This might be a little tougher than Putin thought...
- Thread starter Nole Lou
- Start date
I think the full text is worth reposting here for those who will not click or don’t use twitter.
“No, this was never about 'the U.S. 'owing' Ukraine something. Yes, 25 years ago, our leaders of the past stupidly gave up on our nuclear stockpile and strategic bombers, which were decommissioned or, moreover, handed over to Russia, just like that. Yep, there were multilateral 'security assurances' - but who is here to blame for the fact that we once gave up on our tactical nukes and cruise missiles for basically a piece of paper with words of encouragement written on it.
Our leaders thought there'd be no tomorrow and that a war was impossible. Their direful attitude toward our military for decades has been tragically known. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are right now paying the ultimate price for that colossal crime of historic scale. It's been happening all this damned decade -- ever since the days of February 2014, when Russia unfolded its punitive war on its former colony embraced by a victorious revolution.
The thing is that in our own Revolutionary War, the empire generally failed to bring its colony back on its knees, yet it spilled rivers of blood.And in 2022, it came back for the final solution fueled by a propaganda-driven irrational cult of revenge, hatred, territorial grabs, and perpetual war on the West as a ruling narrative. The last thing that we, as a struggling 40-million democracy, wanted was a grand, all-out invasion by one of the world's largest military powers hellbent on eliminating Ukraine as an independent nation.
We did not choose this hell.
Yet, the delusional aging dictator in the Kremlin, drunk with lust for power and willing to crown himself a new emperor, decided that he needed yet another splendid little war. You know what happened next - the biggest European war of aggression since WWII. In which, against expectations, Ukraine managed to stem the enemy onrush, stabilize the front line, and even take large amounts of the national territory back.
Russia, in the first month of its war, the active part of which was supposed to last nearly 10 days, suffered a tremendous defeat at Ukraine's capital city, Kyiv, which effectively derailed the entire war's initial goal.Now it's been two years of a tremendously large battle of million-strong armies.Just think of the scale.
Right now, for instance, Oryx has documented and confirmed the loss of a total of 2,714 Russian tanks. That's more than the entire fleet of M1 Abrams in active use by the U.S. Army (2,645 per Military Balance 2023). That's a square full of destroyed tanks measuring 360 by 360 yards. That's tanks alone.
There's really a handful of nations in this world that could successfully wage an all-out war of defense against such a gargantuan armada, and, moreover, aspire towards a victory in such a war. All this time, this has been a story of Ukraine literally begging for weapons and munitions, getting as little as it gets from the hypercautous and undetermined West, and carrying on with its war of national survival.
And we and our friends, particularly in media, again and again, managed to break our heads through the wall and persuade the West to take one more step forward. Artillery, munition, tank killers, air defense, missiles, jets, tanks. Reluctantly, slowly, amid long wars of words, the West did that - simply because most do understand that helping Ukraine is necessary and that it works.
No wonder that so-called 'opponents' of the Ukraine aid against the Russian invasion can't give any mature and rational explanation as to why the free world should just let Russia devour a 40-million European nation. It's always either about primitive 'pRoXy wAr' conspiracy theories that comfortably ignore the simple timeline of events or just outright lies -- like "they want to send American soldiers to fight" or "we don't really know where our taxpayers' cash money goes", or "we're spending 40% of American GDP on Ukraine as there are poor people in Philadelphia."
Or it's about something as childish as "let them all burn, it's not my problem."
Well, dictatorial regimes in Moscow, Tehran, Pyongyang and elsewhere are only glad to see you step aside and do nothing -- very soon, they will be very much of YOUR problem, and that's what's happening right now in the news.
This world is now too small and interconnected to just put heads into the sand.The thing is that we NEED EACH OTHER.
Not because somebody 'owes' something but because it's wise, smart, and mutually advantageous.
With Ukraine's defense aid, America has been supporting a truly decent and simple cause, morally and practically, that is admittedly a pretty rare thing in human history.
Moreover, it was doing it with absolute support from European allies, which had not always been the case in the past. The United Europe is also bringing a lot to the table, although the temptation to close its eyes and do nothing is strong. Moreover, it was rendering assistance to Ukraine at a very moderate cost, with not a single American soldier to be sent to fight - but with a whole range of American enterprises getting government contracts and providing American jobs, American salaries, and American taxes in America.
And Ukraine asks for tools to neutralize the worst European war of aggression since Adolf Hitler with its own hands.
