War in Ukraine

Wow. Illiterate people sure do seem to have a problem understanding Russian "elections" and how they are different from free and democratic elections. Putin is going to have an election in a few months to see if he can continue to be in charge. He has selected both of his opponents, and no doubt has properly threatened them to help them understand what they can and cannot talk about. No doubt the "elections" in southeastern Ukraine were supervised by armed troops inspecting what the residents were voting for, in case they needed assistance in making the correct choice. Regardless, some of the residents of these areas moved in after Russia invaded Crimea and southern Ukraine in 2014. It would only make sense to an imbecile to allow (or enable) a criminal to steal a property and then let him vote on whether he can keep it. Does that make sense to you?

 

Ukraine's got a new toy called the Archer. It's a shoot-n-scoot 155mm artillery piece from Sweden that fires three rounds in rapid succession. By the time a counter-battery round (if Russia even has that capability anymore) hits where the Archer was, the Archer is setting up elsewhere for its next shot. Now they just need more ammo.

The awesome Archer artillery system Ukraine is finally using

 

MSN

Russia, according to the Wall Street Journal, has lost 90% of their prewar army — not the cakewalk that our Rezident Putinite claims…

 

It's actually 90% of the numbers of the pre-war army. Half of the pre-war army is still there, because they are afraid to fight. Many of the other 40% are untrained conscripts who have/had no reason to be in a war zone, and prisoners. It's still pretty bad, even so.

 

I have gotten discouraged reading about internal Ukraine politics and the longer term supply situation. Hate the long term trends. But Ukraine is still making progress

 

I wonder if the supply troubles are supposed to motivate our traitorous congressmen to get off their butts and vote more aid.

 

Election denier - someone who denies election votes he doesn’t like.

 

I heard that Russia has lost so many troops that they’ve had to dig up the millions who died, during WWII, to die again.

 

Look how important war and arms deals are to America, Democrats are willing capitulate to border hawks and shred the law on everything to keep the war going (in Ukraine and Israel):

White House open to new border expulsion law, mandatory detention and increased deportations in talks with Congress

 

I think of it as the No, No, Yes strategy of supplying Ukraine with armaments and equipment and it has hindered Ukraine’s ability to fight this war and that is pretty squarely laid at the feet of the Biden administration (I voted for him and will do so again).

 

Seems like lots of Americans are more eager to see Ukrainians died than Ukrainians are to die themselves …

Backlash Grows Among Ukrainians In Response To Zelensky's 'Rose-Tinted' Speeches | ZeroHedge

 

Support for Ukraine is based upon far more than helping the domestic arms industry. They are emphasizing that framing for domestic political consumption, given that opponents are trying to frame it as a substantial cost to the United States

 

Yeah, what else is it based on? The false god of "national security?" One where we are willing to vastly increase human misery close to home to keep a war going indefinitely thousands of miles away in hopes that it may weaken Russia? To support an Israeli genocide? To increase tensions with China? The human cost is sickening, and why my opinion of America remains in the toilet consistently. And ultimately what good does it do to turn Ukraine and Gaza into rubble? Prolonging the war in Ukraine certainly hasnt helped their position, its probably worsened in the last year. Prolonging Israel's war is simply increasing the misery and body count, and probably the long term blowback. Not to mention tanking Biden's approval within his own party with a reelection on the horizon. Its not even strategically or politically smart! Just the actions of an empire addicted to an outlook that is the relic of the Cold War, and people of Biden's age.

 

Against Muricans who want to fight Russia to the last dead Ukrainian, what would happen if US funding dried up ? Breathe into a paper sack and read …

What Would Happen If The US Stopped Supporting Ukraine? | ZeroHedge

 

I will only address Ukraine, not Israel, which has completely different issues.

I am younger than Biden but I come from the Cold War generally. When that "war" ended up staying cold and so many citizens of newly free Communist countries, at least those that had not already voted with their feet, expressed so effusively how much they appreciated the West's consistent opposition, I rethought most of my prior reservations.

I use much the same mental dynamic with Taiwan and Ukraine. So long as both want us to help the fight to resist oppression, I feel a moral obligation to answer those requests. I would have far more reservation if I thought we were perpetuating a war they did not want to fight.

