Russia-Ukraine war and related tensions Megathread

[Middle-aged Europe]

Historic speech by Olaf Scholz. Germany completely changes its defense policy. It sounded like he would invest 100 billion EURO right here and now in military equipment and from now on spend at least 2% of GDP yearly on defense. This will furthermore have a ripple effect in that other NATO countries - like my own - have been hiding behind Germany in not spending the 2%. That will almost certainly change now.

This could actually be a real turning point. It could also signal a new world order where democratic Europe rises from the pathetic depence on the United States.

lol okay so even Die Linke applauded Scholz's announcement. DIE LINKE. They also admitted openly in their parliamentary speech that they never expected Russia to do this, and how they were wrong on Russia. Putin has so catastrophically f**ked up.

Also, just to add some more details to this announcement:

- the annual defense budget will be increased to 2% of GDP, or approximately an additional 22 billion EUR per year, by 2024
- 100 billion EUR to be invested in R&D, equipment, ammunition, upgrades etc. mostly to ensure that the effect of the budget does no longer translate to obsolete gear.
- to put this into perspective, the Bundeswehr in 2021 budgeted 10 billion on equipment procurement and R&D, with a total budget of 47 billion
- NordStream 2 is dead
- Germany will directly arm Ukraine
- European military production will be invested in, in order to become more independent. Heavy cooperation with France is expected
- investing in LNG shipping terminals to diversify away from Russian gas

God bless twitter:
https://twitter.com/mi_stad/status/1498045611454742543?s=20&t=gGUubFljn1uowS...

Curious thing, Olaf Scholz has been Chancellor for less than three months and up until now he was considered a bit of a political leightweight compared to Angela Merkel. And suddenly he has entered German history books this weekend. But like in Zelenskyy's case it was kind of thrust upon him.

[It’s so Joever]

Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove on a no-fly zone. He supports it, but finds it unlikely to happen. Breedlove was Supreme Allied Commander Europe 2013-2016.

https://twitter.com/ak_mack/status/1498081883149807621

Wouldn’t an NFZ mean conventional fighting between NATO and Russian forces?
I want to do everything for Ukraine, but the risk of nuclear escalation from that is too great.

I’m open to calling the nuclear bluff.

Bruh:

https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1498065915665022983

What is the worst he will do, nuke DC? GO ahead Putin, do your worst!

[It’s so Joever]

American intel has been absolutely elite so far in this war, I trust them to know exactly what's going on in Russia and know which buttons we need to press to end the war and (hopefully) get Putin fragged.

Our foreign policy and intelligence apparatus has had its best year in decades.

After one of its worst tbf.

[WMS]

161 pages, 30 of them by NOVA Green.

But why do you have me wearing a woman's wedding ring?

I provided the ORIGINAL Pornhub quote and then you waltz along behind me today and claiming like it is "new news"   

Just for you will quote your earlier post

Okay, perhaps a bit petty and forgot to mention it when I first saw the article yesterday, but Pornhub has now blocked their content from Russian Users....

https://groundreport.in/pornhub-ban-russia-sanctions-no-one-is-talking-about/

Now--- Pornhub and Russia have exchanged beef before, going way back to 2016 and 2017

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/pornhub-youporn-russia-blocked-premium-vladimir-putin-meet-people-in-real-life-a7308391.html

https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2017/07/12/russians-told-to-log-in-to-pornhub-using-verified-social-media-accounts/

https://www.vox.com/2017/6/2/15726082/russia-putin-navalny-pornhub

Meanwhile, you stole my Pornhub and made it your own...

Sanctions just got real for the Russians.

Haven’t seen these yet here:

https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1497288086622978048?s=21

Nope, beat you both…heh

[It’s so Joever]

Ret. Gen. Wesley Clark just told CNN that there'll inevitably be a point where Biden will reconsider America's "no military intervention" position, which makes sense: Russia has generally been using significantly less artillery than would typically accompany their operations, but heavy artillery barrages will result in thousands upon thousands of civilian casualties, so if Putin becomes desperate enough & gets to that point, then the U.S. will likely be forced to start weighing intervention.

