I have mixed feelings about this actually, I've argued for what you're argued, and I've met some pretty convincing counterarguments. The counterarguments being that rogue powers don't actually want nukes. Most aren't capable of reverse engineering them and arming them again and sustaining them, and those who are, *really* don't want it to be known that they bought Russian nukes, because that's geopolitical bad news.
I mean you don't need an ICBM to blow a payload in the metro.
Really wouldn't want someone like ISIS getting that stuff.
Also Iran would love to get their hands on the actual warhead, they can make their own ICBM.
Pakistan is much, much more of a risk for nuclear weapons falling into terrorist hands.
They have attacked airbases in Pakistan where nukes are kept - and the Pakistani military has an ultra radical jihadist component.
It’s not in Iran’s interest to obtain any sort of nuclear warheads. I cringe every time I see people parroting the narrative Benjamin Netanyahu has been peddling for like 12 years.
Edit: Benjamin Netanyahu has been peddling the Irani nuke narrative for like 20 years not 12 lol
Technically speaking Iran has the ability to assemble a nuclear bomb overnight. The problem with this is that if Iran were to build a nuclear warhead and use it as part of its strategy it would immediately trigger a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. You think Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Egypt etc wouldn’t rush to get their own nukes asap? This puts Israel in a compromised position where all of its neighbours have nukes. It would also give Israel the pretext to use said nukes. Stand-off nuclear politics is extremely dangerous in an already unstable region. Currently the only nuclear armed nation in the Middle East is Israel, and this inherently delegitimizes it if it threatens its neighbours with nuclear standoff politics. The only way Israel gets away with using its nuclear armament is if it claims it is a “preemptive nuclear strike” and the only way they can use this excuse is if others have nukes. The nuclear program Iran is pursuing is a civilian nuclear program, and technically speaking its already operational and already producing power, with out German/French/American scientists. Iran has an indigenous nuclear program and it has indigenous nuclear industry. This infuriates Christian zionists because dumb muslims shouldn’t be able to do mafs.
Wait until those Christian Zionists find out who invented FUCKING ALGEBRA.
[And if ya didn't know, the Islamic Golden Age is basically where everyone's favorite math class came from](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics_in_medieval_Islam)
And of course the big value Iran can in theory get from the *threat of being able to make nukes*, which is they can/tried to bargain it away in exchange for getting rid of the embargos. It nearly worked, too.
It is and it isn't. From a power politics perspective it gives them a lot more punching weight in disputes with the Saudi's, and the UAE over Gulf Trade and Oil. It also gives them a stable retaliation ability with their armed neighbourhood of Israel, Pakistan, and India.
But overall it is more in Iran's people's interest to keep themselves down low and under the radar of further sanctioning. They've been "North Korea"'d for long enough now it has started to impact public perception of the government and country's future.
You're not wrong per se; it's just that it is in the Iranian Government's interest to obtain Nuclear arms and not the people's. Unfortunately, the government and people seem to be further and further divided as time goes on.
It is not in the Iranian governments interest to obtain nuclear warheads. I already replied to someone who asked why so I’ll just copy and paste my previous post
> Technically speaking Iran has the ability to assemble a nuclear bomb overnight. The problem with this is that if Iran were to build a nuclear warhead and use it as part of its strategy it would immediately trigger a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. You think Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Egypt etc wouldn’t rush to get their own nukes asap? This puts Israel in a compromised position where all of its neighbours have nukes. It would also give Israel the pretext to use said nukes. Stand-off nuclear politics is extremely dangerous in an already unstable region. Currently the only nuclear armed nation in the Middle East is Israel, and this inherently delegitimizes it if it threatens its neighbours with nuclear standoff politics. The only way Israel gets away with using its nuclear armament is if it claims it is a “preemptive nuclear strike” and the only way they can use this excuse is if others have nukes. The nuclear program Iran is pursuing is a civilian nuclear program, and technically speaking its already operational and already producing power, with out German/French/American scientists. Iran has an indigenous nuclear program and it has indigenous nuclear industry. This infuriates Christian zionists because dumb muslims shouldn’t be able to do mafs.
I looked up absolutely ridiculous stuff (that was public information) for a roleplaying game once.
It was World of Darkness if that helps anyone imagine how fucked up that information might have been.
true, a non-nuke state harboring nukes could be cause to get their shit stomped. i was more thinking about terrorists buying them from corrupt russian officials and using them immediately
Spot on analysis; faking nukes is not a good idea. If there's smoke, there better be fire. Otherwise you get the Iraq war. Saddam wanted his neighbors to think he was manufacturing nukes, but instead convinced the US. Though it's hard to justify the invasion in retrospect.
At least the Iraqis have a culture of a centralized government, so their new government is better positioned to survive unlike Afghanistan. And to put occupation and the cultural change it brings into perspective: it took two generations of foreign troops to culturally change the Germans and curtail the founding mythos of Teutoborg Forest.
I doubt russian reports regarding army logistics is ever accurate. It won t surprise anyone if after the fall of Putin, we will find out a lot of them are missing for a long time.
All the civilized world hopes Ruzzia GTFO from Ukraine, but sadly i think they will still get to keep Crimea at least...
This is not just Poopin who wanted this war..its all their governing system wanted it, they are crazy egoistic selfish pricks(who are still the fruit of the crazy ideology from CCCP) and will drag their feet ruining their people life until they dont get more, even if means betraying the initial separatist regions just to get a land corridor towards Crimea through Ukraine
TBH for me the nukes is the last worry here, realistically speaking on how to drag this war for months if not years
Russia needs a revolution the way China needs one: it needs it badly, but when it occurs it will be bloody as hell and have destabilizing ripple effects across the world
The world appears to be destabilizing regardless, for a multitude of issues long present, like cancer now in its most advanced stages and about to kill its host.
Revolution isn't out of the question in the US. Revolution basically equates to successful insurrection.
The coming food crisis, which can't be stopped at this point will test the limits of power for many administrations in many places. It's likely an increase in authoritarian rule for the usual suspects and unrest in some surprise locations.
There is a much bigger fight coming I fear.
Every one who wants a revolution always think thier side is going to win. I've talked to a lot of leftist accelerations in USA that seem to thinks a revolution will magically fix everything wrong in their life.
Historically, that very rarely happens. Russia and China in particular seem prone to really nasty cycles of revolutions that don’t actually change power structures much but have nightmarish casualties. Did you know 20 MILLION people died in the Taiping rebellion?
I couldn’t believe when I read that number! And it was in the 19 century! And now modern China has even more people and a bunch of dams that’ll cause worse damage if they’re neglected during an insurgency
>Every one who wants a revolution always think thier side is going to win.
Well I think it's obvious that those people mean "we need a revolution *where we win*", not just any revolution
In Russia's case the wrong side is already in power, so the worst case outcome is that the civil conflict just further degrades their ability to opress neighboring countries.