Over the last two years, Ukraine has demonstrated it so many times that this is absolutely possible and vital to the safety of the world we live in. How is this any worse than spending billions and billions and billions on decades-long, pointless wars somewhere in the Middle East, with folded American flags sent back home? We need America to rejoin the rest of the free world in one of the most dangerous moments in modern history.
It's not too late yet - but cheap politics and listening to irresponsible demagogues have given way too much time and resources to the aggressor. There's still time to prevent a catastrophe but the time is running very short. Support my work: https://buymeacoffee.com/saintanger “
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Ax them to pull a double or nothing. Just because they can as my old man would say.
“Russian now increasingly using t55s. That design is from 1948.”
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begging North Korea for ammunition.
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Shithole country.
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begging North Korea for ammunition.
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Shithole country.
Former Russian take.
Tucker the Traitor Extraordinaire interviewing Putin. Musk’s dumbass is reposting it.
1. Musk is seeking controversy and engagement numbers to boost ad revenue.
2. Musk is beholden to Putin for some financial or otherwise blackmail reason. However, this take is implausible considering he has DOD clearance and is almost certainly under surveillance by the DHS, the DOD/DOJ, and or the CIA/FBI under Biden’s administration.
3. Musk wants dialogue to prevail over further escalation logically resulting in WW3. Musk has publicly stated numerous times of his fear of the Russia/Ukraine conflict to escalate out of control.
@billanole @h-hawk what do you think?
“This is not journalism. By his logic, he would have been on the first boat to Germany to interview Hitler after the invasion of Poland and the destruction of Warsaw, purportedly, to get “the other side of the story!” I lived in Russia for 20 years. I left because life was becoming unbearable for anyone with a moral compass and an appreciation for the very same rights Carlson purports he stands for but have been completely decimated by Putin. Freedom of speech? Independent journalism? Democratic principles? Liberty? Right to personal property? None of this exists in today’s Russia. But if the people adore their disctaros and enjoy their slavish existence, it is their right to live as they like. What is intolerable and inexcusable is when they preemptively attack a peaceful neighbor in an effort to impose their rotten system. This is a cynical, ugly and irresponsible act of shilling for a truly horrendous, immoral human being who has condemned his country and his people to lives without a future and decided to take tens of thousands of lives along the way! Nothing to be applauded here, and anyone who supports this is doing so out of ignorance.“
Tucker the Traitor Extraordinaire interviewing Putin. Musk’s dumbass is reposting it.
1. Musk is seeking controversy and engagement numbers to boost ad revenue.
2. Musk is beholden to Putin for some financial or otherwise blackmail reason. However, this take is implausible considering he has DOD clearance and is almost certainly under surveillance by the DHS, the DOD/DOJ, and or the CIA/FBI under Biden’s administration.
3. Musk wants dialogue to prevail over further escalation logically resulting in WW3. Musk has publicly stated numerous times of his fear of the Russia/Ukraine conflict to escalate out of control.
@billanole @h-hawk what do you think?
“This is not journalism. By his logic, he would have been on the first boat to Germany to interview Hitler after the invasion of Poland and the destruction of Warsaw, purportedly, to get “the other side of the story!” I lived in Russia for 20 years. I left because life was becoming unbearable for anyone with a moral compass and an appreciation for the very same rights Carlson purports he stands for but have been completely decimated by Putin. Freedom of speech? Independent journalism? Democratic principles? Liberty? Right to personal property? None of this exists in today’s Russia. But if the people adore their disctaros and enjoy their slavish existence, it is their right to live as they like. What is intolerable and inexcusable is when they preemptively attack a peaceful neighbor in an effort to impose their rotten system. This is a cynical, ugly and irresponsible act of shilling for a truly horrendous, immoral human being who has condemned his country and his people to lives without a future and decided to take tens of thousands of lives along the way! Nothing to be applauded here, and anyone who supports this is doing so out of ignorance.“
Now we’re talking! 2000 km!
The European private aerospace company Destinus handed Ukraine hundreds of new long-range UAVs capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 2,000 km. Destinus has become one of the main European suppliers of military drones to Ukraine.
The European private aerospace company Destinus handed Ukraine hundreds of new long-range UAVs capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 2,000 km. Destinus has become one of the main European suppliers of military drones to Ukraine.
Get Ukraine the aircraft necessary to end this war.
