Russia-Ukraine war and related tensions Megathread

[Torie]

https://twitter.com/akihheikkinen/status/1666167107099262976?s=20

I really do hope this story is not true. Otherwise Hitler has been reincarnated, and his genocide agenda implemented by the SS division of the Russian army. And thus they must all die, or rot in prison in The Hague. Too bad I don't believe in hell.

What a f'ing nightmare. Too bad it isn't and it won't go away when I wake up.

The thought of doing business with Putin, and giving him his pound of flesh, or a hefty portion of it,  just nauseates me.

[John Dule]

Simplest and most likely answer is structural failure. The dam has been neglected for almost a year and was damaged in fighting. Do you think dams can last forever without maintenance?

Dams are some of the strongest structures made by man. Without maintenance, it's estimated that the Hoover Dam would stand for hundreds of years. Even the generators could run unattended for years.

Depends on the dam in question to be fair: infamously Mosul Dam is a complete disaster of a construction that requires near constant renovation/fresh concrete to prevent its collapse.

Sure. The fact remains though that the "simplest and most likely answer" is not just "structural failure."

[Storr]

https://twitter.com/iuliiamendel/status/1665742526475640832?s=12
https://twitter.com/ralee85/status/1665733468276379648?s=12
Ukraine is reporting they are seeing success this morning on the Bakhmut flanks

https://twitter.com/GeoConfirmed/status/1666209003737604100?s=20

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Simplest and most likely answer is structural failure. The dam has been neglected for almost a year and was damaged in fighting. Do you think dams can last forever without maintenance?

Dams are some of the strongest structures made by man. Without maintenance, it's estimated that the Hoover Dam would stand for hundreds of years. Even the generators could run unattended for years.

Depends on the dam in question to be fair: infamously Mosul Dam is a complete disaster of a construction that requires near constant renovation/fresh concrete to prevent its collapse.

That's because the bedrock where they built it is gypsum.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Washington Post reports that the Nord Stream pipeline was destroyed last year in a Ukrainian military operation. CIA had foreknowledge of the operation, but Ukrainian general staff supposedly didn't inform Zelenskyy to give him plausible deniability.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jun/06/biden-knew-of-plan-to-attack-nord-stream-three-months-before-explosion

[Neo-Malthusian Misanthrope]

I read in an article that "the Kremlin accused Kyiv of sabotaging the dam to distract attention from a purportedly faltering counteroffensive against Russian forces." Why would Russia not say that this is part of the supposed counteroffensive? Seems like a bad excuse if from their point of view this isn't an attack on Russian-held territory. Is there an idea of who stands to benefit most from the flooding, anyway?

[Oleg 🇰🇿🤝🇺🇦]

So the blowing of the dam in 1941 killed a few thousand people...not a significant number as it would be, given this was a front where around 20-25 million people died. (Probably low-balling it)
These Ukrainian activists criticizing the NKVD for its blowing of a dam do not have perspective. I almost wonder if they know what Generalplan Ost even is.

It is pseudo logic. "Each of the eight billion people on Earth will die anyway, so it's okay if I hit with my Land Cruiser just twelve of them on my way to work."

[NOVA Green]

Simplest and most likely answer is structural failure. The dam has been neglected for almost a year and was damaged in fighting. Do you think dams can last forever without maintenance?

Dams are some of the strongest structures made by man. Without maintenance, it's estimated that the Hoover Dam would stand for hundreds of years. Even the generators could run unattended for years.

Depends on the dam in question to be fair: infamously Mosul Dam is a complete disaster of a construction that requires near constant renovation/fresh concrete to prevent its collapse.

Sure. The fact remains though that the "simplest and most likely answer" is not just "structural failure."

Yeah it is true these structures are generally designed to semi-permanent...

Hell, even back in the '40s there was some pretty solid construction work going into the Grand Coulee Dam.

Here's a brief footage of some of the construction work, with Woody Guthrie singing part of a song from his BPA recording era, when he got a few bucks as an musician to sing some songs about the massive new constructions of dams in the Pacific Northwest along the Columbia River...

There have been various dams in Oregon intentionally destroyed using controlled explosives to release waters to improve Salmon habitat and stuff like that, but even these are generally going to be much smaller dams than the size of the one which "suffered a catastrophic failure" in Ukraine.

I still would likely put $$$ on an intentional Russian detonation over the alternatives, but still lack of PMs and maintenance it is possible that power surges, break box circuits not being replaced, inadequate maintenance of various type of Building Automation Systems (BAS) and Life Safety Systems (LSS), or whatever kind of software and hardware was in place which in theory would be capable of being remotely monitored and with regular maint schedules to ensure critical parts are being tested and swapped out, etc...

When is the last time any type of Engineer was even checking out the dam, the whole damn time to ensure that critical systems were intact and functioning normally?