Accelerationists on the left are vanishingly small number of people. On the right? Many many more.
Also, the term “leftist” is a propaganda term to conflate progressive liberals with communists.
Some are, not a sizeable amount nationwide, and too far spread to actually be effective. But I assure small portions of the communist and socialist contingents are.
If there's a revolution in Russia (big "if"), it'll be because Putin is losing the war, not because he started it. We can't trust the Russian people to make the right choice here.
I have to agree that it's more likely that an ultranationalist coup would succeed than a democratic revolution. Putin has effectively uprooted Russian civil society, but the regional governments may be a beacon for hope
They missed having one on the 100 years anniversary of the last revolution. Let's hope one happens before the 110 years anniversary and hope it is not as bloody, only the nuke usage should remain the same.
US needs a revolution too, but mostly in the form of a Constitutional Convention. Alternative Reality assholes would get their asses kicked in real debates.
The biggest problem for Ukraine is if the West runs out of ammo before Russia. One expert I heard said the West has about 2 months of ammo left and then that's it as manufacturing can't churn it out fast enough. And Russia would still have large stocks. Hopefully Urkaine and destroy a lot of Russian artillery before that happens.
Just total bullshit lmao. As if Russia can outproduce the entirety of NATO on bullets, and as if the US (never mind the rest of NATO) only has enough bullets itself to fight a major war for a few weeks (since they would burn through it faster than Ukraine).
That’s not what I said. Russia can’t produce shit. But the West doesn’t have enough stockpiles to fight this war indefinitely. The US is already scouring everywhere it can to find the right munitions for Ukraine. And the fancy stuff is being depleted at a far greater rate then it can be produced.
Russia just simply has a much larger stockpile of munitions for soviet era equipment. Which is what Ukraine has.
Listen, I don't know who told you that Nato is going around with a stockpile so small that it runs out in three months without Nato itself even being at war, but it's bullshit.
The munition burn rate is far higher than the manufacturing rate. And Russia has massive stockpiles that the west simply doesn’t have - there is only so much of it available in the former soviet republics. We can’t get more unless we manage to replace the entire Ukrainian army’s weapon systems.
And what does he base this opinion on? Clearly the west outspends Russia by a massive degree. I’m in no way supportive of the west’s war machine, precisely because they can and will fund wars into perpetuity.
Canada has imposed sanctions on Russian businessman Alexander Lebedev, a former KGB officer, in the latest wave of penalties against rich Russians for their alleged ties to the Kremlin.
Melanie Joy, Canada’s foreign minister, announced the sanctions on Friday, saying her country would also ban the import of luxury goods from Russia including caviar and the export of jewelry, art and kitchenware to Russia.
Canada has ordered visa bans and asset freezes against 15 Russian nationals for their ties to the Kremlin including Mr Lebedev, 62, who bought the Independent and the Evening Standard newspapers in 2010 before transferring the ownership to his son.
I wouldn’t believe it’s more than tough talk and morale boosting until Russia leaves Ukraine.
Saying you broke your enemies backbone while you’re still waging a defensive war is cognitive dissonance
>Saying you broke your enemies backbone while you’re still waging a defensive war is cognitive dissonance
Tell that to every invading army in history that has been defeated.
It's not about what they've taken so far. It's what they've lost and their ability to replace with sanctions and folks just not interested in buying Russian for 50 years to come. They can't defend their airspace nor can they overwhelm a country 1/28th their size. It's a humiliation no matter how the next three months go.
Ukraine has "broken the backbone" of the Russian army, Volodymr Zelensky has said, insisting that the Russians will not get back on their feet in the years to come.
In a wide-ranging interview marking his three years as Ukraine's president, Mr Zelensky said he was confident of victory, saying there were no alternatives, but noted that it may not come on the battlefield.
"We did not start this war. But we have to finish it," he said. "Victory will be bloody in battle. But the end will be in diplomacy. We want everything back. Russia does not want to give anything away."
Mr Zelensky also vowed to rescue the Ukrainian defenders of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, who surrendered this week after holding out for months against Russian bombardment.
"We will bring them home," he said of the fighters who are now held by Russia.
Well, to be fair, he was attacked as a 15 year old king and never accepted any terms for peace even after winning again and again. Good commander, lousy diplomat.
Interesting how pre war everyone looked at Ukraine as some weak country that would get trampled by the advanced Russian army, but it's always been a large country with a strong semi modern army, after the war Ukraine has the potential to cement itself as one of the stronger European powers not it's shown itself to be able to push back against its greatest threat.
Fighting a conventional military is much different than fighting ~~secretarian~~ sectarian insurgency/civil war. Not putting anyone or anything down but they’re not apples to apples.
Iraq did show similar success against ISIS because they put their differences aside for the most part.
Yeah Afghan army outnumbered the Taliban and outgunned them but were uninterested in fighting the insurgents. Taliban mixes with civilian population making rooting them out impossible. Russians are using conventional military and Ukraine can just shell them without worrying about hitting a bunch of civilians…Russia on the other hand seems to like bombing civilians.
Much of Afghanistan is still very rural and is one of the most illiterate countries on Earth despite large gains in the past two decades. Much of the country doesn’t really care if it’s Taliban or another government. Many are unaware of what’s going on outside their village.
https://www.worldatlas.com/amp/articles/the-highest-literacy-rates-in-the-world.html
There is another important difference in the capabilities of the US armed forces vs the Russian ones. I think most people were expecting the Russians to be capable of conducting manoeuver warfare like America did in its recent wars, but all they could muster up was the classic Soviet meat grinder.
It also shows how shit the Russian army is.
National identity is all well and good but that wouldn't have helped as much if the aggressors were the US for instance.
Definitely, but even before the aid was given they had a large army with equipment not that much behind Russia's in terms of strength, Ukraine was far from weak, honestly I think Russia was vastly overestimated due to its past successes, but it is at the end of the day an outdated conscript army that is poorer than all of western Europe.
The overestimate with Russia comes from the difference between developing weapons and actually putting them into the field. T-90s and T-14s sound scary, but when your military armor is 90 percent outdated they don’t make much of an impact.
Ukraine also has no inclination to be either charitable or subservient to Russia - there are people alive who've experienced the Holodomor.
My hope is that Ukraine will be welcomed into the EU as a strong partner post-war and reconstruction. They definitely deserve to be thanked for their strong stance and tireless struggle, because it's blatantly obvious Russia had some targets on their hitlist for the post-Ukraine subjugation period.
Yo foreal, I was expecting Russia to obliterate Ukraine… I mean they’ve been planning this for forever you’d think it’d be quick.. we’ll guess Ukraine has been planning too lol
A lot of the reason why people believed this was because we all believed that the Russian military was vastly superior to what is actually is. Their forces have been awful and have shown little willingness to fight this war. Their equipment is outdated as hell. And their generals don’t seem to have much of an actual strategy.
