Ukraine and the Russian invasion, 2022-25

[8ball]

As with kicking out a Tory prime minister theres always another one ready to take the place - this is all structural. Removing Putin doesnt solve anything

Firstly, I’d be willing to see what happens just in case. Secondly, the way “structural” (urban’s favourite thought-terminating cliche) works is a little different when dealing with dictators.

 

[Hollis]

In answer to Dogsauce's point I think this post on twitter is relevant.


The guy posting used to work in land doctrine for the British Army, so has some credibility..

Tbh - there is very few people who probably know what the fuck is going on outside the respective military high commands etc.. and then probably they're trying to as well.

I think more humility about what we don't know is probably the best approach right now.. as someone else has pointed out, things "going wrong" in the first 3 days of a military campaign doesn't necessarily spell disaster..

 

[nogojones]

If this is correct then its the first report I've seen of effective use of Molotovs.

I saw some picture earlier from either the BBC or Graun I think of women making molatovs. They seemed to be doing it the professional way adding expanded polystyrene to make it sticky.

 

[Raheem]

Yeah I have a sneaking suspicion that we are that guy saying there are no Americans near Baghdad with the Abrams in the background.

Not everything we are hearing will be true or accurate and there may be important things we are not hearing.

IMO, though it is extremely clear that things have gone badly so far for the Russians. The bottom line is: Did they expect to be spending days stuck on the outskirts of Kyiv? Of course they didn't, but there they are.

Not at all sure it is cause for celebration, though. Maybe there is only so much the Russian forces can take and they will eventually have to give up. Totally possible, AFAICT.

But Putin has been in a similar situation before, in Grozny, where Russian forces were just able to get into the city. His solution then was to completely flatten it with heavy artillery so that there was nowhere left for the enemy to hide.

A key question now might be how brutal Putin calculates he can go without anyone intervening.

 

[Smangus]

Why are they putting bits of polystyrene in their Molotov Cocktails?

When it burn it sticks, like a low cost napalm.

 

[DaveCinzano]

rain your neck in

** Cue traditional 16 page tripartite intrathread bunfight on rain/rein/reign **

 

[Doctor Carrot]

And, as a woman, she may have darker and greater fears...

Christ, yes and putting a fucking sad emoji on your post is just so pathetic. It's horrible feeling so powerless about all this.

 

[steveo87]

you been here 5 minutes fella

wind your neck in

we are like a pub best to watch listen and understand people before gunning someone

Just with cat gifs

 

[elbows]

I saw some picture earlier from either the BBC or Graun I think of women making molatovs. They seemed to be doing it the professional way adding expanded polystyrene to make it sticky.

On a related note:

 

[RileyOBlimey]

you been here 5 minutes fella

wind your neck in

we are like a pub best to watch listen and understand people before gunning someone

Fucken lol

 

[existentialist]

Christ, yes and putting a fucking sad emoji on your post is just so pathetic. It's horrible feeling so powerless about all this.

So far, that particular weapon of war doesn't appear to have been deployed, but with that rhetoric from the Kremlin...

 

[Ax^]

Fucken lol

feel free to carry on..


i'll be amused by the reason the follows your ban

rule 1 don't be a dick

 

[Kevbad the Bad]

As with kicking out a Tory prime minister theres always another one ready to take the place - this is all structural. Removing Putin doesnt solve anything

Removing Putin may or may not solve anything. But the personalities and defects of dictators can have a direct effect on history and people's lives. There is no reason whatsoever to think that if he was replaced by some other bloke that the same policies would continue. There was no structural inevitability to any of this. A structural possibility, yes. Inevitable, no.

 

[bimble]

I don’t think many people, anywhere, are really thinking, yay day two and Ukraine is defo winning the war. I think it’s more an impulse of support and a sort of unexpected hopefulness.

 

[kebabking]

Why is supplying arms not the same as engaging?

At what point is that line crossed?

Everyone makes their own rules...

I think it the rule is 'whatever you can get away with'. If you can get away with it without retaliation then it's within the rules, if you can retaliate without getting into world of shit then it's within the rules.

If the Ukr-NATO border stays open then I'm not sure how Russia manages it - doing strikes into Poland, akin to the Soviet strikes on the Afghan camps in Pakistan, looks to be a bit of a no-no, and once things like Stinger, NLAWS, AT-4 etc.. crosses the border it's going to be a mare to track it.

 

[Diamond]

If you fancy a dose of optimism, there are reports of Russians now surrendering to the Ukrainians in numbers:

 

[elbows]

Another piece of excitable news that didnt seem terribly likely has caught out some in the media and they've now realised and retracted:

 

[nogojones]

On a related note:

Abbie Hoffman writing Ukrainian Military doctrine

 

[agricola]

Why is supplying arms not the same as engaging?

At what point is that line crossed?

TBF I don't think its in any superpowers interest to set supplying as being the same as engaging; if that was the case the USSR supplying arms to North Korea (tanks, ammunition, weapons, planes and pilots) and North Vietnam (SAMs, ammunition, weapons, tanks, planes) would have resulted in war; ditto the US supplying arms to the mujahideen.

That said, if Russia do take over Ukraine and the West does fund an insurgency then one would imagine reciprocal action would be taken.

 

[The39thStep]

The Russian goal keeper for Famalicão holds a Ukraine flag with a supporter. Ukrainians are the second biggest immigrant group here after Brazilians

 

[frogwoman]

Good old liberal Medvedev

 

[existentialist]

Why are they putting bits of polystyrene in their Molotov Cocktails?

They've found out that the squeaky noise polystyrene makes makes 55% of Russian soldiers cringe so much they can't fire their weapons.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

The Russian goal keeper for Famalicão holds a Ukraine flag with a supporter. Ukrainians are the second biggest immigrant group here after Brazilians

All these small acts are important right now. I really hope the protests inside Russia build over the coming days, and that every Russian who is able to makes some kind of anti-war gesture. However small, they all count. At some point, Putin's power starts to unravel, and that can only come from internal pressure on him.

 

[existentialist]

When it burn it sticks, like a low cost napalm.

Napalm's quite cheap, if you leave out the aluminium nanoparticles

 

[RileyOBlimey]

Biden ramping up talk of removing some Russian banks from Swift.

Joint Statement on Further Restrictive Economic Measures | The White House

We, the leaders of the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States condemn Putin’s war of choice and

www.whitehouse.gov

 

[weltweit]

I heard or read someone in Ukraine (probably the President) saying when the Russian tanks come, let them pass, a little while later there will be a supply convoy including fuel trucks, burn and stop that, the tanks will stop and we will take them ourselves to use against the Russians. Sounds like a plan.

 

[Artaxerxes]

UK immigration officials continue to shit on people.

 

[RileyOBlimey]

BBC echoing this…

West to cut some Russian banks off from Swift

The EU, US and allies will block a number of Russian banks from the main global payment system, Swift.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Pickman's model]

I heard or read someone in Ukraine (probably the President) saying when the Russian tanks come, let them pass, a little while later there will be a supply convoy including fuel trucks, burn and stop that, the tanks will stop and we will take them ourselves to use against the Russians. Sounds like a plan.

Yeh it's upthread, there's a tweet and everything

 

[weltweit]

Yeh it's upthread

bugger, I didn't see it ..