Russia-Ukraine war and related tensions Megathread

[Person Man]

I think it quite plausible that Trump would have prevented an invasion of Ukraine. How? By making it clear he would not support Ukraine, which in turn might have led to a palace coup in Kiev, and a Putin puppet being installed. So there would be no need to invade. Ukraine would become the son of Belarus.

Any more questions?

So basically the “war” would still happen.

[Person Man]

This thread has reached page number 666. Just sayin'.

Pick up sticks!

[Person Man]

It is more important for Ukraine to prevent Russia from withdrawing the nearly 30,000 troops it has in and around Kherson through cutting off Russian access to the Dnieper than it is to recapture the city itself.  The loss of such a large contingent of (relatively) better trained and equipped troops through encirclement (and eventual mass surrender) would be a bigger blow to Russia than the loss of Kherson:

Ukraine poised for crucial blow to Putin in battle for Kherson

It is not clear all of those troops are on the left bank of the Dnieper. More importantly, Ukraine faces a real dilemma here as it is trying to save its land and people, not simply own the Russians. If it continues to besiege, or outright assault, a city full of trapped Russians, it will gain the following:

- Better chance of neutralising the troops you mentioned
- Probably more opportunities to capture equipment
- Better chance of preventing kidnappings of civilians in Kherson

It will lose:

- Opportunities to take advantage of fleeing Russians with easier escape routes (the Kharkiv morale breakdown)
- The avoidance of urban warfare as an attacker

This latter disadvantage is huge. Urban warfare is a bloody slog which may not work, will kill more civilians, exacerbate rebuilding costs in the aftermath of a successful campaign, and potentially provide Russia with good PR (because the attacker in urban warfare is rarely able to cover themselves in glory).

As I said before - there are no easy answers for Ukraine here. If Russia tries to evacuate men, materiel, collaborators and kidnapped civilians, they’ll have to choose between hurting all of those groups and the city itself or securing the land in a less defiled state but with fewer people saved/stopped.

At the end of the day, Ukraine needs to take as much territory as it can before things start settling down for the Winter. If this is going to be a long war (and it's pretty clear now that it will be at least a medium-length one), actual control over territory becomes paramount. Any territory Russia is able to hold onto for months and years is an area where the tentacles of its authoritarian dystopia can reach and refashion in its own image. Continued administrative control from Russia will go hand in hand with the ethnic cleansing of Ukrainians and the establishment of mechanisms of social control. Yes, civilians will die if Ukraine attacks, but if Ukraine doesn't take back those places, the entire communities living there will die.

This is literally a Life or Death struggle. What would we be saying in 1942?

[Person Man]

nice

https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1583404163870097410?s=20&t=l7EJ-R...

A mass surrender would be kind of funny. They are just lucky this isn’t a war against Hannibal.

[Person Man]

Meanhile: "Live From Bakhmut" courtesy of WaPo

The crash and roar of artillery rarely stops in this east Ukrainian city. In the cold and broken houses, residents huddle by candlelight and pray that they have safety in numbers. On the battlefield, soldiers on both sides are dying in droves.

After a disorderly Russian retreat from nearby Izyum, the battle for Bakhmut is no longer part of any coordinated military operation. Instead, Prigozhin is pouring waves of mercenaries from Wagner into battle, appearing to see political advantage in capturing Bakhmut as a military trophy while President Vladimir Putin’s regular forces are on the back foot elsewhere.

Outgunned and outnumbered, exhausted Ukrainian troops are relying on nimbler tactics to withstand the brutal battle, monitoring enemy lines with civilian drones as newly recruited engineers experiment with customized weapons from pop-up laboratories in abandoned buildings nearby.

Across four locations in the Bakhmut area, Ukrainian soldiers described how Wagner troops at times appear to have been used almost as cannon fodder. “They’re treating them like single-use soldiers,” said Volodymyr, 24, the commander of a self-propelled artillery unit, as he waited on spotters to call in a new target. Usually it was infantry, he said.

From the 93rd Brigade’s position, drone operators have seen the mercenaries stumble over the bodies of fallen comrades as they advance.

A Russian reporter who filmed Wagner’s front-line positions near Bakhmut late last month reported that Prigozhin’s son was fighting there, and interviewed him, without identifying him by name.

Ukraine’s casualties are also heavy. Ambulances shuttled back and forth between the Ukrainian firing positions last week, apparently carrying wounded men from the front line.

