Russia-Ukraine war and related tensions Megathread

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

"ThE aZoV bATtAlLiOn ArE nAZiS!!!!111!!11!!!!1!!!"

https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/1608457528819564546?t=xv2bnxKHXlJ913tjlVWOFQ&a...

More Azov propaganda, lmao. And Nick Fuentes pals around with Ye after calling all black people sub-human and much worse... There really isn't any way to argue that Azov doesn't have significant Nazi influences, one of their main emblems until 2015 literally had a BLACK SUN in it. Smh.

I'll say it again, I support Ukraine but Azov can rot. When they fight Russians it's just two fascists duking it out... Which gets a thumbs up from me. The more dead fashies and fashy sympathizers... The better.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

"ThE aZoV bATtAlLiOn ArE nAZiS!!!!111!!11!!!!1!!!"

https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/1608457528819564546?t=xv2bnxKHXlJ913tjlVWOFQ&a...

More Azov propaganda, lmao. And Nick Fuentes pals around with Ye after calling all black people sub-human and much worse... There really isn't any way to argue that Azov doesn't have significant Nazi influences, one of their main emblems until 2015 literally had a BLACK SUN in it. Smh.

I'll say it again, I support Ukraine but Azov can rot. When they fight Russians it's just two fascists duking it out... Which gets a thumbs up from me.

"Until 2015"...they were then just integrated into the Ukrainian army. If you think every single last Azov fighter is a Nazi then you're buying into Russian propaganda parroted by useful idiot pieces of sh!t like that absolutely f[inks]ing moronic dumbass Lee Carter.

I said this when? And I don't know how 'Oh, they only marched under nazi flags until they joined the army and probably were forced to drop those symbols!' is a winning argument. It's very possible that many non-nazi's have joined Azov with the movement becoming more widespread but that doesn't mean that it isn't a fact that the roots of the movement, and many of its founding leaders, are indeed in far-right and fascist symbology and circles.

There is zero way to redeem a movement like that. Nope. Not in my eyes any way. Especially not when even to this day they STILL march under a Wolfsangel. Lmao get out of here with this 'Azov redeemed' narrative.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

"ThE aZoV bATtAlLiOn ArE nAZiS!!!!111!!11!!!!1!!!"

https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/1608457528819564546?t=xv2bnxKHXlJ913tjlVWOFQ&a...

More Azov propaganda, lmao. And Nick Fuentes pals around with Ye after calling all black people sub-human and much worse... There really isn't any way to argue that Azov doesn't have significant Nazi influences, one of their main emblems until 2015 literally had a BLACK SUN in it. Smh.

I'll say it again, I support Ukraine but Azov can rot. When they fight Russians it's just two fascists duking it out... Which gets a thumbs up from me.

"Until 2015"...they were then just integrated into the Ukrainian army. If you think every single last Azov fighter is a Nazi then you're buying into Russian propaganda parroted by useful idiot pieces of sh!t like that absolutely f[inks]ing moronic dumbass Lee Carter.

I said this when? And I don't know how 'Oh, they only marched under nazi flags until they joined the army and probably were forced to drop those symbols!' is a winning argument. It's very possible that many non-nazi's have joined Azov with the movement becoming more widespread but that doesn't mean that it isn't a fact that the roots of the movement, and many of its founding leaders, are indeed in far-right and fascist symbology and circles.

There is zero way to redeem a movement like that. Nope. Not in my eyes any way. Especially not when even to this day they STILL march under a Wolfsangel. Lmao get out of here with this 'Azov redeemed' narrative.

So you think the non-Nazis in Azov are all terrible people who deserve to be killed by the Russians? You've implied you've wanted ALL of Azov fighters killed. But of course you also think Kyle Rittenhouse drove "hundreds of miles" to Kenosha (he's obviously a horrible person and is even worse now but that's irrelevant to the factuality of distance) and that Delta-8 is "THC that's been chemically altered" which is not even a REMOTELY accurate description of it from a chemistry standpoint.

