The Ukraine war thread
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@Renauda in the early stages of the war, it seems like the Russian populace bought Putin's rhetoric and flag-waving. "De-Nazification!" "Re-uniting Russia!" all sounded pretty good.
And now, 13 months later, with tens of thousands of body bags flowing into Russia it might be hitting home that, well, this was a bad idea. Probably everyone knows someone who has lost someone in the war, or who has sustained a life-crippling injury.
You can't keep that shit up forever with rhetoric.
You have to show gains and "winning." The current battle in Bakhmut is, from what I gather, not strategically important, but from a morale standpoint, it's a must-win for Russia.
Regardless, Putin still has widespread domestic support in his war effort. He has been successful in conflating this war with the war against Hitler in WWII. From what I can tell, problems in the field are seen as the politicians and military leadership lacking in Stalinist resolve to annihilate the enemy.
There needs to be a lot more losses and body bags brought for that attitude to change.
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The most horrible thing you'll read today.
Ukraine has accused two Russian soldiers of sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl and gang raping her mother at gunpoint in front of her father, as part of widespread allegations of abuse during the more than one-year-long invasion.
According to Ukrainian prosecution files seen by Reuters, the incidents were among a spree of sex crimes Russian soldiers of the 15th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade committed in four homes of Brovary district near the capital Kyiv in March 2022.
Russia's Defence Ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Phone numbers listed for the brigade were out of order. Two officials at the Samara Garrison, of which the brigade is a part, said they were unable to give contacts for the unit when contacted by Reuters, with one saying they were classified.
Most of the alleged atrocities took place on March 13, when soldiers "in a state of alcoholic intoxication, broke into the yard of the house where a young family lived," the prosecutors alleged.
The father was beaten with a metal pot then forced to kneel while his wife was gang raped. One of the soldiers told the four-year-old girl he "will make her a woman" before she was abused, the documents said.
The family survived, though prosecutors said they are investigating additional crimes in the area including murders during the same period.
President Vladimir Putin's government, which says it is fighting Western-backed "neo-Nazis" in Ukraine, has repeatedly denied allegations of atrocities. It has also denied that its military commanders are aware of sexual violence by soldiers.
The soldiers were both snipers, aged 32 and 28, the files said, adding that the former had died while the younger, named as Yevgeniy Chernoknizhniy, returned to Russia.
When Reuters asked for the identities of both soldiers, prosecutors provided only the name of the younger man. When Reuters called a number in online databases for him, a person saying he was Chernoknizhniy’s brother said he was deceased.
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Indeed, Putin and his machine love to play the victim in this war. Here is a presentation on the subject that was published today:
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Interesting viewpoint, and true, I think. We need a plan for if things escalate.
“I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill
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Interesting viewpoint, and true, I think. We need a plan for if things escalate.
@Mik said in The Ukraine war thread:
Interesting viewpoint, and true, I think. We need a plan for if things escalate.
I can't possibly see how this doesn't happen.
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Interesting viewpoint, and true, I think. We need a plan for if things escalate.
Putin is far more rational and calculating than many of his opponents give him credit for. He has a nose for weakness, including for his own fragility, but it is not infallible. He is fond of the good life. As Garry Kasparov pointed out, ‘Putin wants to rule like Stalin but live like Abramovich’.
Nails it.
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Speaking of nailing it...
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The French Foreign Legion used to be famous for their comfort girls. Maybe Wagner will adopt a similar policy...
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The French Foreign Legion used to be famous for their comfort girls. Maybe Wagner will adopt a similar policy...
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A more detailed piece on the Russian claim that the west is to blame. A grain of salt, as it is written by Russian state media. An interesting view.
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A more detailed piece on the Russian claim that the west is to blame. A grain of salt, as it is written by Russian state media. An interesting view.
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Poland to send fighter jets to Ukraine. Hopefully this will encourage other former WP members to release their Soviet era inventories to Ukraine. Better late than never.
Elbows up!
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Interesting yet perverted. His argument and logic have more holes than a brick of Swiss cheese.
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Poland to send fighter jets to Ukraine. Hopefully this will encourage other former WP members to release their Soviet era inventories to Ukraine. Better late than never.
@Renauda said in The Ukraine war thread:
Poland to send fighter jets to Ukraine. Hopefully this will encourage other former WP members to release their Soviet era inventories to Ukraine. Better late than never.
Anything that gives the Russians more to worry about is good.
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However, more planes may not do much good, with both sides having effective ground threats to them.