YES JOE DO IT LETS SHOW THEM NOT TO TOUCH UKRAINE AGAIN

[The Free North]

Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove on a no-fly zone. He supports it, but finds it unlikely to happen. Breedlove was Supreme Allied Commander Europe 2013-2016.

https://twitter.com/ak_mack/status/1498081883149807621

Wouldn’t an NFZ mean conventional fighting between NATO and Russian forces?
I want to do everything for Ukraine, but the risk of nuclear escalation from that is too great.

I’m open to calling the nuclear bluff.

Bruh:

https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1498065915665022983

What is the worst he will do, nuke DC? GO ahead Putin, do your worst!

Uhh? Literally start a nuclear holocaust? That he doesn't care about? Because he's going to die soon anyways and no longer gives a you know what about his country anyways.

[Person Man]

Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove on a no-fly zone. He supports it, but finds it unlikely to happen. Breedlove was Supreme Allied Commander Europe 2013-2016.

https://twitter.com/ak_mack/status/1498081883149807621

Wouldn’t an NFZ mean conventional fighting between NATO and Russian forces?
I want to do everything for Ukraine, but the risk of nuclear escalation from that is too great.

I’m open to calling the nuclear bluff.

Bruh:

https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1498065915665022983

What is the worst he will do, nuke DC? GO ahead Putin, do your worst!

Uhh? Literally start a nuclear holocaust? That he doesn't care about? Because he's going to die soon anyways and no longer gives a you know what about his country anyways.

Do you honestly think he will? It’s really looking like the only reason this is happening is because he’s threatening everyone with them. Thankfully, at least the Europeans are calling his bluff.

[Vespucci]

Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove on a no-fly zone. He supports it, but finds it unlikely to happen. Breedlove was Supreme Allied Commander Europe 2013-2016.

https://twitter.com/ak_mack/status/1498081883149807621

Wouldn’t an NFZ mean conventional fighting between NATO and Russian forces?
I want to do everything for Ukraine, but the risk of nuclear escalation from that is too great.

I’m open to calling the nuclear bluff.

Bruh:

https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1498065915665022983

What is the worst he will do, nuke DC? GO ahead Putin, do your worst!

i'd prefer to not die thanks

[John Dule]

What is the worst he will do, nuke DC? GO ahead Putin, do your worst!

please wait a week before saying this

[Splash]

Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove on a no-fly zone. He supports it, but finds it unlikely to happen. Breedlove was Supreme Allied Commander Europe 2013-2016.

https://twitter.com/ak_mack/status/1498081883149807621

Wouldn’t an NFZ mean conventional fighting between NATO and Russian forces?
I want to do everything for Ukraine, but the risk of nuclear escalation from that is too great.

I’m open to calling the nuclear bluff.

Bruh:

https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1498065915665022983

What is the worst he will do, nuke DC? GO ahead Putin, do your worst!

That might inconvenience those of us who live in DC, don't you think?  

[It’s so Joever]

Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove on a no-fly zone. He supports it, but finds it unlikely to happen. Breedlove was Supreme Allied Commander Europe 2013-2016.

https://twitter.com/ak_mack/status/1498081883149807621

Wouldn’t an NFZ mean conventional fighting between NATO and Russian forces?
I want to do everything for Ukraine, but the risk of nuclear escalation from that is too great.

I’m open to calling the nuclear bluff.