I think I'm just gonna let this response speak for itself, lol.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

During WW2, there were French far-rightists who hated Jews about as much as the Nazis did but still fought side by side with them in the resistance because they didn't want their country occupied by Germany. At the end of the day, what you believe is less important than what you do, and anyone who takes up arms to defend Ukraine against Russia right now is doing the right thing. We can talk about the future of the Azov regiment after the war, but fearmongering about it now feeds right into Putin's propaganda.

I think there's a difference between "fear-mongering" about it and celebrating/honoring it. But OKAY.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

Belarus says it downed Ukraine air defence missile https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64122632

Ridiculous. If I was the Ukrainian ambassador I’d tell the Belarusians to pound sand. Trying to act incredulous/mortified over the results of a conflict you’re doing everything in your power to facilitate. Barf.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

Ukraine Launches Deadly Attack on Russian Soldiers in the East, Kills 63 and wounds hundreds
A Russian proxy official called the attack in Donetsk a ‘massive blow.’

Ukrainian missiles struck a building that housed Russian soldiers in an occupied city in Donetsk early on New Year’s Day, according to Russian proxy officials and the Ukrainian military. The Russian Defense Ministry said that 63 service members died in the attack, a toll that would make it one of the deadliest single strikes against Russian forces in Ukraine since the war began.

A spokesman for the Russian-installed proxy government in the Donetsk region called the strike in the city of Makiivka “a massive blow.”

Igor Strelkov, a Russian former intelligence officer also known as Igor Girkin, said in a post on Telegram, the social messaging app, that the casualties included “many hundreds” of dead and wounded. But he added that it was difficult to know the true figure because many people “remained under the rubble.”

Huzzah! Sometimes it still feels wrong to hail the death of anyone; but then I remember that these are murderous bastards who invaded a country that was absolutely no threat to them and destroyed the lives of many millions of innocent Ukrainian men, women and children who will feel the effects of this war for generations to come. Hopefully Ukraine is able to repeat this and limit its own losses to quickly destroy Russian morale and bring an end to this conflict for the good of civilians and the 'innocent' on both sides.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

BP, Unilever, and HSBC have failed to properly exit Russia, new report warns

Three FTSE 100 companies – HSBC Holdings, Unilever, and BP – have been named as members of a “dirty dozen” of high-profile multinationals still heavily involved in Russia.
The three UK headquartered companies have failed to properly exit Russia in the wake of Putin’s invasion, according to a new report by the Moral Rating Agency (MRA).
Instead, the British firms have used “loopholes” in the international sanctions regime to continue operating inside the Russian Federation, the MRA report says.

There really needs to be more stringent sanctions enforcement, cause I've seen a number of reports saying the same thing that there are a multitude of loopholes big international business are using to remain in the Russian market... Sometimes in all but name.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

The SPD's Michael Müller – once the Governing Mayor of Berlin, now an influential Member of the Bundestag – has spoken out in favor of facilitating negotiations between Russia and Ukraine rather than further escalating the conflict:

"We need to keep our lines of communication open. We must be open for dialogue. It is very sad that the Greens and the FDP don't understand this."

Seems as if intra-SPD support for the Ukrainian cause is increasingly eroding. Scholz is not to be envied.

Sure, I'm all in favor of even restoring a direct DC-Moscow phone line (Skype? Zoom?) and giving the Russians the legitimacy they've always always craved. Maybe even loop in Brussels and Beijing this time.

We answer the line and ask Putin if he's willing to withdraw to 2014 lines, try war criminals, fund Ukrainian reconstruction efforts and maybe even hold an internationally observed Crimea referendum. If he isn't, we hang-up and continue on course. A solid and clear defeat for imperialism.

Now, what this guy (presumedly) means however is that we give the Russians significantly any of what they seem to be demanding right now. That's clearly out of the question.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

Google translate gives us "...draft law on civil partnerships for same-sex and opposite-sex couples...".