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

So the blowing of the dam in 1941 killed a few thousand people...not a significant number as it would be, given this was a front where around 20-25 million people died. (Probably low-balling it)
These Ukrainian activists criticizing the NKVD for its blowing of a dam do not have perspective. I almost wonder if they know what Generalplan Ost even is.

It is pseudo logic. "Each of the eight billion people on Earth will die anyway, so it's okay if I hit with my Land Cruiser just twelve of them on my way to work."

That doesn't even work by its own faulty logic because we'll never know how many lives blowing the dam could have saved compared to if it never happened.
By this standard, the Dutch, by breaching the dikes in an effort to stop the Germans, are responsible for vile actions against themselves. Categorically and innately.
We know what the Nazis had planned for Eastern Europe. If they would have had their way, there would be at least significantly lesser numbers of Ukrainians today.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Washington Post reports that the Nord Stream pipeline was destroyed last year in a Ukrainian military operation. CIA had foreknowledge of the operation, but Ukrainian general staff supposedly didn't inform Zelenskyy to give him plausible deniability.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jun/06/biden-knew-of-plan-to-attack-nord-stream-three-months-before-explosion

Absolutely scandalous …










….that the Nord Stream pipelines were ever built.

Good riddance, and good on the Ukrainians.

[Oleg 🇰🇿🤝🇺🇦]

So the blowing of the dam in 1941 killed a few thousand people...not a significant number as it would be, given this was a front where around 20-25 million people died. (Probably low-balling it)
These Ukrainian activists criticizing the NKVD for its blowing of a dam do not have perspective. I almost wonder if they know what Generalplan Ost even is.

It is pseudo logic. "Each of the eight billion people on Earth will die anyway, so it's okay if I hit with my Land Cruiser just twelve of them on my way to work."

That doesn't even work by its own faulty logic because we'll never know how many lives blowing the dam could have saved compared to if it never happened.
By this standard, the Dutch, by breaching the dikes in an effort to stop the Germans, are responsible for vile actions against themselves. Categorically and innately.
We know what the Nazis had planned for Eastern Europe. If they would have had their way, there would be far less Ukrainians today.

Dnipro Dam is not just another dam. It was a gigantic project that required the Russians to bring in the best American engineers to manage. You again purposefully ignore the fact that in the current war, both Ukrainians and Russians have already destroyed dams, and this did not produce any effect comparable to the destruction of this dam.

As for the supposedly hypothetical saving of lives by blowing up this dam, which led to the actual death of people, Ukraine is not a small Netherlands, it is endless steppes and endless forests, there is always where to put hundreds of tanks.

[HillGoose]

NATO needs to stop pussy footing around and send the black sea fleet to Davy Jones locker, i'd say this is at least as destructive as a low-yield nuclear weapon

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

So the blowing of the dam in 1941 killed a few thousand people...not a significant number as it would be, given this was a front where around 20-25 million people died. (Probably low-balling it)
These Ukrainian activists criticizing the NKVD for its blowing of a dam do not have perspective. I almost wonder if they know what Generalplan Ost even is.

It is pseudo logic. "Each of the eight billion people on Earth will die anyway, so it's okay if I hit with my Land Cruiser just twelve of them on my way to work."

That doesn't even work by its own faulty logic because we'll never know how many lives blowing the dam could have saved compared to if it never happened.
By this standard, the Dutch, by breaching the dikes in an effort to stop the Germans, are responsible for vile actions against themselves. Categorically and innately.
We know what the Nazis had planned for Eastern Europe. If they would have had their way, there would be far less Ukrainians today.

Dnipro Dam is not just another dam. It was a gigantic project that required the Russians to bring in the best American engineers to manage. You again purposefully ignore the fact that in the current war, both Ukrainians and Russians have already destroyed dams, and this did not produce any effect comparable to the destruction of this dam.

As for the supposedly hypothetical saving of lives by blowing up this dam, which led to the actual death of people, Ukraine is not a small Holland, it is endless steppes and endless forests, there is always where to put hundreds of tanks.

I'm talking about what is going on in Operation Barbarossa. I'm talking about a few thousand dying because a dam being blown up by the NKVD.
1) The death toll from blowing that dam would be easily surpassed by one German military actions against one or two shettels in what is now western Belarus. 2) Nazi advances east were endangering millions of Soviet citizens, including Ukrainians, and those who might have sought to flee east were given more time because of that action. Does that mean it was a moral good the NKVD did it? Perhaps, perhaps not, I cannot say for certain. But comparing this rather needless human suffering that is occurring right now because of Putin's war to what the NKVD did, to the point one is likening the NKVD's actions to it, is historical illiteracy.

[NOVA Green]

Explosion inside the "Engine Room"...

In an interview with The Post, Ihor Syrota, general director of Ukraine’s state hydroelectric company, Ukrhydroenergo, said the dam was “irreparable” and all of the water in the Kakhovka Reservoir could spill out within the next four days.

Ukrhydroenergo, in a statement on Telegram, said the hydroelectric plant was “completely destroyed” as a result of an explosion inside the engine room.