It's time!
It's time!
Assume there is export licensing for a toy like that, and the origin being sorta of nebulous so I had to look:
A European company revolutionizing air travel. Headquartered in Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, with facilities and offices in Madrid, Munich, Toulouse, and Paris
Article about the impact of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries. They are making a difference.
www.newsweek.com
Russia's oil refineries taking loss from drone attacks: Report
A Kremlin-controlled media outlet reported Russia's oil refineries reduced operations last month due to drone attacks.
www.newsweek.com
"Another 64 Russian air strikes on #Oekraïne , including Kyiv and many civilian targets.“Gosh, but we really need to hear Putin's side of the story.”See his side of the story here: ongoing war crimes out of spite and imperial delusions of grandeur "
Does “kamikaze jet drones” just sound cooler than cruise missile?
400k and closing in. Seems crazy
**** Tucker and **** the GOP
He may need a few stitches and some Advil after that.
The best one is the first one in the second batch-sounds like MLRS hits?
"Destruction of a Russian KAMAZ-4320 and a D-30 122mm howitzer deployed near #Avdiivka , both by Ukrainian FPVs."
And more from the attack in Belgorod.
And more from the attack in Belgorod.
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With Russia’s population at 144M people, and the US population at 340M, it would be the equivalent of the US losing approx 941K soldiers In less than 2 years.
Roughly averages out to almost 19,000 soldiers per each of the US ‘s 50 states. I really don’t know how Russia can sustain it.
During their invasion of Afghanistan the Soviets lost an estimated 15,000-26,000 killed and 35,000 wounded. And they had more Soviet republics to pull soldiers from (Ukraine, Belarus, etc.) at that time. The Soviet population then was 290M vs 144M now.
Cannot believe there has not been an insurrection in Russia.
Women, children and the elderly don't usually drive revolts...
Russia has hundreds of thousands in their internal security forces which probably intimidates open dissension. Putin murders journalists and political opponents so I bet some of this opposition to the war just "disappears". I keep hoping the military, which may be the only thing in Russia with enough strength to get rid of Putin, will act. I keep being disappointed. Even with their armed forces being reduced to a mere shadow of what they were 2 years ago, the military leadership still seems to be all in. Some day when this is over it will be interesting to find out if any of the generals and admirals had the guts to try and stand up against Putin.
There was for a few days by Prigozhin. Then Putin told all Wagner staff he would murder their entire extended families if they didn’t submit and cease. Then Putin took down their plane and had them killed.
Prigozhin should have marched on Moscow. There was no one to stop them. Internal security forces would have been mere speed bumps.
It gets better…
Компанія Destinus заснована Михайлом Кокоричем, який відмовився від російського громадянства через російсько-українську війну. Кокорич став одним з ключових постачальників військових БПЛА для України, який тривалий час робив це таємно.
Translated from Ukrainian by Google
The Destinus company was founded by Mykhailo Kokorych, who renounced his Russian citizenship because of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Kokorych became one of the key suppliers of military UAVs for Ukraine, who did it secretly for a long time.
…..
Victory
@Ukraine9900
Destinus розробляє гіперзвукові безпілотники та літаки, також — недорогі дрони для ударів по наземних цілях та розвідки. Серед переданих Україні моделей — гвинтові дрони Lord з радіусом дії від 750 км до 2000 км.
Translated from Ukrainian by Google
Destinus develops hypersonic drones and aircraft, as well as low-cost ground attack and reconnaissance drones. Among the models transferred to Ukraine are Lord propeller drones with a range of 750 km to 2,000 km.
…..
Destinus планує збільшити постачання, надаючи Україні сотні дронів щомісяця. Компанія також працює над розробкою гіперзвукових проектів, що можуть зайняти до 30 років, але вже зараз забезпечує потреби України в сучасних БПЛА.
Translated from Ukrainian by Google
Destinus plans to increase the supply, providing Ukraine with hundreds of drones every month. The company is also working on the development of hypersonic projects, which may take up to 30 years, but it already provides Ukraine's needs for modern UAVs.
The military leadership is part of the corrupt ruling class in Russia. There is no motive for them to upset the flow of money to their personal accounts. The only hope is for some idealistic junior officers getting close enough to Putin to kill him.
Interesting that you mention that - I can remember a history of WW2 written by a German. He emphasized that German Generals were given the spoils of their conquests that helped to keep them loyal.