The day before, they said, another company had been surrounded by Russian forces, and fired upon. “There weren’t even pieces of them left,” said one of the soldiers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of describing Ukrainian casualties.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/10/22/bakhmut-russia-ukraine-wagner-war/

I'm amused by the allegations that the Wagner Group is being used as "Canon Fodder" juxtaposed with with the last two quotes about how 1) Ukraine Suffered Heavy Losses throughout the week; and 2) a Company was completely annihilated after Russians surrounded them.  It's no secret that the Russians are obliterating companies, platoons, and Battalions of Ukrainian Troops from the Kherson, Kharkiv, and Bakhmut direction, because Russian Reporters and Military Personnel have released the footage.  I've seen hundreds of videos with Ukrainian armored vehicles and dead bodies littered along an offensive line.  The most important takeaway from the WAPO's 'anonymous source' is that Ukraine is lying about its casualties, and Soldiers will be punished if they share accurate information or depictions about the grim situation on the ground.  The same fate has already befallen the brigades attacking from the Kharkiv Direction, as reports already indicate that they're line rolled over the last several days of fighting. UAF retreated to positions on the Western Bank of the Zherebets River, while defeated/destroyed groups are preparing for an assault on Lyman.

The Ukrainians have good reason to be worried about an assault from the Belgorod Direction, because their Troops would be trapped between the Zherebets, Oskill, and Siversky-Donetsk Rivers.   I can see from the Ukrainian Map that the Russians are trying to roll up their forces near Kup'yansk. Meanwhile, the Russian drone and missile assault on Ukrainian Energy Infrastructure will create disarray for the coordination of troops and supplies.  I think 60% of the Ukraine is currently in the dark, so I have to imagine the Russians are going to make a big move soon.
https://liveuamap.com/

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ffpa6UnXgAEd7QE?format=jpg&name=medium
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ffpa5OWXoAAuZbW?format=jpg&name=medium

What exactly are you attempting to express with that picture?  That guy is irrelevant and boring.  The evidence of casualties suffered on the Ukrainian side is posted on the MilitaryZ Channel located on Rumble, and reports from the Russian front can be found on the Rybar Telegram Channel.  I've been able to confirm Russian Journalist and Military Reports via video.   
https://rumble.com/v1p38zx-10.22.2022-chronicle-of-military-operations-russia-ukraine.html
https://rumble.com/v1p38z3-10.22.2022-chronicle-of-military-operations-russia-ukraine.html

Russian parrots repeat the same lines over and over again but the front lines does not lie. Russians have made almost no progress in the last 3 months. They've been screaming endlessly about Bakhmut and yet all they have managed to accomplish is capture a few hundred meters of no man's land. And don't come at me with ZOMG CASUALTIES stuff. For every Ukrainian dead I can easily find 10 gore videos of Russian dead being eaten pigs and stray dogs. This is war and people die.

Anyone who has videos of a knifing, gibbing, headshot, multikill (I think BRTD shared a good multi kill),  or of someone “camping” or pwning a camper, let me know.

[Person Man]

Borat was pretty good, but Lukashenko is way better

https://twitter.com/yasminalombaert/status/1583896051358269440

if Putin falls from power somehow, that's just asking for a Borat meme to be made with him and Lukashenko, with Lukashenko being Borat of course.

What’s his take on Gypsy tears and AIDS?

[Person Man]

I'm sure a crowdfunding campaign would be able to fund a replacement statue and bust. Then again, I doubt Ukraine would replace statues of Russian war heroes.

Hopefully this means the Russians are actually leaving Kherson.

Edit: The telegram post mentions "evacuating" the remains of Grigory Potemkin. It turns out Potemkin's tomb is indeed in Kherson at Saint Catherine's Cathedral

https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1584307220564439040?s=20&t=4qeDcN...

It is becoming patently clear that Russian actions in Ukraine are increasingly fitting into a deliberate pattern of Genocide.

Russia's latest invasion and occupations of Ukraine, and all of the actions conducted during their latest War Against Ukraine 2.0, appear to be clearly designed to eliminate Ukraine, not only as a sovereign nation, but also to eliminate their very identity as well, from forcing children in their occupied areas to speak Russian, forced relocation of populations, practicing ruthless torture, rape, and murder for those who oppose their rule.

"De-Nazification" of Ukraine in reality is a propaganda smokescreen so that ordinary Russians, not to mention Russian soldiers can justify their brutality, while the reality is the very elimination of Ukrainian cultural identity and being completed absorbed / assimilated into the "Russian Cultural Identity".

This is for real, and all free peoples, and free-minded peoples throughout the world need to recognize this is exactly what "Mother Russia" is attempting and actually performing.

Omg, epic fail. Suvorov, Potemkin, and Ushakov are all Russians who served Imperial Russia lol.

Update:

https://twitter.com/MaksymPolyakov/status/1584461221046390786?s=20&t=eLgxuH5...

They are probably trying to prevent what the Vandals did in 455 to Rome. The stealing the minorah from the temple. Once Ukraine falls, they will lose those symbols forever.