Bruh:

https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1498065915665022983

What is the worst he will do, nuke DC? GO ahead Putin, do your worst!

i'd prefer to not die thanks

He wouldn't dare, and even if he did, at least it would be quick (unless you are one of those poor saps in the suburbs but they suck anyways so idc)

[It’s so Joever]

Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove on a no-fly zone. He supports it, but finds it unlikely to happen. Breedlove was Supreme Allied Commander Europe 2013-2016.

https://twitter.com/ak_mack/status/1498081883149807621

Wouldn’t an NFZ mean conventional fighting between NATO and Russian forces?
I want to do everything for Ukraine, but the risk of nuclear escalation from that is too great.

I’m open to calling the nuclear bluff.

Bruh:

https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1498065915665022983

What is the worst he will do, nuke DC? GO ahead Putin, do your worst!

That might inconvenience those of us who live in DC, don't you think?  

I'm in DC too ya know lmao

[2016]

"Democracy" at work, isn't it beautiful?: https://twitter.com/BNONews/status/1498084587611865090?s=20&t=RKW6Z2mN0hYjFQ...

The Stakes have just been massivly raised on the Peace Talks tomorrow with this! I have no doubt if Poland or any of the 3 NATO Baltic States install Missiles with Nukes on their border Belarus President Lukashenko will ask Putin for the Nukes they gave to Russia in 1991 after the former Soviet Republic fell.

[Person Man]

Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove on a no-fly zone. He supports it, but finds it unlikely to happen. Breedlove was Supreme Allied Commander Europe 2013-2016.

https://twitter.com/ak_mack/status/1498081883149807621

Wouldn’t an NFZ mean conventional fighting between NATO and Russian forces?
I want to do everything for Ukraine, but the risk of nuclear escalation from that is too great.

I’m open to calling the nuclear bluff.

Bruh:

https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1498065915665022983

What is the worst he will do, nuke DC? GO ahead Putin, do your worst!

That might inconvenience those of us who live in DC, don't you think?  

I'm in DC too ya know lmao

I wonder what I’ll see from Henrico county.

[It’s so Joever]

Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove on a no-fly zone. He supports it, but finds it unlikely to happen. Breedlove was Supreme Allied Commander Europe 2013-2016.

https://twitter.com/ak_mack/status/1498081883149807621

Wouldn’t an NFZ mean conventional fighting between NATO and Russian forces?
I want to do everything for Ukraine, but the risk of nuclear escalation from that is too great.

I’m open to calling the nuclear bluff.

Bruh:

https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1498065915665022983

What is the worst he will do, nuke DC? GO ahead Putin, do your worst!

Uhh? Literally start a nuclear holocaust? That he doesn't care about? Because he's going to die soon anyways and no longer gives a you know what about his country anyways.

Do you honestly think he will? It’s really looking like the only reason this is happening is because he’s threatening everyone with them. Thankfully, at least the Europeans are calling his bluff.

Obviously not, I joke about it, but in all seriousness he would be unironically couped if he actually tried. I really think people are overestimating the probability of the event.

[Buffalo Mayor Young Kim]

Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove on a no-fly zone. He supports it, but finds it unlikely to happen. Breedlove was Supreme Allied Commander Europe 2013-2016.

https://twitter.com/ak_mack/status/1498081883149807621

Wouldn’t an NFZ mean conventional fighting between NATO and Russian forces?
I want to do everything for Ukraine, but the risk of nuclear escalation from that is too great.

I’m open to calling the nuclear bluff.

Bruh:

https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1498065915665022983

What is the worst he will do, nuke DC? GO ahead Putin, do your worst!

Uhh? Literally start a nuclear holocaust? That he doesn't care about? Because he's going to die soon anyways and no longer gives a you know what about his country anyways.

Do you honestly think he will?

In a conventional hot war with NATO, almost certainly.

Modern Western style armies, when moving into contested areas, have to conduct aerial advanced strikes well into enemy held territory to protect themselves from long range missile and artillery fire. Those deep strikes would look indistinguishable from operations to blind Russia in advance of a nuclear first strike. That is why you never, ever allow two nuclear armies to start shooting at each other.

With respect to Gen. Clark, he did almost kick off WWIII in Bosnia way back.

