Russia-Ukraine war and related tensions Megathread

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

It's a tweet, that's it, about one of the worst people alive (sans Kim Jong Un, the Ayatollah, Netanyahu, etc...) let's not all go giving little Marco too much applause for a tweet. He still has horrible social, economic and (mostly) foreign policy.

And his PFP still annoys me, it's almost like he's trying too hard to be relatable.

Any way, far more importantly, back to focusing on the valiant defense being put up by the Ukrainian people...

[certified hummus supporter 🇵🇸🤝🇺🇸🤝🇺🇦]

Thanks...?

https://mobile.twitter.com/ShingetsuNews/status/1497783261799784449

[Frodo]

It seems Vladimir Putin wasted his time going to Beijing during the Winter Olympics to secure Xi Jinping's support for his upcoming invasion of Ukraine:

https://twitter.com/humeyra_pamuk/status/1497771282565369858
So much for that feared Russia-China alliance across the length and breadth of Eurasia that some here have been worrying about.  China hasn't been proving itself much of an ally for Russia at all.

[certified hummus supporter 🇵🇸🤝🇺🇸🤝🇺🇦]

https://mobile.twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1497782793170006017

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Why is it so quiet?

Lots of Ukraine got its internet knocked out.

I actually realized an easy way to monitor this: check for Ingress activity. The last activity in Kyiv was over four hours ago. And even Lviv was over two hours ago.

[Absentee Voting Ghost of Ruin]

I know BRTD said this but am I the only one else thinking Rubio is way more based now?

For all that he was giving every sign of being on the wrong side of this a week ago, his public presence since the war started has been very good. I haven't seen similar behavior from any other member of Congress, from either side of the aisle.

[Badger]

While I used to be able to sympathize with some of Putin's views on certain issues, now I just can't. Putin is 100% without a doubt a war criminal now and I do not sympathize with war criminals! I still don't support US troops in Ukraine and hope that both sides can find a solution rather quickly, which sadly looks pretty unlikely at this point.

Just thought I'd give my two cents.

 I am trying to restrain myself from hyperbole in asking this, but on what possible issues could one agree with Vladimir Putin on? Serious question.

Bringing stability to your country and raising it up from being an Oligarch dominated disaster zone like Russia in the 1990s or the United States.

 Hooray. He turned it into an autocratic puppet state cracking down on all forms of democracy.  And how completely out of out of reality it is to say that Putin has somehow removed Russia from being "oligarch dominated" . It completely is now even worse than the nineties, it's just now there his own oligarchs in his back pocket..

Your. Values are completely out of whack.

[Pericles]

While I used to be able to sympathize with some of Putin's views on certain issues, now I just can't. Putin is 100% without a doubt a war criminal now and I do not sympathize with war criminals! I still don't support US troops in Ukraine and hope that both sides can find a solution rather quickly, which sadly looks pretty unlikely at this point.

Just thought I'd give my two cents.

 I am trying to restrain myself from hyperbole in asking this, but on what possible issues could one agree with Vladimir Putin on? Serious question.

Bringing stability to your country and raising it up from being an Oligarch dominated disaster zone like Russia in the 1990s or the United States.

Lol, 1990s Russia and the current United States are not at all similar.

[Storr]

https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1497776713589219328?s=20&t=NMLEQz7rtsL6A0...

[certified hummus supporter 🇵🇸🤝🇺🇸🤝🇺🇦]

https://mobile.twitter.com/TheStudyofWar/status/1497754623729451009

[Hindsight was 2020]

Kyiv is still standing after another night of fighting! 🇺🇦

[Blue3]

https://twitter.com/MarketRebels/status/1497675529490767881

[Orwell]

https://twitter.com/MarketRebels/status/1497675529490767881

“Suicide” I’m sure

[Orwell]

As I reply from my previous reply it’s not to make light of his death, but instead to imply Russian government implication in any suicide

[KaiserDave]

https://twitter.com/fatimatlis/status/1497797874771451905

Hopefully true

[Storr]

It's clear the political need to achieve quick victory (the longer the war goes on, the harder it is to hide the costs from the public) simply did not meet the capabilities of the Russian army, or at least the forces deployed at the Ukrainian border. I don't think the Russians are playing tactical 3D chess waiting for the moment to send in the "A team" forces. They simply either expected very little resistance or were caught off guard by the West's response to Putin's threats and had to assemble an invasion force and formulate plan of attack at the last minute.

https://twitter.com/KofmanMichael/status/1497788908037459973?s=20&t=szOuVvmS...

