Never been, Topknot. I do have acquaintances that live there. Can we just admit the real problem here ? It’s galling for Murcans like yourself to imagine that Russians love their leader as much as Americans hate theirs.
So, Slipknot, what percentage of Moscow's population do your acquaintances represent? 0.000001%, or 0.00000001%? As far as how Americans feel about their leader, at any given time, close to half of Americans think the president is doing a good job. Expectations are a little higher in a democracy than in a Communist state--and that's a good thing.
To me, one of the keys to Russia's invasion effort will be how much they try to force their inexperienced troops to advance before the western tanks arrive. Russia theoretically has an opportunity to gain some ground before the tanks arrive, but they may not be in any condition to advance without taking some major losses. Ukraine still has plenty of manpower, artillery and ammunition to make a Russian advance very costly.
While the amount we have spent means we have more invested in a Ukraine win than we otherwise may have, long term this will be a win for us regardless. The sanctions won’t come off if Russia wins, so they will be sufficiently degraded if they aren’t already. The west is going to be off Russian oil and gas. And every country in the world will realize the technological advantage we have over anyone that would face us if we were to choose to go all in. The west is more United than we have been in decades, and it tilted northEastern Europe further in our corner.
The Chechens are ready to invade Poland. If you recall, the Chechens are the ones occupying Ukrainian houses and stealing appliances while Russian regular army and the Wagner criminals are doing all the fighting. Apparently, all the good appliances have been taken, and Chechens need a new source for quality appliances. A key ally of Putin said he wants to invade Poland next, ignoring Russia's inability to capture Ukraine The Polish military might have something to say about the plan.
More silly chest beating. They know damn well they would get their ass kicked in a conventional war with NATO. Beyond that, do they really want to go to an extinction level nuclear event? No one can be that STUPID.
Putin's alleged girlfriend claims that the Russian media is a powerful weapon in this war, just like an AK-47. This is for those comrades out there who believe everything that Russia says, as well as the bots stateside that repeat the Russian propaganda. Putin's rumored girlfriend called Russia's media a 'military weapon' and compared its importance to an AK-47
What % of the Russian population do you represent that you can inveigh on life in Russia ? And what kind of democracy do you live in that you can boast about its freedoms and social cohesion ? Distract, Divide and Conquer: The Painful Truth About the State of Our Union | By John & Nisha Whitehead
the Chechen’s are more of a rape and loot mob then an army. The Wagner group is in between and the Russian army I have no words for.
Or ignorance¡ since there is no free media there and the people are told what the government allows them to be told.
Funny, RT was notable in that it incorporated dissenting voices, even to the point of employing them as staff. Yet, it was banned by the West! Because free-dum.
NATO moves 1,000 km East and it’s a defensive operation. Russia moves 100 km West and it’s an offensive operation.
I do not agree. There are many warped visions out there that are obsessed with catastrophe. Including a huge number of religious folk.
I have been watching a good bit of Polish TV coverage about the conflict. Poland has an ugly history with Russia. NO ONE, not even Duggars Dad, can deny that STALIN, and Soviet Russia were in league with NAZI Germany in the partitioning of Poland. Churchill wanted to declare war on the Soviet Scum for invading Finland. Poles have forever learned their lesson about Russian expansionist aims in Western Europe. Those friendly Russians also murdered 10s of thousands of captured Polish military men. Even the Nazis had a propaganda coo when they found the mass graves. Poland knows the truth.
If Poland knows the truth, it knows that forces in what is now Ukraine, forces whom millions of Ukrainians venerate, murdered a great many Poles. Yet, today’s Poles seem to carry a fanatical hatred of a Russia which bears no resemblance to the Soviet Union.
That’s just not good enough for me, and I wish it wasn’t good enough for this Administration (though I suspect it is). The whole idea of “Oh, well, if Ukraine falls, then we fought the good fight, and we hurt Russia” is simply nuts. First, if that happens, they are going to take Moldova next. Second, they are going to add Ukraine’s strength to their own. Third, they aren’t going to spend the next couple years fearing us because of our weapons. What they are going to do is spend that time hating us for all the losses they took over lands they view as theirs, and they going to learn and come differently next time. There are no moral victories here. There are no equivocations in defeat. Ukraine must win, Russia must lose, and we must do what is necessary to make that happen.
Essentially: “We must continue to fight Russia to the last dead Ukrainian.” If that is not our aim - and if Russia must be defeated - then why not reinstitute the draft ?
UFTAIPAN - After Ukraine I suspect Luthuania, Latvia and Estonia are also VERY HIGH on the list for military annexation by those peaceful Russians.