Assuming "civil partnerships" is the legal equivalent of civil unions, this would put Ukraine on the same level of same-sex relationship legal recognition as Italy, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Croatia, Montenegro, Greece, and Cyprus. Ukraine currently has no legal recognition of same sex relationships.

https://twitter.com/olliecarroll/status/1635397469281611776?s=20

If there's one thing that should foster Ukrainian sympathy for a bill like this and a change in how they view LGBTQ+ people it's the numerous Queer Ukrainians who have taken up arms themselves or even with their partners in the defense of their homeland, families and friends.

God speed towards a better future, Ukraine! Russia is not the future but the dying breath of an autocratic, repressive past.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

That's direct video evidence that should be playing in Putin's war crime trial someday hopefully. How were the children gotten back to Ukraine though I wonder? Was there some agreement between the two-sides on this issue to return them?

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

https://www.politico.eu/article/putin-says-russia-to-deploy-tactical-nuclear-weapons-in-belarus-reports/

"Putin says Russia to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, state media report"

Couldn't they already station nukes in Kaliningrad if they wanted? So this is really just pointless posturing and is likely to simply stir up Belarusian partisans more than anything and probably even just regular citizens who would prefer to not be a nuclear target.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

Rare Chinese W?

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

https://www.politico.eu/article/putin-says-russia-to-deploy-tactical-nuclear-weapons-in-belarus-reports/

"Putin says Russia to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, state media report"

Couldn't they already station nukes in Kaliningrad if they wanted? So this is really just pointless posturing and is likely to simply stir up Belarusian partisans more than anything and probably even just regular citizens who would prefer to not be a nuclear target.

Also, another point about this, which is that once Russia has nukes stationed in Belarus that Putin, or any future Russian autocrat, will have full cause (in their minds) to intervene against any civil unrest in Belarus in the future because they wouldn't want nukes to fall into the wrong hands, right? And I imagine the installations themselves will receive plenty of military security. No wonder Lukashenko has been so insistent about this.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

https://twitter.com/igorsushko/status/1661090509199405057?s=12
Now Kursk 👀

Commandos of the International Legion passed through the Belgorod region and entered the Kursk region —>

—> Lieutenant General Woody Konashenkow, "The Belgorod region has been completely cleared from the Nazis by our brave soldiers!"

https://twitter.com/DienstJens/status/1661102419005022215?s=20

Based.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

https://twitter.com/AstonishingFMan/status/1672506882164944896?s=20

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1672603822986784768
Reports of organizations of mass protests and a call for peace, and for putin to step down and the restoration of democracy.

Now THIS is what we like to see, albeit my optimism is severely limited.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

Probably the most striking example of European defense initiatives since February 24, 2022 was the signing of a Nordic air defense pact, which commits the Nordic countries to coordinating and combining their air forces (sans Iceland which doesn't have an air force):

https://twitter.com/PhillipsPOBrien/status/1673386765564911623?s=20

Honestly, I much prefer things like this. Europeans should take the lead on European security.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

Rest of tweet:

"(ii) Make a promise to accept Ukraine to NATO when the war is over, avoiding the costs of (i) yet sending Putin a signal that continuing the war keeps Ukraine out of NATO.

Biden has a strong support from the US people on two things: First, no US troops on the ground in Ukraine. Second, support to Ukraine until it wins the war. The first is essential to have the second: if Americans would feel that the US might be drawn in actual conflict, this might jeopardize their robust support for helping Ukraine. I think that this is what made (ii) the preferred choice for Biden."

https://twitter.com/k_sonin/status/1679148541002874880?s=20

Honestly, this article is a continuation of the reasons why I've generally tended to give Biden a B or even A on foreign policy, even while I've been fairly disappointed on almost all things domestic. The cluster bomb fiasco is a big screw up imo, but I will continue to applaud Biden for drawing a clear line when it comes to a direct conflict involving American troops or assets and reigning in Warhawks.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

Is it a "big progress"?))))

There would be a progress if the local Russians managed to understand the Western culture of tolerance, as some of the Moscow youth did. It is strange that a communist upbringing has produced far-right xenophobes, while right-wing capitalist countries follow the values of the real left.

Press X to doubt, though you may be talking about social liberalism but that's definitely not 'the real left'.

