The Ukraine war thread
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@Mik said in The Ukraine war thread:
Good. Arm the Ukrainians to the teeth and don't give Putin an inch of territory as a consolation prize.
Absolutely.
And The Resident better grab up The Perfumed Princes and make sure our production lines are replacing what we give the Ukranians.
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Germany finds proof of massacre:
DER SPIEGEL has learned that the BND intercepted Russian military radio traffic in which the murder of civilians in Bucha was discussed. Some of the intercepted radio traffic can apparently be directly linked to dead bodies that have been photographed in Bucha.
Following the withdrawal of the Russian military from the town over the weekend, a mass grave was discovered as well as the bodies of several dozen dead civilians left lying on the streets. The hands of some of the victims had been tied, while other bodies showed signs of torture. Numerous women and children are also reportedly among the victims.
The BND material also apparently provides evidence that members of the Russian mercenary unit called the Wagner Group played a leading role in the atrocities. The group is known to have perpetrated similar atrocities in Syria.
Eyewitnesses recently reported that the occupying force in Bucha was initially made up of "young soldiers." Once they were replaced by other units, the witnesses said, the attacks on civilians grew more frequent. Some eyewitnesses have said that Chechen units were in the town. The accounts raise the question as to whether this progression was part of the occupation plan.
The radio traffic intercepted by the BND makes it seem as though the atrocities perpetrated on civilians in Bucha were neither random acts nor the product of individual soldiers who got out of hand. Rather, say sources familiar with the audio, the material suggests that the troops spoke of the atrocities as though they were simply discussing their everyday lives.
That, say sources familiar with the audio, indicates that the murder of civilians has become a standard element of Russian military activity, potentially even part of a broader strategy. The intention is that of spreading fear among the civilian population and thus reducing the will to resist.
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This is insane. I don't understand what Russia hopes to gain by this behaviour.
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@Doctor-Phibes said in The Ukraine war thread:
This is insane. I don't understand what Russia hopes to gain by this behaviour.
As @Renauda said, early in the conflict, there seem to be three groups of people in Russia.
- Those older than 60, who understand what's happening
- Those younger than 25, who buy everything hook, line and sinker.
- Those in the middle who are undecided.
I wonder, now being 6 weeks into this, how groups 2 and 3 are reacting. Surely, they're seeing that the entire planet is (almost) united in the condemnation of Russia. Are the sanctions beginning to have an effect on Joe Vodka?
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@George-K said in The Ukraine war thread:
@Doctor-Phibes said in The Ukraine war thread:
This is insane. I don't understand what Russia hopes to gain by this behaviour.
As @Renauda said, early in the conflict, there seem to be three groups of people in Russia.
- Those older than 60, who understand what's happening
- Those younger than 25, who buy everything hook, line and sinker.
- Those in the middle who are undecided.
I wonder, now being 6 weeks into this, how groups 2 and 3 are reacting. Surely, they're seeing that the entire planet is (almost) united in the condemnation of Russia. Are the sanctions beginning to have an effect on Joe Vodka?
I've mentioned I look at the Twitter account of Sergey Karjakin - he's a very strong chess player who challenged for the World Championship in 2016, so you've got to assume he's moderately smart. He's 32, and according to his Tweets has completely bought into what he's being told by the Putin regime, to the point where he's being really quite offensive. So, either he's morally bankrupt, or he actually believes the rubbish he posts. He's been banned from playing internationally for 6 months, so it's not like he's gaining anything from this, except possibly political capital at home. Most of the other Russian players posted something negative about the war, and then pretty much fell completely silent, for obvious reasons.
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@George-K said in The Ukraine war thread:
@Doctor-Phibes said in The Ukraine war thread:
This is insane. I don't understand what Russia hopes to gain by this behaviour.
As @Renauda said, early in the conflict, there seem to be three groups of people in Russia.
- Those older than 60, who understand what's happening
- Those younger than 25, who buy everything hook, line and sinker.
- Those in the middle who are undecided.
I wonder, now being 6 weeks into this, how groups 2 and 3 are reacting. Surely, they're seeing that the entire planet is (almost) united in the condemnation of Russia. Are the sanctions beginning to have an effect on Joe Vodka?
