War in Ukraine

No one is “ignoring” the contributions of member states who actually contribute. But we do need to renegotiate the North Atlantic Treaty so that member states have mandatory defense spending as a percentage of GDP (not voluntary “goals”; would that my own taxes worked that way), mandatory forward deployment of forces for nations who do not share land borders or proximate seas with Russia, specified language on what Article V means (right now a member state only has to support as much as they comfortable with, which could literally be nothing more than a harshly worded statement for the aggressor), and a method of involuntarily removing member states who repeatedly refuse to carry their fair share. Any current members who don’t like the new rules would be free to leave without rancor. I see nothing unreasonable about any of those conditions, and America should not feel the least bit guilty for insisting on them. We are bound to this alliance with the lion’s share of burdens, obligations, and risk. And for that we receive a negligible amount of actual protection.

 

The situation isn't much different in the areas currently under Russian occupation in eastern and southern Ukraine. Majority ethnic Russian inhabitants, same insurgency risks would be there as well. It is literally pointless for Ukraine to take these areas back, which is why Zelenskyy was ready to sign the Minsk 2 accords. But the West scuttled that deal and told Zelenskyy he had to fight. Now that they've spilled so much blood, Russia is not going to cede them any administrative control in those areas. Ukraine doesn't have a country anymore. You think all those women are going to give up their free pass to the EU to move back to Ukraine? The entire ordeal has been and will be horrific for them.

 

You’ve mentioned this many times. I am curious what support you have for your position. First, the Minsk 2 Accord WAS signed by Ukraine in 2015. Russia repudiated it by falsely claiming it had no troops or personnel in Ukraine. Here’s a Reuters article from Feb. 2022, before Russia invaded, explaining:

What are the Minsk agreements on the Ukraine conflict?

Second, it appears you’ve conflated Minsk 2 with the settlement talks that took place in Belarus shortly after Russian invaded. You’ve claimed Ukraine refused to settle because the big bad West told them not to. I have searched for reliable authority to support this proclamation. The only thing I’ve found is Russian propaganda making this absurd claim, such as TASS (Russian News Agency).

If you have some reliable authority (which by definition excludes Tucker Carlson and Russian-controlled media), please share.

 

NYET comrade.
"At the 2001 Ukrainian National Census, the ethnic groups within the Donetsk Oblast were: Ukrainians – 2,744,100 (56.9%), Russians – 1,844,400 (38.2%), Pontic Greeks – 77,500 (1.6%), Belarusians – 44,500 (0.9%), others (2.3%).[12]" Typical misinformation from this poster.

 

Fact-Check: True …

https://x.com/witte_sergei/status/1702028628052296189?s=61

 

What a dumb article! "Serge" claims that Ukraine "has to attack soft targets" with no missile defenses. This is war, son. You find a target you need to destroy, you destroy it. You don't wait for the enemy to set up defenses so the fight is "fair". When the Russians see a kindergarten that they feel confident they can take on successfully, they attack! They don't wait for the kindergarteners to set up defenses. No, sir! They blow up as many kindergarteners as they can.

Further, Serge is ignorant in suggesting that a submarine at port could not have defenses. You put the SAM system on or near the docks. My guess is that Russia is running out of SAM systems to deploy. That's too bad for Russia.

 

The Russian economy has some more bad news. Inflation, which is high at 5.3%, is forecast to hit 7.5% for the year. Interest rates are up to 12%.

More trouble for the Russian economy ahead: It just significantly raised its inflation forecast, despite Putin saying price hikes are hurting businesses

 

A math quiz for our Russian propagandists.

Q: Russia and Ukraine each spend $4,500,000 on military items. Russia buys one T-90 tank. Ukraine buys a series of $500 drones, three of which can destroy one tank. How many more tanks besides the one Russia just bought can Ukraine destroy with their drones?

A: __?__

Video shows $500 Ukrainian hobby drones chasing a $4.5 million Russian T-90 tank before blowing it up

 

What support do I have? Straight from the horse's mouth: Boris Johnson Pressured Zelenskyy to Ditch Peace Talks With Russia: Ukrainian Paper

This stuff is all well-known. Not exactly top secret. When we talk about Minsk 2, it was getting Ukraine to hold up their end of the bargain made in 2015. Both sides were violating it. And yes, there were neo-Nazis with the Azov Battalion committing atrocities against ethnic Russians in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Again, all well documented. There's a lot of fresh air up here. Take your head out of the sand for a couple of minutes. It'll change your life.

 

I mean, I'm sorry, but you'd have to be a total rube at this point to not see the West wants a war in Ukraine. How many hundreds of billions does BlackRock and JPMorgan need to invest over there to convince you?

 

We didn't start the fire.

 

Regarding combat-ready troops and soldiers in general, it's been known for a while now Russia is spiking the recruiting punch bowl more than Bama did before NIL. Tens of thousands are voluntarily signing up to fight in Russia's military each month. You see, with the failure of the sanctions, Russia still has their deep pockets and are paying soldiers upwards of 10x the average Russian salary. Migrants who've come to Russia for a better life can get an even better life. The families are taken care of if the soldier perishes in the war. A clear advantage Russia has. Eventually Ukraine runs out of soldiers. And what does the 10x average salary tell you? Russia isn't going anywhere is what it tells you.

 

Seems like they should be ready to go back on the offensive, instead of fighting only backwards. Are we still in the “any day now” phase of this great offensive that will sweep the Nazis out of Little Russia and make the West wish it had accepted terms while there was a chance?

 

Actually, we did start the fire …

 

This is just Russian propaganda dating back years. I need to see conclusive proof that "The West" forced Ukraine to fight and "scuttled" those accords. Again, conclusive proof that we FORCED Ukraine to fight or we're done here. And don't give me some bullshit Scott Ritter link either. Real proof, confirmed by multiple news sources.

 

Why not Goldman Sachs? And what are they investing in? Hundreds of billions? For what. Energy resources? Grain resources? I mean, what else is there?

 

You and like 5 other Putin sympathizers are saying this. Nobody else. Not a single news source outside of Russia or China is reporting this.

 

Should I break the bad demographic news to him? Needless to say, this isn't the Russia of a century ago.

 

Fair enough. That said, let's give credit where credit is due. Even if it took a war to get them off their asses, they're off their asses. I mean, Germany pretty much sacrificed their economy, so they deserve credit for that too.