[Person Man]

https://twitter.com/EliotHiggins/status/1584607815968395264

In a just world all these people would be sent to the Hague

In a just world, they would be studied.

[Person Man]

I'm sure a crowdfunding campaign would be able to fund a replacement statue and bust. Then again, I doubt Ukraine would replace statues of Russian war heroes.

Hopefully this means the Russians are actually leaving Kherson.

Edit: The telegram post mentions "evacuating" the remains of Grigory Potemkin. It turns out Potemkin's tomb is indeed in Kherson at Saint Catherine's Cathedral

https://twitter.com/bayraktar_1love/status/1584307220564439040?s=20&t=4qeDcN...

It is becoming patently clear that Russian actions in Ukraine are increasingly fitting into a deliberate pattern of Genocide.

Russia's latest invasion and occupations of Ukraine, and all of the actions conducted during their latest War Against Ukraine 2.0, appear to be clearly designed to eliminate Ukraine, not only as a sovereign nation, but also to eliminate their very identity as well, from forcing children in their occupied areas to speak Russian, forced relocation of populations, practicing ruthless torture, rape, and murder for those who oppose their rule.

"De-Nazification" of Ukraine in reality is a propaganda smokescreen so that ordinary Russians, not to mention Russian soldiers can justify their brutality, while the reality is the very elimination of Ukrainian cultural identity and being completed absorbed / assimilated into the "Russian Cultural Identity".

This is for real, and all free peoples, and free-minded peoples throughout the world need to recognize this is exactly what "Mother Russia" is attempting and actually performing.

Omg, epic fail. Suvorov, Potemkin, and Ushakov are all Russians who served Imperial Russia lol.

Update:

https://twitter.com/MaksymPolyakov/status/1584461221046390786?s=20&t=eLgxuH5...

They are probably trying to prevent what the Vandals did in 455 to Rome. The stealing the minorah from the temple. Once Ukraine falls, they will lose those symbols forever.

But what's the motivation for looting the valuables from the puppet theater?

Trust me. Knowing them, it could be for many many reasons. Some of them are less safe for work than others.

[Person Man]

Russia moving close to passing their version of "don't say gay" bill...

In this case looks like obviously it targets "gay porn", but from the little snippet below might be so open ended to allow gvt shutdowns on LGBTQ print media as well?

Any insights from Atlas Hive on what this actually means for the LGBTQ+ Community in Russia?

The State Duma "unanimously" adopted in the first reading two bills on "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations." This was reported by the press service of the lower house.

The first project involves fines of up to 10 million rubles and expulsion from the country for foreigners for "disseminating" or "imposing" information "aimed at forming non-traditional sexual attitudes" or "arousing interest in such relationships."

With the second bill, the deputies decided to prescribe the inadmissibility of "materials promoting non-traditional sexual relations" in the legislation regulating advertising, cinema and the work of the media. They also proposed using a special "code" to give adults access to content with "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" on paid streaming services.

https://zona.media/news/2022/10/27/prpgnd

Could “non-traditional sexual attitudes” be interpreted to mean things like interracial marriage/dating?

[Person Man]

Shoigu announces completion of partial mobilization, goal of 300,000 has been reached.

218,000 are currently at training grounds and 82,000 are in Ukraine.

https://twitter.com/Shahryar_Sultan/status/1586035738684030978

❗️Shoigu announced the completion of partial mobilization in Russia - the main statement from the report of the Minister of Defense to the President of the Russian Federation

- the task of partially mobilizing 300,000 people has been completed, the military registration and enlistment offices will continue recruiting volunteers and candidates for contract service;

- the average age of those called up as part of partial mobilization is 35 years;

- 13,000 Russians went to the troops as volunteers, without waiting for summons from the military registration and enlistment offices;

- 218,000 mobilized are at the training grounds and are undergoing training and combat coordination, 82,000 people are currently in the SMO zone, of which 41,000 are operating as part of units

https://twitter.com/KevinRothrock/status/1586008282098855937?s=20&t=huHIV4TH...

When does the liquidation odometer roll over to 70000?

[Person Man]

https://twitter.com/CasualArtyFan/status/1585678376462843907?s=20&t=huHIV4THhaF6FMNMxBvQhw
https://twitter.com/CasualArtyFan/status/1585678389289041920?s=20&t=huHIV4THhaF6FMNMxBvQhw

"Joined in 2016 to defend her homeland from Russian aggression"

Oh, by shelling Donetsk then?

A city held by rebels that have illegally seceded and threaten the territorial integrity of your homeland is a perfectly legitimate target. Union soldiers shelling Atlanta in 1864 were also defending their homeland.

