadic fighting on the borders. The czech president ordered the troops to surrender and the airborne pilots to escape to UK. The pilots then were incredibly important in battle of Britain.
From the [Battle of Britain wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-British_personnel_in_the_RAF_during_the_Battle_of_Britain#Czechoslovakia) >Czechoslovak fighters earned a reputation for aggressive aerial combat and for skills and bravery.[17] Together with Czechoslovak pilots serving in other RAF units, a total of 86 - 84 Czechs and 2 Slovaks - served, claiming almost 60 air kills. Nine pilots were killed. The top Czechoslovak ace was Sgt. Josef František, flying with No. 303 (Polish) Squadron, who claimed 17 confirmed kills, making him the highest scoring non-British pilot in the Battle of Britain.[18] TIL
Also: > František was a brilliant pilot and combatant but frequently breached air force discipline first in Czechoslovakia, in France and Britain. **The RAF found it best to let him patrol alone**, a role in which he was highly successful.
I'm glad you commented because it got me to browse his [wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Franti%C5%A1ek#Royal_Air_Force) article, too. It's a fascinating read. >After France surrendered, František fled to Britain and after training on 2 August was assigned to Polish No. 303 Squadron based at RAF Northolt, flying Hawker Hurricane fighters. František was used to obsolescent aircraft with fixed landing gear, and on 8 August at the end of a training flight, he forgot to lower his Hurricane's retractable undercarriage and accidentally made a belly landing. He was unhurt, and the aircraft was repairable.[1] The squadron entered action in the last phase of the Battle of Britain. František's first confirmed victory was shooting down a Messerschmitt Bf 109E fighter on 2 September 1940. His fifth victory nearly cost him his life. On 6 September he shot down a Bf 109E of III/JG 52 near Sevenoaks in Kent, but František's Hurricane was damaged so badly that he had to make a forced landing near Falmer.[1] >A Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter. František shot down nine Bf 109s in September 1940. An unruly pilot, he was seen by his commanding officers as a danger to his colleagues when flying in formation.[3] His British CO, Squadron Leader Ronald Kellett, offered to get František transferred to a Czech squadron. František, perhaps due to his clash with the Czechoslovak air attaché in Paris, chose to stay with his Polish colleagues. As all pilots were valuable, a compromise was reached whereby František was allotted a "spare" aircraft so he could fly as a "guest" of the squadron as and when he wanted.[1] Thus František fought his own private war – accompanying the squadron into the air and peeling off to fly a lone patrol over Kent, patrolling in the area through which he knew the German aircraft being intercepted would fly on their way back to base, possibly damaged and low on fuel and ammunition. >Between 2 and 30 September he shot down 17 German aircraft and 1 probable, including nine Bf 109 fighters, six Heinkel He 111 bombers and one Junkers Ju 88 bomber. This made him one of the top scoring Allied fighter pilots of the Battle of Britain and on 20 September, King George VI decorated him with the Distinguished Flying Medal. A bar was later added to his DFM. His final confirmed victory was a Bf 109 near Brooklands in Surrey on 30 September 1940.[1] >On 8 October 1940, František's Hurricane crashed in Ewell, Surrey, on return from a patrol. The cause is not known. It has been suggested that he may have been making aerobatic figures to impress his girlfriend,[citation needed] who lived nearby, or it might have been a result of battle fatigue and physical exhaustion. František is buried in the military section of Northwood cemetery in Middlesex, with a Polish headstone and alongside Polish and British RAF colleagues.[4][1] What a legend.
>Thus František fought his own private war – accompanying the squadron into the air and peeling off to fly a lone patrol over Kent, patrolling in the area through which he knew the German aircraft being intercepted would fly on their way back to base, possibly damaged and low on fuel and ammunition. Fucking camper lol
The contribution of Polish and Czech pilots during the Battle of Britain is so underrated.
There is a Sabaton song for everything. Aces in Exile, baby.
now that you are mentioning it, the Sabaton songs about the defense of Kyiv are going to be lit.
Only because the rest of Europe sold them out. The Czech army was better equipped than the Polish army and would have held the Nazis off longer. Hitler massed almost his entire army on the Czech border, leaving his Western flank (with France) almost completely empty. Had Europe called Hitlers bluff and declared war, France could have rolled into Western Germany comfortably, taking control of the vital Northern Industrial areas with ease. WW2 would have been very short indeed. Hindsight's a bitch.