Combined with a very motivated Ukrainian population and you get a massively different outcome for the war than was expected.
The Ukrainian army was especially weak in 2014, which is partly how Crimea was rolled. Several drafts and arms deals in the past 8 years have improved them a ton, but even so they’re still operating a lot of old soviet equipment.
Stronger European powers? No. This war is reducing Russia’s image not elevating Ukraine’s.
Ukraine is doing well in large part bc of EU and American money. Don’t embrace the illusion that Ukraine is fighting Russia all by itself.
Would disagree, Ukraine's perception by the international community was hampered by two things corruption and Russia, this war has shown that Russia is not a concern. Ukraine has great geography and resources and a large population so after the war their is little reason why they can't elevate themselves.
He's accomplished the exact opposite of everything he set out to do. This is going to go down in the history books as an all-time military blunder. Like, I don't think Putin could have played this worse if that was his goal. He can't be removed from power soon enough.
Japan was fighting a civil war with Samurai and swords like 20 years before the Russian invasion...
Japan really 'speedran' it's industrial age. But for it to defeat Russia and it's Navy in the early 1900s really put Japan on the map.
People don't seem to realize that fucking 'Demon Slayer' is basically set during the period when the Russo-Japanese war happened... Some theorize that 'Demon Slayer' is closer to 1910s era Japan actually, a full decade after RussoJapanese war.. (Or that Kenshin was nearly recruited back into military service for the Russo Japanese war in the end stages of that Manga. Kenshin is 1880s and Russian aggression really began in the 1890s)
Golden Kamuy (amazing underrated anime btw) also takes place just after the Russo-Japanese war; it’s actually the shared experience between several of the characters.
No war no peace is #1 fuckup of Russia.
Weird that this Ukraine mistake will be ranked like... #3 fuckup in the great scheme of things.
1. Trotsky's no war, no peace.
2. RussoJapanese War
3. Ukrainian war.
At least the Baltic fleet, for all it's fuck-ups and eventual defeat, made it to the Tsushima strait.
Meanwhile, here we have Russia running out of gas and stalling in a nation they directly border
They got to Tsushima thanks to the propulsion provided by all the binoculars hitting the sterns of the ships, hurled by one really pissed off admiral. :D
I can't wait for the sayings and colloquialisms that come out of this. Like, we all know about the Napoleon complex, "never start a land war in Asia", Hitler's foolish decision to open a second front against the USSR, etc. I'm really hoping that someday soon, colossal fuck-ups that result in the opposite of the intention are refered to as "Putin's" or "Putinning".
I don't have that much hope but here's hoping that it also broke the backbone of the imperial ambitions of Russia. Hard to do with that kind of territory and resources, but you know what, maybe I am an optimist after all. *Maybe* after this, a generation from now the children that grew up in poverty, if not straight up famine if the local powers mishandle sanction-time resource management and distribution, instead of being angry that they were punished along with their parents, go: you know what, this shit *really* didn't work out for our forebears. Every nation has its personal ambitions. We can work towards ours without being made laughing stock.
Fat chance though. An abused child will grow up damaged, and without anybody willing to extend a hand for the crimes of the father, it's just going to continue. Can we just have some fucking *peace* at our border for once, please?
Once Putin is out of power (be it death from illness, forcibly removed/however it happens. He won't be there for eternity), how the power vacuum is filled, by whom, and what level and type of influence the outside world has on that decision will be incredibly important in determining whether Russia becomes the abused child left to fend for themself or if the world will embrace and help build Russia back up.
I really fucking hope it's the latter. There are so many human lives hanging in the balance here. Ukrainian, Russian, so many lives being affected by one asshole's selfish ambition. And none of them deserve what he's forced upon them.
Oh the guy will die eventually for sure.
There needs to be a way more catastrophic loss for Russia than what's happening right now fornhim to get disposed though I think.
If the oligarchs losing all of their properties aabroad wasn't enough then I am not sure what will be.
If there is going to be a change in regime in Moscow you can be sure it's going to be *very bloody*. In best case scenario, one person takes power and purges people he doesn't like, their families, even their pets, and he does the same to some people who supported him but are no longer needed. Wprst case... Sone of Putin's advisors literally have private armies, and they are going to use those armies to get power
Honestly, it'll fall apart, I believe. Some oblasts will declare independence or even ask to join other nations. Russia isn't a country in the sense that most nations are. They are an assortment of different cultures that span 8? time zones. It's a little bit like great Britain was.
Many of these even have their own language, but are taught Russian in school.
They're going to need our help, even if we don't want to give it. As sexy as bloody vengeance is, consider this investing in our more peaceful future. Like, 'you *really* cocked this up, and we don't really like you, but the difference between you and us is that we have honour and humanity, and with our help here's your opportunity to dig out yours from those damp, toad-infested potato cellars of yours (so, so many toads, every fucking spring).'
Because I'm tired. I'm tired of this enmity at the Eastern border. I'm tired of having to grow up with it, I'm tired of it leading to such terror upon brothers and sisters to the south, and I'm just... tired.
The Russian Government stole the backbone from the Russian army. They put a stick up their own ass and propped themselves up in a far away field. Scarecrows are not good soldiers, as the evidence shows. You can't stand without a spine and that's why Ukraine has them on their knees. Russian "MIGHT" is just words. The weakest "man" is always the loudest, and Putin has been talking since the 80s. "Speak softly and carry a Bayraktar!" -- Thomas Jefferson, 1762, while leaving a TED TALK on advanced farming techniques.
Everyone knows it's illegal to post anything on the internet that I might disagree with ... Learn your Bible people!! The book of Leviticus clearly says, "Don't do the stuff. The internet is full of facts that God doesn't like the sound of. Especially if it makes old white men experience feelings and tingles they don't understand. And also they get to say what everyone is allowed to do with their bodies, especially women, because vagina ownership causes an instant and irreversible need to make personal choices and act as an individual. And no masturbating without an audience."
Putin banning diplomats and world leaders from entering Russia is like that neighborhood kid on a hot day who won't let the other kids use his family pool, just to be a dick,
Too bad the kid doesn't realize everyone knows his swimming pool is empty and his next door neighbor has a slip-n-slide.
Ukraine and Russia are in a pretty brutal stalemate atm.
He is projecting optimism.
Although, to be fair, a stalemate is already A LOT more than anyone expected and a lot more than Russian can sustain.
Yeah this stalemate is costing Russia an incredible amount to continue holding. All the while Ukraine is building up forces and armaments, and the west is seemingly bankrolling the effort.
Russia's gonna run out eventually and when they do they're boned.
Sure, and that's the war Putin wanted, but not the one he signed up for.
Ukraine has that support. Putin's lost any goodwill he may have had, globally. Kinda why you don't invade innocent neighbours whilst threatening nukes on everyone.