[Storr]

Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove on a no-fly zone. He supports it, but finds it unlikely to happen. Breedlove was Supreme Allied Commander Europe 2013-2016.

https://twitter.com/ak_mack/status/1498081883149807621

Wouldn’t an NFZ mean conventional fighting between NATO and Russian forces?
I want to do everything for Ukraine, but the risk of nuclear escalation from that is too great.

I’m open to calling the nuclear bluff.

Bruh:

https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1498065915665022983

What is the worst he will do, nuke DC? GO ahead Putin, do your worst!

That might inconvenience those of us who live in DC, don't you think?  

I'm in DC too ya know lmao

I wonder what I’ll see from Henrico county.

"Aurora Borealis? At this time of year? At this time of day? In this part of the country? Localized entirely within your kitchen?"

[Splash]

Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove on a no-fly zone. He supports it, but finds it unlikely to happen. Breedlove was Supreme Allied Commander Europe 2013-2016.

https://twitter.com/ak_mack/status/1498081883149807621

Wouldn’t an NFZ mean conventional fighting between NATO and Russian forces?
I want to do everything for Ukraine, but the risk of nuclear escalation from that is too great.

I’m open to calling the nuclear bluff.

Bruh:

https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1498065915665022983

What is the worst he will do, nuke DC? GO ahead Putin, do your worst!

That might inconvenience those of us who live in DC, don't you think?  

I'm in DC too ya know lmao

Great. Then feel free to simply take a nighttime stroll in the 7th or 8th Ward if you have a death wish (and leave the rest of us out of it).  

[It’s so Joever]

Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove on a no-fly zone. He supports it, but finds it unlikely to happen. Breedlove was Supreme Allied Commander Europe 2013-2016.

https://twitter.com/ak_mack/status/1498081883149807621

Wouldn’t an NFZ mean conventional fighting between NATO and Russian forces?
I want to do everything for Ukraine, but the risk of nuclear escalation from that is too great.

I’m open to calling the nuclear bluff.

Bruh:

https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1498065915665022983

What is the worst he will do, nuke DC? GO ahead Putin, do your worst!

Uhh? Literally start a nuclear holocaust? That he doesn't care about? Because he's going to die soon anyways and no longer gives a you know what about his country anyways.

Do you honestly think he will?

In a conventional hot war with NATO, almost certainly.

Modern Western style armies, when moving into contested areas, have to conduct aerial advanced strikes well into enemy held territory to protect themselves from long range missile and artillery fire. Those deep strikes would look indistinguishable from operations to blind Russia in advance of a nuclear first strike. That is why you never, ever allow two nuclear armies to start shooting at each other.

With respect to Gen. Clark, he did almost kick off WWIII in Bosnia way back.

Right...because Russian generals totally don't know this.

[Tekken_Guy]

If Putin tried to nuke the US he’d be out of power in hours. Because Russia would be ancient history in 24 hours if he did that.

[Boobs]

What is the point of that "Russia nukes DC" tangent? Take a walk, leave this thread for important updates rather than your own dooming.

[Hammy]

What is the point of that "Russia nukes DC" tangent? Take a walk, leave this thread for important updates rather than your own dooming.

Some people here almost seem to want nuclear armageddon.

[Buffalo Mayor Young Kim]

Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove on a no-fly zone. He supports it, but finds it unlikely to happen. Breedlove was Supreme Allied Commander Europe 2013-2016.

https://twitter.com/ak_mack/status/1498081883149807621

Wouldn’t an NFZ mean conventional fighting between NATO and Russian forces?
I want to do everything for Ukraine, but the risk of nuclear escalation from that is too great.

I’m open to calling the nuclear bluff.

Bruh:

https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1498065915665022983

What is the worst he will do, nuke DC? GO ahead Putin, do your worst!