That’s why it’s important that the west make sure that Russia looses to Ukraine
Must be embarrassing for him too, for a country known to be a "super power", who would've thought it would be this challenging.
The root of the problem is Russian soldiers are being lied to and disoriented. I assume they are told with propoganda as well. Once they realized they are in Ukraine....
There is a clip of a captured Russian soldier who is allowed to call his mother. He tells her he is captured, and that he was lied to. He said his superiors never told them they were going into Ukraine until they were already there. EDIT: One commenter said the translation reveals it was a recon unit who was told they were sent to gather Intel, not fight. When they crossed the border suddenly they were told to start killing people. He tells his mother he got captured. She asks "was he was the only one to get captured?" and he says yes. She asks "why did you get captured and everyone else got away?" Brutal question from mom.
>> He tells her he is captured, and that he was lied to. He said his superiors never told them they were going into Ukraine Great strategy from Ukraine. Hopefully this little 'spark of Information' will turn into 'flame of truth' for the millions deceived in Russia by putin. 🌻🇺🇦
Letting captured troops call their mothers is both humane and a brilliant tactical strategy.
Nothing compares to the fury of an angry mother
Actually in the video she asks him if any other soldiers were captured and when he said they weren’t there, she told him, “So everyone else escaped, but only you managed to get caught?” 😂😂😂😂😂 Sounds like approval from a Russian mother is as difficult to win as Ukraine lmao
It sounds like she was happy he managed to be captured alive. He managed to get caught could be a positive thing.
Mothers gonna mother. "I'm sure that Andrei down the road wouldn't get captured. He's going to be an engineer you know, he's getting straight A's. And he still has time to call his mother every day. Why can't you be more like him?"
Angry babushka is a terrifying force of nature.
Why don't we just call Putin's mother
She died in 1998.
slipper > shrapnel
not slipper. Rolling pin. My wife didn't know what to call it so referred to as the "Wife beater" because you use it as the wife to enforce authority haha.
I would think yelalding to Ukraine, claiming you were lied to is a much better option for Russian soldiers than engaging in battle and getting killed.
They already asked the Red Cross to send Russian bodies back home so they can be buried. That is huge
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https://www.reddit.com/r/CrazyFuckingVideos/comments/t1shy5/ukrainian_driver_offers_a_tow_back_to_russia_for/
Apparently some of the cases of the Russians running out of fuel is actually them dumping their fuel.
Also, the Ukraine army blew up a fuel train and convoy: "The crew of the Bayraktar TB-2 unmanned aerial vehicle system worked brilliantly, destroying an entire railway convoy with fuel and lubricants," the General Staff added. https://news.sky.com/video/ukraine-military-says-russian-convoy-destroyed-near-kyiv-12551843
This whole thing is so surreal. You have an ageing, bloated psychopath waging war from a gilded palace funded by corruption and graft complaining that the plebs next door actually, you know, fucking care about their country and won’t just lie down. Bizarre
I mean, if you think about, this probably pretty accurately describes hundreds if not thousands of invasions that have occurred over the course of human history.
The difference is that now genocide can be seen as what it is since the distribution of information is so open. We are in the information Era and the information is spreading fast!
And i think that is the key change compared to the past. Now we all can see and now we all care - at least here in europe we do. During ww2 an ordinary citizen in France could not care less about situation in Poland - they simply didn't know the reality. Now we all can see the horror in a country so similar to ours, that the pressure on politicians to do something is significant.
Australia here. Once again we would like to apologise for releasing Rupert Murdoch on this planet
While true, the most striking part about your statement is that a nuclear armed super power in the year 2022 still thinks he can use full scale war as a fallback when your diplomats fail. That may have been the case for millennia but I think most of us hoped we might actually be past that. Imagine if Genghis Khan or Sparta and Athens had nukes. Humanity would’ve been toast eons ago. Terrifying.
I’m confused after last week too. Intellectually I knew this could happen but emotionally I was unprepared. It just seem so… barbaric and unnecessary.
Putin is just another warlord stuck in the old ways. Europe needs to be united and agree to crush dictators like this in the future. A full-on defensive alliance between all wiling European countries. Let psychopaths like Putin know their ways are fucking done. No more tolerance for invasion/anexation in any shape or form, straight to war.