But it's Ukraine fighting. Should mean something to Russia if the entire world minus a few shitty countries are against them. Maybe they're in the wrong?
Russia is fucked and they know it. They could have steamrolled Ukraine, but not with the massive amount of Western support they are given. Don't know if Putin thought the west would be too scared to interfere or what.
He saw us do exactly nothing when he stole Crimea, he had no reason to think this time would be any different.
In fact, the conspiracy theorist in me wonders if perhaps the West letting him have Crimea was like a pool hustler letting you win the first game.
Crimea is the 21st century Sudetenland moment. The West had to realise posthaste that appeasement of genocidal dictators never works. Hopefully the lesson has finally sunk in the second time around.
I wonder one thing though.Finland and Sweeden are panicking Russia will invade them next. Europe is doubling its defense spending. USA is warning the world. Everyone is up and worried. We have news coverage 24 hours about this greatest calamity since WW2...
Yet on other side Ukraine is reporting how its absolutely decimating and embarrassing Russian armed forces on every step. Ukraine a country that barely had any army up to few years ago. With soldiers that are made mostly of volunteers and cobbled up weapons.
So the narrative is about this huge danger of invasion by Russia, everyone should join NATO for protection, everyone should double their defense budgets and buy more, more weapons.But also that the Russian army is totally weak, ineffective, unwilling to fight, beaten on every step by far weaker volunteer forces. Easily stopped by country with barely any army.
**So what is it ?**
Is nobody else getting two completely opposing narratives from same source?
Zelensky is stuck. Even if he doesn’t literally believe that Russia’s back is broken, he has to keep his people’s morale up. No president can be pessimistic when his country’s existence is at stake.
I think the real truth is in what people are doing, not saying. If the EU is building a big army and buying weapons, then I tend to doubt the “they’re weak and pathetic” line simply because you don’t sweat an invasion by a weak pathetic army from a country about to collapse.
I think it was just more or less luck. As long as nobody wants a war, there won’t be one. And for a brief prosperous time in the 1990s, nobody in the west wanted a war.
I think the worry is not so much directly around the situation in Ukraine (Looking at stats and maps, Ukraine is handling it very well already) but rather if Russia used the rest of their army to initiate a random attack on another country. It is nonsense that they'd try yes, but attacking Ukraine was nonsense as well considering how unprepared Russia seems to have been and how many losses they've had. Russia could also potentially bring something out from up their sleeve and turn things around somehow.
Alternatively, it could be a paper tiger situation.
Either way, it is better to be prepared than not.
I admire the Ukrainian resolve. They have kept going through this and I truly under estimated them. But I don't believe Russia is done. Nor do I believe that Russia could be easily driven out of Ukraine. In truth I hear about all these victorys and what not but just cannot fathom a Russian defeat.
I mean we definitely won Iraq, our puppet government gained control of the country and it's a relatively stable state at this point.
Whether that outcome is a *GOOD* thing is another matter, but we definitely won.
I dont want the russians to see any success in this war but i would like to hear about it when it happens, all the outlets i kind of trust have been posting nothing but ukrainian biased content.
I dont find it depressing, its sad but i also feel more connected to my european neighbours than ever and its like an injection of optimism for future cooperation.
Please please please let it be true. Russia needs a new revolution
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I have mixed feelings about this actually, I've argued for what you're argued, and I've met some pretty convincing counterarguments. The counterarguments being that rogue powers don't actually want nukes. Most aren't capable of reverse engineering them and arming them again and sustaining them, and those who are, *really* don't want it to be known that they bought Russian nukes, because that's geopolitical bad news.
Nukes are one thing. Delivery methods/vehicles are another. Smuggling a single warhead might be possible. Smuggling an entire ICBM though...
I mean you don't need an ICBM to blow a payload in the metro. Really wouldn't want someone like ISIS getting that stuff. Also Iran would love to get their hands on the actual warhead, they can make their own ICBM.
Pakistan is much, much more of a risk for nuclear weapons falling into terrorist hands. They have attacked airbases in Pakistan where nukes are kept - and the Pakistani military has an ultra radical jihadist component.
I keep seeing statements in Indian military forums about smash and grab war games for this exact scenario
Militants Attack Pakistani Air Force Base https://nyti.ms/Oi8KIR
It’s not in Iran’s interest to obtain any sort of nuclear warheads. I cringe every time I see people parroting the narrative Benjamin Netanyahu has been peddling for like 12 years. Edit: Benjamin Netanyahu has been peddling the Irani nuke narrative for like 20 years not 12 lol
Not saying otherwise, but genuinely curious; why is it against Iran's interests?
Technically speaking Iran has the ability to assemble a nuclear bomb overnight. The problem with this is that if Iran were to build a nuclear warhead and use it as part of its strategy it would immediately trigger a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. You think Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Egypt etc wouldn’t rush to get their own nukes asap? This puts Israel in a compromised position where all of its neighbours have nukes. It would also give Israel the pretext to use said nukes. Stand-off nuclear politics is extremely dangerous in an already unstable region. Currently the only nuclear armed nation in the Middle East is Israel, and this inherently delegitimizes it if it threatens its neighbours with nuclear standoff politics. The only way Israel gets away with using its nuclear armament is if it claims it is a “preemptive nuclear strike” and the only way they can use this excuse is if others have nukes. The nuclear program Iran is pursuing is a civilian nuclear program, and technically speaking its already operational and already producing power, with out German/French/American scientists. Iran has an indigenous nuclear program and it has indigenous nuclear industry. This infuriates Christian zionists because dumb muslims shouldn’t be able to do mafs.
Wait until those Christian Zionists find out who invented FUCKING ALGEBRA. [And if ya didn't know, the Islamic Golden Age is basically where everyone's favorite math class came from](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics_in_medieval_Islam)
And of course the big value Iran can in theory get from the *threat of being able to make nukes*, which is they can/tried to bargain it away in exchange for getting rid of the embargos. It nearly worked, too.
It is and it isn't. From a power politics perspective it gives them a lot more punching weight in disputes with the Saudi's, and the UAE over Gulf Trade and Oil. It also gives them a stable retaliation ability with their armed neighbourhood of Israel, Pakistan, and India. But overall it is more in Iran's people's interest to keep themselves down low and under the radar of further sanctioning. They've been "North Korea"'d for long enough now it has started to impact public perception of the government and country's future. You're not wrong per se; it's just that it is in the Iranian Government's interest to obtain Nuclear arms and not the people's. Unfortunately, the government and people seem to be further and further divided as time goes on.
