Russia-Ukraine war and related tensions Megathread

[Sir Mohamed]

https://mobile.twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1627515748112384001
Disgusting

This despicable stuff is happening in pretty much every war, but has been a "Russian tradition" for very long dating back the WWII in particular and before. I just hope as many as possible can be put on trial and sentenced to prison.

[Sir Mohamed]

Putler today gave a long speech full of propaganda and untruths. Also announced that Russia would leave the New Start Treaty from 2010.

https://twitter.com/johnson/status/1627980019644436480

https://twitter.com/BBCWorld/status/1628015190561128448

[Sir Mohamed]

New theory: It was a Russian false flag to frame Ukraine.

That theory is hardly "new".

Oh, and 20k posts

The thread is almost certainly going to break 1k pages.

[Sir Mohamed]

BASED.

https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1636750487310716928

[Sir Mohamed]

BASED.

https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1636750487310716928

This needs to be more in focus and is probably more important than land in any peace deal, IMO.

Yup, though Russia doesn't recognize the ICC anyway. Neither does the US and other powers.

[Sir Mohamed]

https://mobile.twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1640641551792586752
Russia suffering heavy casualties for little to no gains. Must be a day ending in a y

Putler continues sacrificing his own troops en masse as cannon fodder for his imperialist delusion. So basically for nothing. Russians should be enraged and out on the streets that makes 'Nam protests look like kindergarden. One of the advantages of being a dictator is the abolishion of a free press.

[Sir Mohamed]

https://twitter.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1655844740368068608

lol...

I looked it up. The T-34 tank was manufactured between 1940 and 1958. Tells you how well the special operation is going.

[Sir Mohamed]

I wouldn't believe anything that comes from Priogozhin. He's one of Putin's men and his public feud with the Russian Defense Ministry just seems theatre to me.

[Sir Mohamed]

France 24 says the the Wagner timing was based on the Rostov Russian troops nursing hangovers on an early Saturday morning. Seems logical.

This entire operation has been planned for weeks, if not longer. Someone like Prigozhin isn't doing this on a whim. The biggest question here is whether actually some official Russian soldiers and commanders are flipping on the short or median run. I could imagine he promised them something, perhaps even an end to the full-scale operation which he already said can't be won by Russia. When parts of the Russian army start flipping, Putin's reign is in danger.

That said, I still expect Prigozhin to be dead in a few days. A former KGB agent like Putin isn't playing around here. He needs to set an example.

[Sir Mohamed]

Never thought I'd say this, but critical support to Sergey Prigozhin on his quest to destabilize Russia

It's good if that helps Ukraine in the short and median run to make additional territorial gains. Ongoing instability in Russia could be dangerous though because of their immense arsenal of nukes. And I have no idea whether Prigozhin would be even less rational than Putler.

[Sir Mohamed]

What are the implications of all of this for China?

The biggest takeaway might the narrative of Putin's war - NATO and Ukraine pose a danger to Russia - is exposed as garbage. Prigozhin lately said the war wasn't started because of Western aggression or because Russia is threatened by NATO. After the Russian state propaganda, which the PRC also uses, previously praised Wagner, this might seriously haunt them.

The regime in Beijing would definitely prefer working with Putin as he's a known quantity. That doesn't apply to anyone who might follow him. After all, Xi likes to deal with predictable leaders.

[Sir Mohamed]

If Putin's support is this weak, why is his approval rating consistently over 80%? Are the Russians answering these polls afraid to say they disapprove? Or is it "soft" support of some kind?

You take Russian polls at face value? That said, people speaking out aginst the ruler usually didn't end well for them. Not to forget Putin controls the entire media and flooding state TV with his propaganda. Based on that, a lof of Russian believe his lies as they have no other sources to gain independent information from.

[Sir Mohamed]

This threaf is such a detailled collection of the war from the start, it could very well be archieved and used for future writings.

[Sir Mohamed]

I guess Zelensky thinks his next election contest will be against Zaluzhny.

Quite likely.

I thought Zelensky said a while he ago he wasn't going to run again, though the 2024 election will be delayed.

[Sir Mohamed]

Not sure it’s been mentioned here yet, but the claims about NK sending missiles to Russia have apparently been confirmed: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-hit-ukrainian-region-with-non-russian-missiles-governor-2024-01-05/

Should surprise exactly no one. Ukraine already has become some kind of proxy war between Western democracies and dictatorships. With latest restriction since the war broke out, Russia basically has moved from autocracy into full dictatorship.

[Sir Mohamed]

Ukraine Says Kyiv Region’s Largest Power Plant Destroyed

(Bloomberg) -- The largest power plant in the region surrounding the Ukrainian capital was destroyed in a Russian missile attack.
Six missiles hit the Trypilska plant south of Kyiv Thursday morning, according to a person familiar familiar with the strike. The attack set the facility owned by state-run electricity and heat producer Centrenergo ablaze, the person said on condition of anonymity.
Over the past month, Russia intensified strikes on Ukraine’s power infrastructure as Kyiv struggles with a shortage of ammunition and manpower. A large-scale overnight missile and drone attack targeted power infrastructure and underground gas storage in five regions across Ukraine.

Yet another reason why Russian oil infrastructure is fair game for Ukraine...

Yup, though they don't have the proper missiles because NATO members aren't doing enough.

[Sir Mohamed]

https://twitter.com/axios/status/1792912049749565862