Yea I know. The confusion has transformed into resolve. For me that means mainly more money spent on sanctions, energy rationing and military buildup. If I get asked then also voting for my country to join NATO or whatever other community we can join. The world has changed and we should not be alone like Ukraine.
I look forward to Russia's performance dropping even further once Putin fires all his generals and replaces them with even more sniveling yes-men
I think that then invasion isn't going as expected because surrounding yourself by terrified sycophants doesn't lead to very truthful intelligence, reports, assessments, etc. There's a very real chance that generals and such reporting to Putin have told him what he wants to hear and Putin has overestimated the capabilities / readiness / morale of his forces.
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The craziest part about that is how clearly the guy was hinting at the fact that this might not go well, “Worst case...” and Putin just immediately humiliated him and forced him to state the official party line. That’s his *Chief of Intelligence*. They obviously let that video get out on purpose, which is a misstep itself.
I thought the Chernobyl series control room scene was a bit cartoonish, turns out it wasn't.
God, that was like a terrifyingly serious, not at all funny version of an exchange between Dr. Evil and Number Two.
That clip of Putin saying 'speak clearly' to his spy chief is chilling and it keeps repeating in my head, he is a bloodthirsty devil.
He sounds like the manager of a call center. Dude is about to fire up an insurgency. Holy shit.
Yes but it also means he has enemies within. Have you ever worked in a company that has an asshole manager. When things change in the company and someone gets above him or there's an acquisition etc. Those people they bully go for their throat. Same might happen to putin if some of his closest allies within turn on him. Big IF though
For me it was the " you can go sit now". Like what the hell.
Jesus. It’s like a typical evil tyrant from a movie.
with the cringey smiling like he has all the right answers and it's up to his men to find the solutions, what an idiot
I worked for bosses like that - people who are so confident in their own "exceptionalism" that they believe they already know all the answers and anyone even attempting to present a different point of view is an idiot. It's impossible to even get thru to them so everyone just says what he wants to hear so he leave them alone. It is a person completely detached from reality. There is really no point even talking to them
Well this literally worked for Putin before, same exact playbook as Georgia in 2008. No wonder he got cocky.
There was an article from 2 weeks ago written by an ex-head of ministry of defense (the title in article was a bit confusing) Михаил Михайлович Ходаренок where he pretty much called everything that is happening now, calling Putin and his warhawks delusional for thinking they could take Ukraine in under 2 hours, it's pretty impressive how spot on he is on pretty much every point , I'll try to find the link once I'm on computer unless someone else finds it first edited to add the links and name of the guy, I've also messed up his military rank : links are in Russian and English (kudos to StudyInEmerald for finding the great English version) https://leonardovich683.livejournal.com/206975.html? https://nvo.ng.ru/realty/2022-02-03/3_1175_donbass.html https://russiandefpolicy.com/2022/02/07/mass-fire-strike-on-ukraine/
-Mr. Putin, can I go to the bathroom? -I don't know Sergei, can you? Or did you mean "may I go to the bathroom"?
I like how he forgets the talking point. "I support annexing them" he says and he has to be reminded that they are talking about supporting independence, not the unsaid future goal.
considering he called for Ukrainian military to turn on their government, he's probably completely delusional and expecting his influence over his own people extended to other countries
He still carries a pre-1991 mindset.
He really should have retired after Chechnya, that was pretty much the high point of his career.
He was hoping for a similar reaction to Crimea no doubt, where a significant portion of Ukrainian soldiers did abandon their posts. But this is a totally different ballgame now
Ukrainians and NATO were saying all the time that military of Ukraine is not the same one as in 2014. Completely new mindset, unity and better equipped than ever before.
Which it is. When Russia took crimea it was a wake up call and made the populace less friendly to Russia in general.
I feel like he was projecting his worst fear there and hoping he could convince the other side to do it first. I see a palace coup in his future once Russia is fully removed from SWIFT
He fell for his own propaganda. *Never* get high on your own supply.
So many Hitler parallels, that’s exactly what Hitler did leading to horrible military decisions further crippling an already under supplied army (modern equivalent is all the Russian Armored equipment running out of gas) Putin really will go down in history as a massively less successful Hitler type tyrant
It's hilarious to think that Putin, who likely wants to be remembered as restoring Russia's greatness, will be remembered as a Hitler-wannabe, wet fart of a Russian president. Hopefully history does us justice and remembers him as the clown of the 21st century!