Uhh? Literally start a nuclear holocaust? That he doesn't care about? Because he's going to die soon anyways and no longer gives a you know what about his country anyways.

Do you honestly think he will?

In a conventional hot war with NATO, almost certainly.

Modern Western style armies, when moving into contested areas, have to conduct aerial advanced strikes well into enemy held territory to protect themselves from long range missile and artillery fire. Those deep strikes would look indistinguishable from operations to blind Russia in advance of a nuclear first strike. That is why you never, ever allow two nuclear armies to start shooting at each other.

With respect to Gen. Clark, he did almost kick off WWIII in Bosnia way back.

Right...because Russian generals totally don't know this.

It’s not a matter of knowing this. It’s a matter of not being able to tell. When you add in the general strategy of intentionally isolating and blinding command and control, which is central to Western doctrine, it’s almost inevitable that one of them decides this is the big one.

Right now, if Putin decided to launch a nuclear strike, better than even odds are that Russian High Command would off him rather than do it. If there were a shooting war with NATO on, they definitely would pull the trigger.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Putin trying to nuke America is absolutely non-believable until proven otherwise.
But if he's losing his mind, then it's quite likely parts of his brain will fancy it.
In any case though, we don't have any evidence whatsoever he's considering it and it should not be treated as plausible.

[NOVA Green]

Meanwhile in rural villages in Central Ukraine, trenches are being dug, Molotov Cocktails are being assembled, and kids are told to stay back in case they accidentally hurt themselves...

(Long article so please check out the full New York Times link).

"Once Sleepy and Picturesque, Ukrainian Villages Mobilize for War

While Russian assaults on Ukrainian cities have drawn most of the attention in the war’s early days, civilians in country towns have joined the fight, putting aside the routines of daily village life.

By Maria Varenikova
Feb. 27, 2022
Updated 5:22 p.m. ET
KHOMUTYNTSI, Ukraine — The villagers appeared as silhouettes in the headlights of cars and trucks, a few carrying guns and others clubs, as if they were gangsters roaming the streets.

They were local men and women formed into self-defense units in the villages of the Vinnytsya region in central Ukraine, which had gone silent and dark when the streetlights switched off. They stood by the roadsides, under a very low sky with bright stars.

“I am so proud of our people,” said Oksana Mudryk, the mayor of Khomutyntsi village, about 140 miles southwest of Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. “Our village is so tiny that I was thinking, ‘Do we even have anybody to patrol the streets?’ I thought maybe three guys at most would come to patrol with me. But in one day after the war started in Kyiv, I have signed up more than 30 people.”

Most of the attention in the first days of the war has focused on Ukraine’s large cities, which are the main targets of Russian troop movements and the scene of pitched street battles and deafening artillery attacks. But out in the countryside, a massive grass-roots movement is underway in villages like Khomutyntsi as ordinary Ukrainians — farmers, shop owners, day laborers, taxi drivers — take up arms to join a battle that has abruptly upended their lives.

The mobilization of civilians to fight against seemingly impossible odds has been one of the distinguishing features of Ukraine’s unexpectedly fierce resistance. And though it may end tragically, Ukrainian officials have been pointing to the effort with pride.

“The Russian leadership does not understand that it is at war not only with the armed forces of Ukraine, but with the entire Ukrainian people,” Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said in a news briefing on Sunday. “And these people have already risen to the liberation struggle, liberation war against occupiers.”

Displays of defiance have been recorded across the country. In eastern Ukraine, where Russian armored columns entered towns and villages, some local residents confronted soldiers with angry words. In northern Ukraine, a man knelt briefly in front of a tank. One Ukrainian woman filmed herself on a cellphone taunting a Russian soldier by telling him to put sunflower seeds in his pocket, so that when he died in Ukraine, flowers would grow.

In Khomutyntsi, the big meadow that stretches along the Postolova River is normally a place of leisure. Villagers fish in the river year-round and swim there in the summer. But this weekend the whole village gathered in the meadow to build trenches, a checkpoint and underground shelters.