I don't know exactly what is meant by the term Engine Room within the contact of hydro-electric facilities in general and certainly not the engineering designs of this Hydro Facility in particular.

Still, I would imagine that we are talking more like an "Energy Center", where the "Generator Room" , might be what is referred to, but could also quite be possibly talking about the "Main Powerhouse Structure" (Housing the "Generator Room" (which could include either or both the Generating Units with either a separate or combined generator and turbine room).

It does also take energy to make energy, and generally in my albeit limited experience with ECs (Energy Centers), there are tons of extremely High Voltage energy banks within areas where we have our Emergency Generators (E-Gens--- Diesel), which are designed to handle any type of major event which could either shut down key factory processes which would create a significant loss of output, but also maintain the emergency life safety systems to prevent a major health and safety impact to workers and the surrounding community, and also any accidental environmental release to the air or waters.

It is absolutely believable that Russian intentional sabotage was the cause of this environmental and human disaster.

If not that, it is patently clear that Russian's rapid attempt to invade and completely destroy Ukraine and loot and seize all of the "spoils of war", has led to a situation where where they are completely neglecting any and all routine activities to ensure these giant industrial facilities are still being properly maintained and serviced, while effectively holding Ukrainian employees and family members hostage at the Nuclear Power Plant Up the River, to what we are now observing with this Dam.

Still, if so... the Occupier should still be considered guilty for the humanitarian and environmental catastrophes which the have unleased.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/06/06/ukraine-russia-kakhovka-dam-hydroelectric-war/

[Oleg 🇰🇿🤝🇺🇦]

But comparing this rather needless human suffering that is occurring right now because of Putin's war to what the NKVD did, to the point one is likening the NKVD's actions to it, is historical illiteracy.

No one made this comparison, except for yourself, when you started throwing in a bunch of things to prove that there was nothing criminal supposedly in blowing up Kakhovka Dam.

[NOVA Green]

Meanwhile, regardless of the Russian either intentional or negligent destruction of the Dam, looks like there are significant areas where Ukrainian Military Forces are gaining ground elsewhere.

https://twitter.com/PhillipsPOBrien/status/1666209400334213148?s=20

[NOVA Green]

Meanwhile, a (46) year old Russian Man and father of (3) is acquitted of charges of "attempted murder" for allegations that he threw two Molotov Cocktails towards Russian Police Vans back in May '22 outside of the Kremlin:


https://twitter.com/mediazona_en/status/1666164860680380424?s=20

[NOVA Green]

Also to go back to the "Fake Russian Story" that German tanks were used in offensive military operations outside of Bakhmut, looks like even the Russian Gen-Z Mil-Bloggers are calling out their "Boomer Types".

Tractor memes never die....

https://twitter.com/AricToler/status/1666121938916212737?s=20

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

But comparing this rather needless human suffering that is occurring right now because of Putin's war to what the NKVD did, to the point one is likening the NKVD's actions to it, is historical illiteracy.

No one made this comparison, except for yourself, when you started throwing in a bunch of things to prove that there was nothing criminal supposedly in blowing up Kakhovka Dam.

Ukrainian activists pushing recognition of the "Crime" of blowing a dam in 1941 were making that comparison, at the very least implicitly.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Meanwhile, a (46) year old Russian Man and father of (3) is acquitted of charges of "attempted murder" for allegations that he threw two Molotov Cocktails towards Russian Police Vans back in May '22 outside of the Kremlin:


https://twitter.com/mediazona_en/status/1666164860680380424?s=20

Good.

[Oleg 🇰🇿🤝🇺🇦]

And all this time he was under arrest. You can consider that he served a year in prison.

[Oleg 🇰🇿🤝🇺🇦]

A small deer was rescued from the water in Antonivka, Kherson region.

https://twitter.com/loogunda/status/1666034376054849536

[NOVA Green]

A small deer was rescued from the water in Antonivka, Kherson region.

https://twitter.com/loogunda/status/1666034376054849536

Apologies in advance, but naturally as "Nations of Animal Lovers", Bambi still way cool, even in "Anti Disney" and "Anti Woke" Deer Hunter Country...

There are many other such stories in Ukraine when it comes to the rescue of pets and support of local wildlife, even in some of the most difficult combat zones.

It is absolutely clear that Russian Soldiers and the Russian Military have no such understanding of the basic dehumanization and the desensitization, which they have experienced as young males growing up within an extremist nationalist and authoritarian society which values conformism above all.

Give me Bambi... lot more bambi, since after all what did the animals and wildlife ever do to deserve this caused by humans?

This film is probably banned in Russia, although it might take another year or so before it is banned in Florida.

Bambi: The New Prince is Born

[Storr]

https://twitter.com/loogunda/status/1666323428297564163?s=20

Russian occupied side of the river, nearly a kilometer inland:

https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1666303896325705728?s=20

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

https://twitter.com/reshetz/status/1666198309118042127