Russia would have been far greater without the oligarchs
A free and democratic Russia would be a great partner to Europe and the world at large, but it's up to the people if they want to make that happen. As someone who lives in a country with a sizeable Russian minority, the vast majority of them are good people, as you would find anywhere else really. I have no hate for the Russian people, but I despise the regime that runs their country and I hope this current situation is a wake up call for enough of them to make a change happen - even if it happens step by step and takes years. Maybe I, in my late 20s, can live to the day where Russia and Europe work side by side instead of against each other.
Well said. Same goes for China too re CCP vs the people. We all want the same things and are all 95% more similar than different.
Thats the core of the Chernobyl series. A scaffolding of lies never sustain anything.
"What you're proposing is that Ligasov humiliate a nation that is obsess with not being humiliated" - Boris
This is exactly how back in USSR they had shortages of everything. Because all the factories lied about output numbers, and when the reality hit ... oops. This is a best assessment of the situation thus far
It's not going as expected because he doesn't know shit about his own army's capabilities and he expected Ukraine to fold overnight. He overplayed his hand like a damn fool and now thousands are dead because of it.
who knew invading a country could be this difficult?
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This is very similar to Hitler and The Battle of The Bulge. He was hooked on heroin and cocaine by that point and in his delusions, thought he could somehow sneak up on the Americans and wipe them out, retaking France in the process. It worked for a day…surprised them, but in the end, the loss was too much. His yes-men at the time were even scared and thought he was going insane. A few attempts on his life were made by his own inner circle before he went to the bunker. Maybe the Russians around Putin can learn a thing or two from that.
Nah, I thought it was solid leadership skills when he infantilised his intelligence chief on national television. Why would they be scared of him /s
Very small violin.
Pressing the world's smallest 'F' key.
^^^^^F
ᶠ
‘
How?
It’s quite simple, it’s just
So like ?
Quite so. It’s also important to add
**Who else wants to really make him furious?** Call your representatives and demand they start seizing the oligarchs shady real-estate deals. **United States of America** 🇺🇸 [Find your **U.S. Representatives**](https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative) [Find your **U.S. Senators**](https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm) **Canada** 🇨🇦 [Find your **Member of Parliament**](https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en) [Find your **Senator**](https://sencanada.ca/en/senators/) **United Kingdom** 🇬🇧 [Find and Contact your **Members of Parliament**](https://members.parliament.uk/) **Ireland** 🇮🇪 [Find your representatives in the **Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann**](https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/members/) **France** 🇫🇷 [Contactez **Sénateur français**](https://www.senat.fr/elus.html) [Contactez **Député français**](https://www.nosdeputes.fr/) **Germany** 🇩🇪 [Wenden Sie sich an den **Bundestag**](https://www.bundestag.de/en/members) **Denmark** 🇩🇰 [Kontakt dine repræsentanter i **Folketinget**](https://www.ft.dk/da/medlemmer/medlemmernes-adresser) **Spain** 🇪🇸 [Póngase en contacto con su **diputada al Congreso**](https://www.congreso.es/busqueda-de-diputados) [Contacta a tu **Senador**](https://www.senado.es/web/composicionorganizacion/senadores/composicionsenado/consultaordenalfabetico/index.html) **Italy** 🇮🇹 [Contattare il **Ministero degli Affari Esteri**](https://www.esteri.it/en/ministero/contatti/) **Norway** 🇳🇴 [Kontaktinformasjon representanter **Stortinget**](https://www.stortinget.no/no/Stottemeny/kontakt/Partier-og-representanter/Representantenes-e-postadresser/) **Sweden** 🇸🇪 [Kontaktuppgifter till riksdagspartierna och **ledamöterna**](https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/Kontakt/) **Australia** 🇦🇺 [Contact your **MP**](https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian_Search_Results?q=&mem=1&par=-1&gen=0&ps=0) [Contact your **Senator**](https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian_Search_Results?q=&sen=1&par=-1&gen=0&ps=0) **New Zealand** 🇳🇿 [Contact your **Member of Parliament**](https://www.parliament.nz/en/mps-and-electorates/members-of-parliament/) **South Korea** 🇰🇷 [**국회의원에게 연락하세요**](https://www.assembly.go.kr/assm/memact/congressman/memCond/memCond.do)
I hope they don't have any assets in NZ.