And of course, if it was a close call, I will always take the opposite side of the Far Right. If they favor a position, such as ending support for Ukraine, I know the opposite is the moral position.

I do worry about electoral consequences leading to the end of US democracy and the evil of the Far Right, but I attribute that far more to the Israeli conflict than Ukraine. I hate the immigration concessions, morally and as a matter of wise policy. But the domestic politics of that issue are so strong the other way, not motivated by Ukraine, IMO, despite the attempted linkage. I wish more people agreed with me, but that's just not the case. And I fear we have to give some, as stupid and immoral as it is, to keep democracy

 

Interesting article. Damn shame if it's true.

 

(I won't comment on Israel as that is a totally separate situation with little to compare it to the War in Ukraine.)

So when a thief steals $12 trillion and kills tens of thousands of people, you advocate turning a blind eye and hoping he doesn't do it again? Is that logical? Because Putin HAS invaded his neighbors before--this was not a random event, and it wasn't caused by Nazis and NATO. (Hint: he'll do it again.) Ideally, you would want Russia defeated to discourage them from doing this again (although, deep down, most people know that the lesson Putin will learn is to be more prepared next time). The human cost of any war is sickening. No one is thrilled to have so many people die needlessly. But when you have an aggressor nation like Russia (or WWII Germany), you have to stop them or they will keep invading. Waiting Putin out until he is tired of invading other countries is a sure-fire way to get even more people killed.

It is somewhat pointless to worry about Russia turning Ukraine to rubble. Russia will gain enough wealth from the $12 trillion in minerals that, should he win, he can rebuild Ukraine (and his own military) anyway he wants. (If Ukraine wins, they also have enough wealth to rebuild.) Failing to oppose aggression, especially of this scale, is essentially giving a green light to aggression all over the world. What you are really asking for is a perpetual arms race. And if you think the last arms race with Russia nearly bankrupted us, start clutching your purse. We now have two superpowers to compete with, not one. Turning a blind eye to Russia's invasion is not putting the Cold War in the rear view mirror--IT IS REVIVING THE COLD WAR. Biden's outlook had nothing to do with Russia invading Ukraine. Putin's outlook had everything to do with Russia invading Ukraine.

Defeating Russia in Ukraine may be our last chance to avoid a new arms race. And remember this, there is no guarantee that we will win the next arms race or we won't bankrupt the U.S. trying to keep up with two superpowers, especially when both of them are as good or better than we are at computer hacking. You better learn to speak Russian and Chinese, just in case.

Ukraine's position is just fine, or would be if we continued providing weapons and ammo at the previous rates. Russia has been kept away from Kiev, Russia is trying to fight an offensive war that they aren't very good at, Russia has lost a tremendous amount of men and equipment, and their Black Sea navy has largely been defeated. Ukraine has gotten past Russia's formidable defenses in at least a couple of areas. And Russia is very close to economic disaster, with inflation at 7.5% and rising.

I used to think you were much smarter than this. It surprises me that you would come up with such foolish arguments.

 

Staggering numbers, if accurate. They seem exaggerated though. Seems like Uraine's counter-offensive would have been vastly more successful than it was, if those numbers were accurate.

 

Where does this end? Russia isn't going to be defeated militarily (unless we escalate the war) and seems perfectly capable of sustaining their actions, Ukraine isn't going to surrender unless completely overrun, and we keep pumping arms into the region as the country continues to be destroyed and thousands displaced. The longer this thing goes, the more the West's position will weaken, Europe will decide trade with Russia is more important, there is a 50% chance Trump wins and cuts off weapons sales all together.

You are basically admitting that there are no principles at stake here, simply the maintenance of our status as the world's most powerful hegemon. Who cares about the Chinese and the Russians, same shit different language, especially if Biden is willing to basically enact right-wing policies to keep these wars going. We are basically those countries already or getting there, mostly because of our slavish devotion to 'national security' which can justify any evil we do and freedoms we curtail. This isnt saving democracy, if you believe that I have some magic beans to sell you. Learning a new language is on my New Years resolution list anyways, so if that's the worst case, that doesnt sound so bad.

 

Your knowledge base of history appears to be limited to WW II, and the Cold War: Every bad guy = the next Hitler, and every action by Russia = Soviet era communist expansion.