[brucejoel99]

It's clear the political need to achieve quick victory (the longer the war goes on, the harder it is to hide the costs from the public) simply did not meet the capabilities of the Russian army, or at least the forces deployed at the Ukrainian border. I don't think the Russians are playing tactical 3D chess waiting for the moment to send in the "A team" forces. They simply either expected very little resistance or were caught off guard by the West's response to Putin's threats and had to assemble an invasion force and formulate plan of attack at the last minute.

https://twitter.com/KofmanMichael/status/1497788908037459973?s=20&t=szOuVvmSN6wuuB9kY8c_3Q

Yeah, honestly, I haven't seen a reasonable explanation for the Russian stupidity other than massive overconfidence.

[certified hummus supporter 🇵🇸🤝🇺🇸🤝🇺🇦]

BASED

Edit: Here's what the Tweet that I linked, now deleted, had said

[OSR stands with Israel]

While I used to be able to sympathize with some of Putin's views on certain issues, now I just can't. Putin is 100% without a doubt a war criminal now and I do not sympathize with war criminals! I still don't support US troops in Ukraine and hope that both sides can find a solution rather quickly, which sadly looks pretty unlikely at this point.

Just thought I'd give my two cents.

 I am trying to restrain myself from hyperbole in asking this, but on what possible issues could one agree with Vladimir Putin on? Serious question.

Bringing stability to your country and raising it up from being an Oligarch dominated disaster zone like Russia in the 1990s or the United States.

Lmao at the idea that Russia is better than the US today . Heck I’d say Jim Crow South USA > Russia has ever been

[dead0man]

Is it possible Putin has fallen into the same "yes man" trap many other strong men leaders have?  As in:
1.strongman wins control
b.strongman gets rid of all dissent
III.strongman is surrounded by people who tell him what he wants to hear
D.strongman believes them, steps into something bad that should have been obvious

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Is it possible Putin has fallen into the same "yes man" trap many other strong men leaders have?  As in:
1.strongman wins control
b.strongman gets rid of all dissent
III.strongman is surrounded by people who tell him what he wants to hear
D.strongman believes them, steps into something bad that should have been obvious

Best example is how Gaddafi managed to lose a war to...Chad. In hindsight it's a miracle that guy stuck around as long as he did.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

While I used to be able to sympathize with some of Putin's views on certain issues, now I just can't. Putin is 100% without a doubt a war criminal now and I do not sympathize with war criminals! I still don't support US troops in Ukraine and hope that both sides can find a solution rather quickly, which sadly looks pretty unlikely at this point.

Just thought I'd give my two cents.

 I am trying to restrain myself from hyperbole in asking this, but on what possible issues could one agree with Vladimir Putin on? Serious question.

Bringing stability to your country and raising it up from being an Oligarch dominated disaster zone like Russia in the 1990s or the United States.

Lmao at the idea that Russia is better than the US today . Heck I’d say Jim Crow South USA > Russia has ever been

This is a revolting take, can we just agree they're both sh**tty and move on. Lord.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

To put things into perspective, Gaddafi had a pretty modern Soviet-equipped military, and he still managed to get his ass kicked by these guys:



With that in mind Ukraine winning doesn't seem so far-fetched now.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

I have to wonder also whether Putin isn't hardening Anti-Russian sentiment even in the East of Ukraine; people and countries grow by going through hardships together after all. He's creating martyrs, fostering camaraderie  among Ukrainian's in the defense of their homes and pushing them into the arms of the West even more than they were before. Will there be a single youth in Ukraine who believes in Pro-Russian policies after all this horror is said and done?

[emailking]

BASED

https://mobile.twitter.com/IAPonomarenko/status/1497803660809711623

What was this? it's gone.