Not to distract from other far more important issues in this thread, carry on.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

Is it a "big progress"?))))

There would be a progress if the local Russians managed to understand the Western culture of tolerance, as some of the Moscow youth did. It is strange that a communist upbringing has produced far-right xenophobes, while right-wing capitalist countries follow the values of the real left.

Press X to doubt, though you may be talking about social liberalism but that's definitely not 'the real left'.

Not to distract from other far more important issues in this thread, carry on.

I mean progressivism, secularism, internationalism, emancipation, freedom, social guarantees and protections, reducing the social gap, caring for discriminated groups, political consciousness of citizens, and so on, these are originally the values of the left and they are typical of the modern West. While supposedly leftist Marxists eventually switched to reactionism, revanchism, militarism, ultranationalism, racism, imperialism, ethnic genocide, traditionalism, religious obscurantism, return to the philosophy of the Middle Ages, unprecedented totalitarianism, isolationism, destruction of social elevators, destruction of the minds of citizens, they even fight Greenpeace, and all these things are actually 180 degrees opposite to the left concept.

Lmao. Not touching this with a ten-foot pole. Definitely didn't mean to hit any sore spots Oleg.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

Is it a "big progress"?))))

There would be a progress if the local Russians managed to understand the Western culture of tolerance, as some of the Moscow youth did. It is strange that a communist upbringing has produced far-right xenophobes, while right-wing capitalist countries follow the values of the real left.

Press X to doubt, though you may be talking about social liberalism but that's definitely not 'the real left'.

Not to distract from other far more important issues in this thread, carry on.

I mean progressivism, secularism, internationalism, emancipation, freedom, social guarantees and protections, reducing the social gap, caring for discriminated groups, political consciousness of citizens, and so on, these are originally the values of the left and they are typical of the modern West. While supposedly leftist Marxists eventually switched to reactionism, revanchism, militarism, ultranationalism, racism, imperialism, ethnic genocide, traditionalism, religious obscurantism, return to the philosophy of the Middle Ages, unprecedented totalitarianism, isolationism, destruction of social elevators, destruction of the minds of citizens, they even fight Greenpeace, and all these things are actually 180 degrees opposite to the left concept.

Lmao. Not touching this with a ten-foot pole. Definitely didn't mean to hit any sore spots Oleg.

It's obviously useless to poke a Marxist's nose into his sh**, with his doublethink he will blame others for this sh** or just laugh it off in the style of a Fallout character with INT = 1.

I am not a Marxist, nor am I a revanchist, a militarist, an ultranationalist or any of the 100 other horrible things you just listed, many of which directly contradict each other. But w/e.

I wasn't trying to insult you. I was simply pointing out that while you may be talking about social liberalism, an open society, tolerance, etc... Those things aren't necessarily representative and all encompassing of 'the real left'... But obviously that isn't a hugely important discussion for this thread, so...You're free to have whatever ideas you want about ideology.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

If it’s any consolation NOVA I really enjoy your summary posts, I normally don’t reply because I don’t really have anything to say on them other than “I agree”

Seconding this, I don't comment much these days but FWIW I also lurk and very much have appreciated all your contributions NOVA.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

https://twitter.com/ChudsOfTikTok/status/1702820291154505797?s=20

Holy sh!t, one can only assume this is only the beginning of situations like this among Russian soldiers who return from the war with little support but plentiful vodka.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

What is this?

https://twitter.com/EvgeniaKovda/status/1703900673224388940

Putin Youth.

This kind of brainwashing wasn't going on 10 years ago, certainly not to this level, genuinely disturbing.

[No War, but the War on Christmas]

"In #Russia, in a curious twist, satire became reality.

Russia's equivalent to @TheOnion in the US, satirical media outlet IA Panorama
@ia_panorama published a "satirical report" about "LGBT movement being banned" in February 2023.

In November 2023 this became real news."

https://twitter.com/AlexKokcharov/status/1725517511683178911?s=20

I'm sure Glenn Greenwald and other leftists will find a way to rationalize this.

Not anymore a leftist than Jimmy Dore or Russell Brand are these days.