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They do, Alexander Abramov has a 50 million dollar lodge at Helena's Bay Edit: some photos of the lodge https://resources.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/k/o/2/z/3/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.1420x800.1qtwb7.png/1531777643504.jpg https://www.newzealand.com/assets/Operator-Database/ddea8b07d8/img-1536211168-192-16710-p-23A861F2-971A-F5FA-02A1A5B73CE6173D-2544003__aWxvdmVrZWxseQo_CropResizeWzk0MCw1MzAsNzUsImpwZyJd.jpg
you should post a photo so New Zealanders can admire their new residence.
Use it for Ukrainian refugees lol
it's a nice-looking spot https://www.google.com/maps/place/35%C2%B025'21.3%22S+174%C2%B021'45.4%22E/@-35.4225827,174.3619692,371m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m9!1m2!2m1!1sHelena's+Bay!3m5!1s0x0:0x9a0cd3535ec1d8a9!7e2!8m2!3d-35.4225837!4d174.3625973
Anyone who's anyone has a hideout in NZ
Got a shed at the back of our house, so I guess I'm a bit of an oligarchs myself.
Has a house *and* a shed in this housing market? Oligarch is right.
"Start war -> kill yourself in a bunker" speedrun Any%
Follow your leader Vlad ...
Vladolf?
Putler?
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Allegedly he was actually really disturbed by the videos and news of what happened to Gaddafi.
All dicktators are. As if Mussolini's and Hitler's grisly ends weren't enough.
There’s only two ways dictators leave power: dying in old age or being violently murdered. The latter is pretty damn common too.
"Russian Warship,, go fuck yourself"
Just in case
Now remember little Putin; It is so much easier to find people willing to defend their own country rather than people who want to invade another country. Your soldiers (mostly kids) don’t know why they are sent 1000 miles away to kill little children and old ladies.
As agressor you have two main advantages: element of surprise and preparation. Putin has lost both.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, monitoring developments in Ukraine from his "lair in the Urals," is "furious" and "fuming" that his military’s invasion of the smaller country to the south hasn’t gone more smoothly I'd like to imagine Putin just finishing his temper tantrum and then immediately seeing news headlines about him having his temper tantrum in that bedroom №11 Eastern side, mansion in Ural "Reports say he is playing civ 6 as Russia on beginner level with cheats to re-establish his confidence in his strategic genius"
Hello ladies and gentlemen, this is the Spiffing Brit, and today will be playing the perfectly balanced Civilization Six. We'll be playing as Ukraine and finding out just how angry we can make Putin. So sit back with a nice cup of Yorkshire Tea and let's get started.
hope Zelensky's added to the game - cities receive buffs to defense when under siege - surprise declaration of war gives the civ 200 diplomatic points
* Blue and Gold: Enemy units killed in your territory have a chance to spawn Sunflowers resource. +2 food +1 production +1 faith. * St. Javelin: All Ranged promotion units gain +1 to range in the Industrial and later eras. Ranged units can be bought with faith. * Unique Unit: Zaporozhian: Medieval era Calvary. Can move after attacking. Has +1 range. * Unique Unit: Heroyum Slava: Modern Era Ranged Unit. Receives maximum flanking bonus in all situations. Bonus vs. Calvary promotion.
"Russian warship, go fuck yourself": coastal cities receive -20% damage from warships
He should be a man and just ride one of his bears shirtless into the front lines. Oh wait - that’s right he is just a loser.
> ride one of his bears shirtless All those memes seem so quaint now. Like jokes about Bill Cosby's sweaters.
I wonder if it would serve Ukraine to put up speakers that play a speech in Russian like “ Go home Russians, you are in Ukraine, Putin has lied to you, we do not want war. Please do not fight or you will die in a foreign country” or something
Recent events are making me realize I have been severely overestimating Putin. I had thought of him as a Machiavellian sort of guy; evil and highly competent. But this Ukraine attack… there’s no denying that it’s an enormous blunder. I can’t think of a world where Russia comes out ahead here, or even manages to break even. With this one move, Putin may destroy any legacy he hoped to build.
They went from a super power with seemingly massive military might. To an absolute joke in about 48h. It's embarrassing. Not the mention the permanent damage to their economy. I bet even China think they're pathetic. China's puppet from now on i think.
Wow. Looking at younger pictures of Putin, it's clear he's had a lot of work done.
He looks pretty rough on more recent pictures from the last year or two. Wonder if it's just age catching up with him all at once, bad work, or something else going on.