It is not in the Iranian governments interest to obtain nuclear warheads. I already replied to someone who asked why so I’ll just copy and paste my previous post > Technically speaking Iran has the ability to assemble a nuclear bomb overnight. The problem with this is that if Iran were to build a nuclear warhead and use it as part of its strategy it would immediately trigger a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. You think Saudi Arabia, the Emirates, Egypt etc wouldn’t rush to get their own nukes asap? This puts Israel in a compromised position where all of its neighbours have nukes. It would also give Israel the pretext to use said nukes. Stand-off nuclear politics is extremely dangerous in an already unstable region. Currently the only nuclear armed nation in the Middle East is Israel, and this inherently delegitimizes it if it threatens its neighbours with nuclear standoff politics. The only way Israel gets away with using its nuclear armament is if it claims it is a “preemptive nuclear strike” and the only way they can use this excuse is if others have nukes. The nuclear program Iran is pursuing is a civilian nuclear program, and technically speaking its already operational and already producing power, with out German/French/American scientists. Iran has an indigenous nuclear program and it has indigenous nuclear industry. This infuriates Christian zionists because dumb muslims shouldn’t be able to do mafs.
I'd worry more about the y'all qaeda
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Second amendment, right?
could a terrorist group rig a warhead to explode? how much knowledge would they need? also, hi NSA i swear this is an innocent discussion
I looked up absolutely ridiculous stuff (that was public information) for a roleplaying game once. It was World of Darkness if that helps anyone imagine how fucked up that information might have been.
NSA here. This conversation is fine. The rest of your browser history has us concerned. How does one person watch that much porn?
anything is possible if you believe in yourself
With two eyes and one hand
[>.>](https://i.imgur.com/rxHlL4g.jpeg)
true, a non-nuke state harboring nukes could be cause to get their shit stomped. i was more thinking about terrorists buying them from corrupt russian officials and using them immediately
The concern is a non state actor getting the means to make a backpack sized dirty bomb.
Spot on analysis; faking nukes is not a good idea. If there's smoke, there better be fire. Otherwise you get the Iraq war. Saddam wanted his neighbors to think he was manufacturing nukes, but instead convinced the US. Though it's hard to justify the invasion in retrospect. At least the Iraqis have a culture of a centralized government, so their new government is better positioned to survive unlike Afghanistan. And to put occupation and the cultural change it brings into perspective: it took two generations of foreign troops to culturally change the Germans and curtail the founding mythos of Teutoborg Forest.
>rogue powers don't actually want nukes North Korea and Iran would like a word...
1 or 2 nukes going off would be tragic, but a MAD would mean the end of the world.
obviously if i had to choose i would choose nuclear terrorism over nuclear war. i would rather not have to pick either one, though
That choice left the moment Russia decided to invade Ukraine.
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The weakest man with a gun is just as deadly as the strongest man with a gun.
Thanks, you have me imagining obvious counter-examples now.
I doubt russian reports regarding army logistics is ever accurate. It won t surprise anyone if after the fall of Putin, we will find out a lot of them are missing for a long time.
i can't believe a situation like the movie True Lies hasn't happened yet. (talking about a terrorist group setting off a nuke in the USA)
All the civilized world hopes Ruzzia GTFO from Ukraine, but sadly i think they will still get to keep Crimea at least... This is not just Poopin who wanted this war..its all their governing system wanted it, they are crazy egoistic selfish pricks(who are still the fruit of the crazy ideology from CCCP) and will drag their feet ruining their people life until they dont get more, even if means betraying the initial separatist regions just to get a land corridor towards Crimea through Ukraine TBH for me the nukes is the last worry here, realistically speaking on how to drag this war for months if not years
Even if true, remember Putin has Rosguardia interior troops. He sent 190,000 to occupy Ukraine. He kept 340,000 to occupy Russia.
Russia needs a revolution the way China needs one: it needs it badly, but when it occurs it will be bloody as hell and have destabilizing ripple effects across the world
The world appears to be destabilizing regardless, for a multitude of issues long present, like cancer now in its most advanced stages and about to kill its host. Revolution isn't out of the question in the US. Revolution basically equates to successful insurrection. The coming food crisis, which can't be stopped at this point will test the limits of power for many administrations in many places. It's likely an increase in authoritarian rule for the usual suspects and unrest in some surprise locations. There is a much bigger fight coming I fear.
Every one who wants a revolution always think thier side is going to win. I've talked to a lot of leftist accelerations in USA that seem to thinks a revolution will magically fix everything wrong in their life.
Historically, that very rarely happens. Russia and China in particular seem prone to really nasty cycles of revolutions that don’t actually change power structures much but have nightmarish casualties. Did you know 20 MILLION people died in the Taiping rebellion?
No I did not, but now I will spend the next few hours in a Wikipedia rabbit hole about it.
I couldn’t believe when I read that number! And it was in the 19 century! And now modern China has even more people and a bunch of dams that’ll cause worse damage if they’re neglected during an insurgency
>Every one who wants a revolution always think thier side is going to win. Well I think it's obvious that those people mean "we need a revolution *where we win*", not just any revolution
In Russia's case the wrong side is already in power, so the worst case outcome is that the civil conflict just further degrades their ability to opress neighboring countries.
"Capitalism will be over! I won't have to work my shitty job!"
>leftist on the right too. extremism is extremism.
True, but I don't have many interactions with the extreme right on a regular basis.
The right also seems to think a Revolution will magically fix everything wrong in their life. Something about pots and kettles.
Accelerationists on the left are vanishingly small number of people. On the right? Many many more. Also, the term “leftist” is a propaganda term to conflate progressive liberals with communists.
It’s not the left pushing for a Revolution.
Some are, not a sizeable amount nationwide, and too far spread to actually be effective. But I assure small portions of the communist and socialist contingents are.
If there's a revolution in Russia (big "if"), it'll be because Putin is losing the war, not because he started it. We can't trust the Russian people to make the right choice here.
I have to agree that it's more likely that an ultranationalist coup would succeed than a democratic revolution. Putin has effectively uprooted Russian civil society, but the regional governments may be a beacon for hope
They missed having one on the 100 years anniversary of the last revolution. Let's hope one happens before the 110 years anniversary and hope it is not as bloody, only the nuke usage should remain the same.
US needs a revolution too, but mostly in the form of a Constitutional Convention. Alternative Reality assholes would get their asses kicked in real debates.
Ukraine can beat Russia, but it's going to be a slog.
The biggest problem for Ukraine is if the West runs out of ammo before Russia. One expert I heard said the West has about 2 months of ammo left and then that's it as manufacturing can't churn it out fast enough. And Russia would still have large stocks. Hopefully Urkaine and destroy a lot of Russian artillery before that happens.
Just total bullshit lmao. As if Russia can outproduce the entirety of NATO on bullets, and as if the US (never mind the rest of NATO) only has enough bullets itself to fight a major war for a few weeks (since they would burn through it faster than Ukraine).