From what I can tell, Putin’s domestic propaganda machine is winning over the previously undecided population. They are feeling the effects of the sanctions; exponential inflation coupled with shortages. For the elderly relying on state pensions it is feeling like the 1990’s all over again - a bag of dog kibble = one month’s pension. The population truly believes it is entirely the US and EU that has brought about the need for Russia to launch this military action to “denazify” Ukraine and confront head on, Western totalitarianism.
And no, they do not see practically the entire planet united against them. Only those morally depraved states beholden to the US.
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@Renauda said in The Ukraine war thread:
@George-K said in The Ukraine war thread:
@Doctor-Phibes said in The Ukraine war thread:
This is insane. I don't understand what Russia hopes to gain by this behaviour.
As @Renauda said, early in the conflict, there seem to be three groups of people in Russia.
- Those older than 60, who understand what's happening
- Those younger than 25, who buy everything hook, line and sinker.
- Those in the middle who are undecided.
I wonder, now being 6 weeks into this, how groups 2 and 3 are reacting. Surely, they're seeing that the entire planet is (almost) united in the condemnation of Russia. Are the sanctions beginning to have an effect on Joe Vodka?
From what I can tell, Putin’s domestic propaganda machine is winning over the previously undecided population. They are feeling the effects of the sanctions; exponential inflation coupled with shortages. For the elderly relying on state pensions it is feeling like the 1990’s all over again - a bag of dog kibble = one month’s pension. The population truly believes it is entirely the US and EU that has brought about the need for Russia to launch this military action to “denazify” Ukraine and confront head on, Western totalitarianism.
And no, they do not see practically the entire planet united against them. Only those morally depraved states beholden to the US.
So interesting. But it's not too hard to see how that works. They just flip the script back onto the US and say "yeah, like your hands are so clean? Look what you did in Iraq, Libya, etc."
Then it gets into a matter of degrees, but the moral waters are already muddy.
I think I remember Trump making a similar argument when pushed about the atrocities of other countries "you think our country is so innocent?"
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@Renauda said in The Ukraine war thread:
The population truly believes it is entirely the US and EU that has brought about the need for Russia to launch this military action to “denazify” Ukraine and confront head on, Western totalitarianism.
And no, they do not see practically the entire planet united against them. Only those morally depraved states beholden to the US.
They would do well as members of BLM.
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@Renauda said in The Ukraine war thread:
@George-K said in The Ukraine war thread:
@Doctor-Phibes said in The Ukraine war thread:
This is insane. I don't understand what Russia hopes to gain by this behaviour.
As @Renauda said, early in the conflict, there seem to be three groups of people in Russia.
- Those older than 60, who understand what's happening
- Those younger than 25, who buy everything hook, line and sinker.
- Those in the middle who are undecided.
I wonder, now being 6 weeks into this, how groups 2 and 3 are reacting. Surely, they're seeing that the entire planet is (almost) united in the condemnation of Russia. Are the sanctions beginning to have an effect on Joe Vodka?
From what I can tell, Putin’s domestic propaganda machine is winning over the previously undecided population. They are feeling the effects of the sanctions; exponential inflation coupled with shortages. For the elderly relying on state pensions it is feeling like the 1990’s all over again - a bag of dog kibble = one month’s pension. The population truly believes it is entirely the US and EU that has brought about the need for Russia to launch this military action to “denazify” Ukraine and confront head on, Western totalitarianism.
And no, they do not see practically the entire planet united against them. Only those morally depraved states beholden to the US.
Sounds like ww3 is pretty inevitable, then.
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@Aqua-Letifer said in The Ukraine war thread:
Sounds like ww3 is pretty inevitable, then.
Yes, that was the shift in the conversation this week.
The democrats must keep the war option on the front page until after the election.
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@Aqua-Letifer said in The Ukraine war thread:
Sounds like ww3 is pretty inevitable, then.
Given enough time, another "world war" is pretty much a sure thing unless:
- We get invaded by aliens (from outer space) first
- We migrate off planet Earth first
- Another global catastrophe got the human race first (pandemic, climate change, mad science gone bad, big meteor, etc.)