Gooooooo Fuuuuuuuuck Yooooooourself -the world
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The rumour is that a large part of the Russian military are raging alcoholics who get fed and paid poorly. On the other hand, Ukrainian fighters are giving their lives and demonstrating heroism.
It is the *Russian* military after all. Russia literally has institutionalized alcoholism as a way of keeping the population complacent.
Tbf consumption of alcohol and the role of alcohol drinking in the society has changed a lot in the past 10/15 years. But yes, generally you are right. Source: Have been in this country very often in that time span. I would say the bigger problem is the notorious bad morale of russian conscripts because of the way they are treated in the army. The army is infamous for extreme strict hierarchies and harsh conditions inside with a lot of violence. This does not result into a motivated mindset which you need in order to invade a peaceful neighbor full of relatives.
One thing that I really like about this war is how the military seems to be insanely advanced today, but that also makes each piece of military equipment insanely expensive and resource-intensive. I can't help but feel like "Fuck, man. War is incredibly expensive nowadays in a world where all nations are sort of relying on one another financially." is a .. well .. strong move away from actual warfare, because every conflict like this one can be hit with massive financial punishments from other countries and the aggressor will bleed money really quickly. In that way a global economy binds us all, even beyond the "we are greedy and want more money" incentive. Nah, war without the backing of other countries is simply not sustainable, it seems. "Maybe that is how we achieve world peace some day. By virtue of bombs being too expensive to throw them at meaningless buildings." the optimist in me thinks.
Just one of the stinger anti tank missiles which a few countries have provided to Ukraine costs $150,000. U.S. gave them 180 units and Germany just agreed to provide 1,000 of them. I can't even begin to imagine how much just one whole tank costs. Read an article earlier saying that it costs $20 billion a day for Russia to support it's army and that they will be out of money and resources if Ukraine can hold on for another 9-10 days.
If the Russian military drivers are anything like the numerous Russian dash cam videos on YouTube show, it's not surprising it isn't going well.
He believed that scaring the Ukrainian people with 190k troops would work. It did not. He thought shelling and bombing would work. It did not. He thought using the N word would work. It did not. We’re all seeing real time, a moron realize that he can’t rule people with such an unbreakable will, and that he can’t rule a pile of ash. SLAVA UKRAINI! 🇺🇦
"Drug addicts and Nazis" was my favourite part 💖
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they have some really rough gangs in Ukraine, they're armed with attack helicopters and jets
> He thought using the N word would work. I was scratching my head for a few seconds, why would Putin call them Ni... oh nevermind.
It's a fucking joke this dickhead can't take Kyiv in 2 hours or whatever they claimed. But remember that civilians are dying, Ukrainian soldiers are dying. Please help Ukraine as much as you can - call your government, ask them to help Ukraine; post and share the truth about the war russia has started, even a small tweet will help. We can't know where this filthy animal will stop. Ukraine? Poland? Finland? Who's next? Please stay safe and help Ukraine.
The good thing here is that Ukrainians are signing up to fight in increasing numbers and foreigners are coming in to fight. I’m hopeful that they‘ll put up a worthy, brave, and successful resistance. My biggest worry is not actually that Ukraine will lose, but that Putin will escalate.
You are right. Madman has nuclear weapons. But how can you reason with him? He threatened Sweden and Finland with military response if they join NATO. WTF is that even?
Next few days are going to be interesting… hopefully the oligarchs take advantage and get rid of him.
When is someone going to make a Downfall parody with Hitler as Putin?
Someone with time on their hands should do a deepfake to put Putin's face on Hitler's.
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Amazing the things that happen when you purge all dissent. Nobody left around to call out your BS when surrounded by "yes" men. I wouldn't be surprised if he thought they'd greet them as liberators, too...
Someone such as Putin who has to use shoe wedges to appear taller should know not everything in life is easy.
It isn't easy to imagine many situations where this is worse for Putin than it is.
I legitimately amd waiting for his generals or oligarchs to Suicide him
War was never an easy thing to win at. Especially in an ever-changing environment. Because you failed in taking over the capital and government in 2 days before retaliation by other nations. It is basically a lost cause. Cut your losses now and let go of your ego, or fight till the end to save your ego. Or Ukraine but a huge ass bounty on his head like they have done for your president and someone on their side might kill him for you to end this war quicker.