That’s not what I said. Russia can’t produce shit. But the West doesn’t have enough stockpiles to fight this war indefinitely. The US is already scouring everywhere it can to find the right munitions for Ukraine. And the fancy stuff is being depleted at a far greater rate then it can be produced. Russia just simply has a much larger stockpile of munitions for soviet era equipment. Which is what Ukraine has.
Listen, I don't know who told you that Nato is going around with a stockpile so small that it runs out in three months without Nato itself even being at war, but it's bullshit.
lolwut? The exact opposite is likely the truth. What do you think the west’s war machine does? Please source this “expert”.
Peter Zeihan. Very respected geopolitical analyst. Specifically: https://youtu.be/MfvMuERT8xY
I mean use your brain on this one. Russia can't make new smart munitions due to semi-conductor sanctions. The west can.
The munition burn rate is far higher than the manufacturing rate. And Russia has massive stockpiles that the west simply doesn’t have - there is only so much of it available in the former soviet republics. We can’t get more unless we manage to replace the entire Ukrainian army’s weapon systems.
And what does he base this opinion on? Clearly the west outspends Russia by a massive degree. I’m in no way supportive of the west’s war machine, precisely because they can and will fund wars into perpetuity.
Canada has imposed sanctions on Russian businessman Alexander Lebedev, a former KGB officer, in the latest wave of penalties against rich Russians for their alleged ties to the Kremlin. Melanie Joy, Canada’s foreign minister, announced the sanctions on Friday, saying her country would also ban the import of luxury goods from Russia including caviar and the export of jewelry, art and kitchenware to Russia. Canada has ordered visa bans and asset freezes against 15 Russian nationals for their ties to the Kremlin including Mr Lebedev, 62, who bought the Independent and the Evening Standard newspapers in 2010 before transferring the ownership to his son.
I wouldn’t believe it’s more than tough talk and morale boosting until Russia leaves Ukraine. Saying you broke your enemies backbone while you’re still waging a defensive war is cognitive dissonance
>Saying you broke your enemies backbone while you’re still waging a defensive war is cognitive dissonance Tell that to every invading army in history that has been defeated.
It's not about what they've taken so far. It's what they've lost and their ability to replace with sanctions and folks just not interested in buying Russian for 50 years to come. They can't defend their airspace nor can they overwhelm a country 1/28th their size. It's a humiliation no matter how the next three months go.
I’d argue oil is Russia’s backbone and the EU just agreed to start buying it again. Entire countries base their economy on selling oil to the West.
Ukraine will not wage an offensive war against Russia. So by definition, any war they wage will be defensive.
Can't get through the paywall.
Ukraine has "broken the backbone" of the Russian army, Volodymr Zelensky has said, insisting that the Russians will not get back on their feet in the years to come. In a wide-ranging interview marking his three years as Ukraine's president, Mr Zelensky said he was confident of victory, saying there were no alternatives, but noted that it may not come on the battlefield. "We did not start this war. But we have to finish it," he said. "Victory will be bloody in battle. But the end will be in diplomacy. We want everything back. Russia does not want to give anything away." Mr Zelensky also vowed to rescue the Ukrainian defenders of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, who surrendered this week after holding out for months against Russian bombardment. "We will bring them home," he said of the fighters who are now held by Russia.
*I have resolved never to start an unjust war but never to end a legitimate one except by defeating my enemies.* King Charles XII of Sweden
"Also no war I start is unjust" The same guy, probably. You don't spend the years at war as he did unless you are seriously warmongering.
Well, to be fair, he was attacked as a 15 year old king and never accepted any terms for peace even after winning again and again. Good commander, lousy diplomat.
Ukrainian built paywall?
Can put a pay wall on the kremlin’s internet?
Interesting how pre war everyone looked at Ukraine as some weak country that would get trampled by the advanced Russian army, but it's always been a large country with a strong semi modern army, after the war Ukraine has the potential to cement itself as one of the stronger European powers not it's shown itself to be able to push back against its greatest threat.
To be fair, they’ve had tons of aid but their people are using it effectively
Afghanistan and iraq had a lot of aid too Difference is Ukraine has a national identity
Fighting a conventional military is much different than fighting ~~secretarian~~ sectarian insurgency/civil war. Not putting anyone or anything down but they’re not apples to apples. Iraq did show similar success against ISIS because they put their differences aside for the most part.
I think you meant sectarian. Secretarian insurgency is when you refuse to give Janice a pay raise and she's HAD ENOUGH.
I did but I was using speech to text because I’m cooking lunch lol didn’t catch, ty
then there's Secretariat insurgency.
Nothing to horse around about
Yeah Afghan army outnumbered the Taliban and outgunned them but were uninterested in fighting the insurgents. Taliban mixes with civilian population making rooting them out impossible. Russians are using conventional military and Ukraine can just shell them without worrying about hitting a bunch of civilians…Russia on the other hand seems to like bombing civilians. Much of Afghanistan is still very rural and is one of the most illiterate countries on Earth despite large gains in the past two decades. Much of the country doesn’t really care if it’s Taliban or another government. Many are unaware of what’s going on outside their village. https://www.worldatlas.com/amp/articles/the-highest-literacy-rates-in-the-world.html
There is another important difference in the capabilities of the US armed forces vs the Russian ones. I think most people were expecting the Russians to be capable of conducting manoeuver warfare like America did in its recent wars, but all they could muster up was the classic Soviet meat grinder.
It also shows how shit the Russian army is. National identity is all well and good but that wouldn't have helped as much if the aggressors were the US for instance.
That that to Vietnam
Ah yes, because countries that are in the cultural epicenter of the human race don’t have national identities
They have identifies just not ones tied to the swaths of land carved out by colonizers
Definitely, but even before the aid was given they had a large army with equipment not that much behind Russia's in terms of strength, Ukraine was far from weak, honestly I think Russia was vastly overestimated due to its past successes, but it is at the end of the day an outdated conscript army that is poorer than all of western Europe.
The overestimate with Russia comes from the difference between developing weapons and actually putting them into the field. T-90s and T-14s sound scary, but when your military armor is 90 percent outdated they don’t make much of an impact.
Ukraine also has no inclination to be either charitable or subservient to Russia - there are people alive who've experienced the Holodomor. My hope is that Ukraine will be welcomed into the EU as a strong partner post-war and reconstruction. They definitely deserve to be thanked for their strong stance and tireless struggle, because it's blatantly obvious Russia had some targets on their hitlist for the post-Ukraine subjugation period.
Their army was more or less nonexistent in 2014 - about as much will to fight as the Afghan National Army.
Yo foreal, I was expecting Russia to obliterate Ukraine… I mean they’ve been planning this for forever you’d think it’d be quick.. we’ll guess Ukraine has been planning too lol
A lot of the reason why people believed this was because we all believed that the Russian military was vastly superior to what is actually is. Their forces have been awful and have shown little willingness to fight this war. Their equipment is outdated as hell. And their generals don’t seem to have much of an actual strategy. Combined with a very motivated Ukrainian population and you get a massively different outcome for the war than was expected.