Ms. Mudryk drove her car Saturday night to check on her volunteers. She does this several times each night, as patrols keep guard on the roadsides from dusk to dawn.

Why would the Russian army come to Khomutyntsi, a cluster of one-story, white-plastered homes, garden plots and dirt roads, with about 400 residents, surrounded by forests and fields? It might seem unlikely. But if Russian troops did arrive, they would not go unnoticed by local people on the watch.

“I am crying so much as it is very difficult to get used to our new reality,” Ms. Mudryk said. “But I bow my head in honor to our people. Today, we were asked to bring some help with food to soldiers. In two hours, we loaded a full van of food, just from our village.”

There is bravery, but there is also great fear. Standing on the road in the dark, the mayor pointed at a star in the sky that seemed to be behaving strangely, worried it might be a Russian drone over the village.

Serhiy Osavoliuk, who signed up for patrol duty, said his wife soon followed suit. “My wife, probably thinking of controlling me, signed up as well,” he said. “Now we patrol together.” The pair walk about with flashlights, stopping cars and checking who is inside. Usually, it is just local people.

Scenes like these are repeated in village after village through the countryside. Hundreds of local people helped build fortifications, bringing big sacks from their houses and filling them with sand.

Many of the civilians doing support work, like Mr. Osavoliuk and his wife, are unarmed, though a few have guns or have asked for them. But it seems as if everybody is doing what they can, hoping that even little actions might help.

The national road agency of Ukraine, for example, issued an order to take down all the road signs — to make it harder for Russian troops to navigate.

On the road between the towns of Vinnytsia and Kalynivka, the process had already started, bringing one more, strange new scene on the side of familiar roads. The sign for the village Pysarivka disappeared in just five minutes. Volodymyr, a road service worker, who is 55 and did not want to provide his last name for safety reasons, said he had been driving around tearing down signs. “It is important for them to get lost,” he said of the Russians.

In Kalynivka, which is close to a large weapons depot that Russian troops have targeted, local volunteers wove small strips of cloth together to form a makeshift camouflage net over their checkpoint. Too many people have been clustering around the spot, they said, making it a potential target. The location they chose is next to a bomb shelter, to hide in if bombs start to fall.

“We came to help our soldiers,’’ said Valentyna Rudenko. “It is hard to believe it is happening to us.”

In some places, as in Hushchyntsi, the volunteer effort encompassed the whole village. About 50 people were piling up logs into makeshift bunkers, as children ran about and women carried out homemade meals.

“Step away, you might get hurt, that’s the job for grown-ups,” one man told the children hoping to participate.

The town square near a military recruitment center in Kalynivka was filled with men with duffel bags, and also their wives and children who came to say goodbye.

They sat on tree stumps and on their bags or stood in groups joking. Their children grew bored during their fathers’ long waits to be issued a gun and receive instructions.

Those who were waiting had already registered and came ready to deploy. But there were also newcomers arriving every minute at the entry gate to the square, asking guards where they should go to register.

Among them was Volodymyr Varchuk, 67, who rode up on a very rundown bicycle. “Hey guys, how do I sign up?” he asked. Soldiers looked at each other and asked his age. When Mr. Varchuk answered, a soldier told him to go away and wait until he is called up.

Mr. Varchuk left disappointed. “The young ones will be sent to fight, but us old ones are those who should guard the town!” he said. “I knew it would happen since 2014, we already had war with Russia, it’s obvious they would want to proceed.”

People were running in and out of the recruitment center, with bags of food, water, clothes. One woman with two sons who looked about 20 took them to a bench and had them sit down. Then she helped them try on the new shoes she had bought for them.

An older man named Viktor came to say goodbye to his son. “My soul is restless,” he said. “How would you feel sending your son to the war?” "



https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/27/world/europe/ukraine-villages-russia-war.html