SB still hasn’t changed his mind and thinks those union artillery men and this history teacher are the same.

[Person Man]

Russian propaganda channels continue to spew racist stereotypes against "Black People" from earlier today...

I'm not sure about the purpose of this racism: are they admitting that "black people" are smarter and tougher warriors than the glorious, invincible Russian army?

Not quite sure why Russia has increasingly become a "Black Intolerant" country, especially considering the legacy of the Soviet Union, where it was not uncommon at all for members from "Sister Socialist Countries", to be able to easily obtain things like work, residency, and educational visas not that long ago.

I believe this phenomenon of racism against Black folks actually goes back towards the final years of the Soviet Union.

https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/688835?journalCode=jmh

Still it appears to have dramatically increased under the reign of V. Putin...

https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/294642973

Basically, Russia has increasingly become a country where ethnic stereotypes and racism have exploded in the past couple decades, accentuated by the collapse of the Soviet Union, and migration of people from the former Soviet Republics, who are still effectively 2nd class citizens.

Fascists are racists. Why is this hard? Some people probably are too stupid to find Putin’s ass let alone kiss it.

[Person Man]

Here is a really good thread using geo-location from the multiple video sources available on the attacks on Russian Naval vessels in the Sevastopol Port area...

I believe there are still some debates among the gurus as to if the Admiral Makarov was the frigate in question...

Still regardless of the conclusions, it is really worth checking this thread out.

I'll just post a link to one of the twitter posts on the thread, and then I believe you will need to navigate to the main page to see all of the (31) back to back posts from the thread author...

https://twitter.com/GeoConfirmed/status/1586460379697348608?s=20&t=p2bQ7Nddx...

It was God again.

[Person Man]

Major strikes today across the country

https://twitter.com/USATODAY/status/1587079098999767040
https://twitter.com/am_misfit/status/1586967292902080513
https://twitter.com/SprinterMonitor/status/1587004276437651456
https://twitter.com/Faytuks/status/1586984333272928257
https://twitter.com/Hromadske/status/1587032885785030656
https://twitter.com/Russiaconflict/status/1586982775856431107

Dead people don’t need power or water. By that, I’m referencing the results of a potential Ukrainian defeat. They’re all gonna die if they don’t pull through.

[Person Man]

I mean, what would be another reason? They forgot to raise the flag? It's a propaganda stunt intended to make the Ukrainians think they're leaving, when they actually aren't?

https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1588163963602223105?s=20&t=3IIizPjS...

That just make them look like whiny little bitches. Why can’t they lose like a man?

[Person Man]

Orban went from a young firebrand crying "Ruszkik haza!" to a pathetic worm who won't even name the murderers of 1956.
https://twitter.com/PM_ViktorOrban/status/1588575732548001794

Cuck

[Person Man]

https://twitter.com/200_zoka/status/1589981361108299777

I can't wait for Hump or Dennis to climb back into bed with Islamists in 2025. Fool us once, shame on us... fool us twice... well, uh..., we won't be fooled again @:)

[Person Man]

More videos from Kherson

https://twitter.com/RealJoeStyx/status/1591750763398959104

Oh no, won’t someone please think of the poor Russian collaborators 😢

Theyre the real victims

Between this and the congressional results I’m amazed you haven’t overdosed on pure cope yet.

I mean, they should be questioned for intelligence, put on trial, and either be asked to leave or be committed to prison. Maybe because this could be related to genocide, the death penalty would ideally be an option (it’s not). There should still be due process.

[Person Man]

Woodbury is in pure cope and seethe mode I see lol

Patriots have been in control throughout the world this week. I don't blame him.

[Person Man]

Aren't there likely many explosives and ammunitions in the area? I'd say everyone chills until more details come out.

And I say this as someone who believes we should respond firmly and ferociously if it is confirmed that the Ruskies actually did bomb NATO territory.

I’d be OK with sending in some advisors. That would be an adequate response.

There has to be something different. Then again, there’s about a 5% chance that Christmas will be a bit unconventional this year.

[Person Man]

https://mobile.twitter.com/SamRamani2/status/1592610774668939264?cxt=HHwWgMDQmfj...
“Perfidious Albion strikes again”

Why does this give us the opposite impression of what happened?

[Person Man]

So NATO has to declare war on Ukraine now?

hell yeah!!!

let's roll!

time for NATO to kick some commie ass!

Christmas will be interesting.

[Person Man]

Basically just Ice Age Mexico.

[Person Man]

Satellite images show close to two dozen long-range bombers and cruise missiles being prepared for combat at the Engels-Two airfield, near Saratov Oblast in Russia. Ukraine military officials assume they will be used to increase strikes on ground targets

They have some balls to roll out the long range 4 engine bombers.