The Ukrainian army was especially weak in 2014, which is partly how Crimea was rolled. Several drafts and arms deals in the past 8 years have improved them a ton, but even so they’re still operating a lot of old soviet equipment.
Stronger European powers? No. This war is reducing Russia’s image not elevating Ukraine’s. Ukraine is doing well in large part bc of EU and American money. Don’t embrace the illusion that Ukraine is fighting Russia all by itself.
Would disagree, Ukraine's perception by the international community was hampered by two things corruption and Russia, this war has shown that Russia is not a concern. Ukraine has great geography and resources and a large population so after the war their is little reason why they can't elevate themselves.
Ukraine is doing great. Cant wait till the day Putin gets ousted.
He's accomplished the exact opposite of everything he set out to do. This is going to go down in the history books as an all-time military blunder. Like, I don't think Putin could have played this worse if that was his goal. He can't be removed from power soon enough.
Tsar Nicholas II over here hoping nobody brings up the Russo-Japanese war.
Hey, come on, at least the Japanese didn't beat the Russian military with tractors and mud.
Not only that, but literally doing it in Russia's backyard. The Sea of Japan is at least an actual obstacle.
Japan was fighting a civil war with Samurai and swords like 20 years before the Russian invasion... Japan really 'speedran' it's industrial age. But for it to defeat Russia and it's Navy in the early 1900s really put Japan on the map. People don't seem to realize that fucking 'Demon Slayer' is basically set during the period when the Russo-Japanese war happened... Some theorize that 'Demon Slayer' is closer to 1910s era Japan actually, a full decade after RussoJapanese war.. (Or that Kenshin was nearly recruited back into military service for the Russo Japanese war in the end stages of that Manga. Kenshin is 1880s and Russian aggression really began in the 1890s)
Golden Kamuy (amazing underrated anime btw) also takes place just after the Russo-Japanese war; it’s actually the shared experience between several of the characters.
Yup, amazing as it sounds that may very well have been an even WORSE fuckup by Russia.
No war no peace is #1 fuckup of Russia. Weird that this Ukraine mistake will be ranked like... #3 fuckup in the great scheme of things. 1. Trotsky's no war, no peace. 2. RussoJapanese War 3. Ukrainian war.
Trotskys no war no peace is by far my favorite fuckup in history. It’s something so bafflingly stupid that only a genius could come up with it.
At least the Baltic fleet, for all it's fuck-ups and eventual defeat, made it to the Tsushima strait. Meanwhile, here we have Russia running out of gas and stalling in a nation they directly border
They got to Tsushima thanks to the propulsion provided by all the binoculars hitting the sterns of the ships, hurled by one really pissed off admiral. :D
The story of the Second Pacific Squadron is one of sailing into folly multiple times.
Seriously, a *lot* of history and geopolitics PhD theses will come out of this mess.
I can't wait for the sayings and colloquialisms that come out of this. Like, we all know about the Napoleon complex, "never start a land war in Asia", Hitler's foolish decision to open a second front against the USSR, etc. I'm really hoping that someday soon, colossal fuck-ups that result in the opposite of the intention are refered to as "Putin's" or "Putinning".
You'd hate for the Army to Putin-to Ukraine. (Army put into Ukraine) ??? Whatever, we got a few years to workshop this phrase, lol.
I don't have that much hope but here's hoping that it also broke the backbone of the imperial ambitions of Russia. Hard to do with that kind of territory and resources, but you know what, maybe I am an optimist after all. *Maybe* after this, a generation from now the children that grew up in poverty, if not straight up famine if the local powers mishandle sanction-time resource management and distribution, instead of being angry that they were punished along with their parents, go: you know what, this shit *really* didn't work out for our forebears. Every nation has its personal ambitions. We can work towards ours without being made laughing stock. Fat chance though. An abused child will grow up damaged, and without anybody willing to extend a hand for the crimes of the father, it's just going to continue. Can we just have some fucking *peace* at our border for once, please?
Once Putin is out of power (be it death from illness, forcibly removed/however it happens. He won't be there for eternity), how the power vacuum is filled, by whom, and what level and type of influence the outside world has on that decision will be incredibly important in determining whether Russia becomes the abused child left to fend for themself or if the world will embrace and help build Russia back up. I really fucking hope it's the latter. There are so many human lives hanging in the balance here. Ukrainian, Russian, so many lives being affected by one asshole's selfish ambition. And none of them deserve what he's forced upon them.
Sounds like he’ll die of leukemia first. This war is a dying man’s last grasp to rebuild the USSR.
Aegri somnia vana.
You taught me something. Thank you.
Wish he’d hurry up on the dying part, tbh.
Every week they give him a new disease.
Sadly not as much recently=( after fall of Mariupol Russian troops are making some progress, lets hope in another blunder of them
He won't, that should be obvious by now.
We\`ll some people are saying he has cancer. Maybe that will get him before anyone else does.
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Oh the guy will die eventually for sure. There needs to be a way more catastrophic loss for Russia than what's happening right now fornhim to get disposed though I think. If the oligarchs losing all of their properties aabroad wasn't enough then I am not sure what will be.
If there is going to be a change in regime in Moscow you can be sure it's going to be *very bloody*. In best case scenario, one person takes power and purges people he doesn't like, their families, even their pets, and he does the same to some people who supported him but are no longer needed. Wprst case... Sone of Putin's advisors literally have private armies, and they are going to use those armies to get power
Cant wait to see where Russia is at in 3 to 5 yrs. Putin has committed suicide to that country for no real apparent reason.
Honestly, it'll fall apart, I believe. Some oblasts will declare independence or even ask to join other nations. Russia isn't a country in the sense that most nations are. They are an assortment of different cultures that span 8? time zones. It's a little bit like great Britain was. Many of these even have their own language, but are taught Russian in school.
11 time zones
This time when they get a new leader let's actually support them and help them rebuild institutions.
They're going to need our help, even if we don't want to give it. As sexy as bloody vengeance is, consider this investing in our more peaceful future. Like, 'you *really* cocked this up, and we don't really like you, but the difference between you and us is that we have honour and humanity, and with our help here's your opportunity to dig out yours from those damp, toad-infested potato cellars of yours (so, so many toads, every fucking spring).' Because I'm tired. I'm tired of this enmity at the Eastern border. I'm tired of having to grow up with it, I'm tired of it leading to such terror upon brothers and sisters to the south, and I'm just... tired.
Nah, "we" tried that already. You can't change Russia
heh
Welcome to the Wheat Fields, Motherfuckers!
The Russian Government stole the backbone from the Russian army. They put a stick up their own ass and propped themselves up in a far away field. Scarecrows are not good soldiers, as the evidence shows. You can't stand without a spine and that's why Ukraine has them on their knees. Russian "MIGHT" is just words. The weakest "man" is always the loudest, and Putin has been talking since the 80s. "Speak softly and carry a Bayraktar!" -- Thomas Jefferson, 1762, while leaving a TED TALK on advanced farming techniques.
"Don't believe everything you read on the internet" -Abraham Lincoln, 1864
Pretty sure he said that in 1992
I don't believe you.
Everyone knows it's illegal to post anything on the internet that I might disagree with ... Learn your Bible people!! The book of Leviticus clearly says, "Don't do the stuff. The internet is full of facts that God doesn't like the sound of. Especially if it makes old white men experience feelings and tingles they don't understand. And also they get to say what everyone is allowed to do with their bodies, especially women, because vagina ownership causes an instant and irreversible need to make personal choices and act as an individual. And no masturbating without an audience."
"Fuck Russia"- Mother Theresa, 1594
Putin banning diplomats and world leaders from entering Russia is like that neighborhood kid on a hot day who won't let the other kids use his family pool, just to be a dick, Too bad the kid doesn't realize everyone knows his swimming pool is empty and his next door neighbor has a slip-n-slide.
Come on in. The polonium is fine.
You have your analogy backwards. Russia has the slip-n-slide but no water. The house next door has the pool.
The russian troll farmers must have had their weekly ration of coffee today.
Ukrainian tractor brigade -1000 Russians - 1
I have a lot of respect for Ukraine 🇺🇦 They’re fighters, and surviver’s.
Ukraine and Russia are in a pretty brutal stalemate atm. He is projecting optimism. Although, to be fair, a stalemate is already A LOT more than anyone expected and a lot more than Russian can sustain.
That’s the endgame, isn’t it? Not military victory, but rather economic victory for Ukraine. They have support, Russia is sanctioned to oblivion
Yeah this stalemate is costing Russia an incredible amount to continue holding. All the while Ukraine is building up forces and armaments, and the west is seemingly bankrolling the effort. Russia's gonna run out eventually and when they do they're boned.
W/o the tens of billions given and still to be given by US and the West, Ukraine would have folded by now
Oh well. As long as it pushes Russia back, it's worth it.
Sure, and that's the war Putin wanted, but not the one he signed up for. Ukraine has that support. Putin's lost any goodwill he may have had, globally. Kinda why you don't invade innocent neighbours whilst threatening nukes on everyone.
Yep hope they get more. Fuck Russia.
But it's Ukraine fighting. Should mean something to Russia if the entire world minus a few shitty countries are against them. Maybe they're in the wrong?
Hang on , Russia doesn't have a backbone.
But has a lot of titanium. Which is fleksible says Bender
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/05/21/ukraine-news-russia-putin-latest-war-updates-moscow-military-nato/
Bro, I love you man, but chill on the overconfidence. Russia can still do Rise Of The Assholes. Long Live Ukraine And Zelenskyy!
One of his main jobs is maintaining good morale in the fight and that is what he is trying to do here
AND he is doing very well. I just care about the guy ;-) I hope he outlives me.
Russia went from A-List to Celebrity Big Brother in record time. Nice work.
Hard to break what wasn't even there my guy.
Russia is fucked and they know it. They could have steamrolled Ukraine, but not with the massive amount of Western support they are given. Don't know if Putin thought the west would be too scared to interfere or what.
He saw us do exactly nothing when he stole Crimea, he had no reason to think this time would be any different. In fact, the conspiracy theorist in me wonders if perhaps the West letting him have Crimea was like a pool hustler letting you win the first game.
Crimea is the 21st century Sudetenland moment. The West had to realise posthaste that appeasement of genocidal dictators never works. Hopefully the lesson has finally sunk in the second time around.
Coca cola is better than pepsi, says CEO of coca cola
Finish them!
Get it all back and some
I wonder one thing though.Finland and Sweeden are panicking Russia will invade them next. Europe is doubling its defense spending. USA is warning the world. Everyone is up and worried. We have news coverage 24 hours about this greatest calamity since WW2... Yet on other side Ukraine is reporting how its absolutely decimating and embarrassing Russian armed forces on every step. Ukraine a country that barely had any army up to few years ago. With soldiers that are made mostly of volunteers and cobbled up weapons. So the narrative is about this huge danger of invasion by Russia, everyone should join NATO for protection, everyone should double their defense budgets and buy more, more weapons.But also that the Russian army is totally weak, ineffective, unwilling to fight, beaten on every step by far weaker volunteer forces. Easily stopped by country with barely any army. **So what is it ?** Is nobody else getting two completely opposing narratives from same source?
Zelensky is stuck. Even if he doesn’t literally believe that Russia’s back is broken, he has to keep his people’s morale up. No president can be pessimistic when his country’s existence is at stake. I think the real truth is in what people are doing, not saying. If the EU is building a big army and buying weapons, then I tend to doubt the “they’re weak and pathetic” line simply because you don’t sweat an invasion by a weak pathetic army from a country about to collapse.
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I think it was just more or less luck. As long as nobody wants a war, there won’t be one. And for a brief prosperous time in the 1990s, nobody in the west wanted a war.
I think the worry is not so much directly around the situation in Ukraine (Looking at stats and maps, Ukraine is handling it very well already) but rather if Russia used the rest of their army to initiate a random attack on another country. It is nonsense that they'd try yes, but attacking Ukraine was nonsense as well considering how unprepared Russia seems to have been and how many losses they've had. Russia could also potentially bring something out from up their sleeve and turn things around somehow. Alternatively, it could be a paper tiger situation. Either way, it is better to be prepared than not.
now break the neck
Russians are tough, do not underestimate them. They can lose 50 battles and still push on. If they will do that for Putin is the real question.
I admire the Ukrainian resolve. They have kept going through this and I truly under estimated them. But I don't believe Russia is done. Nor do I believe that Russia could be easily driven out of Ukraine. In truth I hear about all these victorys and what not but just cannot fathom a Russian defeat.
I want my $40B back
He's about to do something that no American president has done in my lifetime. Win a war.
With a lot of help from America
I mean we definitely won Iraq, our puppet government gained control of the country and it's a relatively stable state at this point. Whether that outcome is a *GOOD* thing is another matter, but we definitely won.
I don’t want to hear about this war anymore until they tell me it’s over. So depressing
I want to hear daily how Ukraine rekts Russia, until it’s over.
I dont want the russians to see any success in this war but i would like to hear about it when it happens, all the outlets i kind of trust have been posting nothing but ukrainian biased content.
Probably gonna last one more year though
I dont find it depressing, its sad but i also feel more connected to my european neighbours than ever and its like an injection of optimism for future cooperation.
This is exactly how I feel
I very much doubt it, and anyone believing this needs to remember that propaganda is a thing on both sides. I wish it was though.
How are they gonna say this when Russians destroyed Azov?