From what I read, they have drones and pilots, but not all drones were capable of carrying weapons. They were trying to expedite the acquisition of more drones and munitions for those drones as of last week.
If it’s true, they are getting roasted. The Ukrainian people want the victory more. They are tired of centuries of Russian intransigence. This is Russia’s second Afghanistan.
Putin canceling elections should blow the whole "Putin is right & it's just peacekeeping" argument, however ridiculously weak it was, out of the water. Maybe he had this planned & only Ukraine resisting messed up his timetable
Russia has invested a lot in Kentucky. Something about who their Senators are and what power they have in DC.
Their elections are like the Trump-GOP fevered dreams of rigged elections anyway. They mean nothing. Guy’s main opponent was poisoned once, defiantly returned, and is now literally sitting in a jail. There was little chance of Putin losing, alas I suppose they don’t even want to take the chance of an uprising. Not via a vote, anyway.
Invading Ukraine is a desperate move. Putin's putrid, not stupid. I wonder if things in Russia are worse than everyone knows, hence the land grab.
For resources? If that's the case carpet bombing & possibly making it radioactive isn't going to help. For distraction? Possibly. But now he's having to jail/kill a chunk of his populace, alienate oligarchs, make the economy worse...etc. He's lost it.
Hackers for the good side... "Volunteer hackers and IT specialists have entered the information war in defense of Ukraine, official says From CNN's Sean Lyngaas Thousands of volunteer hackers and IT specialists around the world are helping defend Ukraine, and some are doing so by targeting Russian organizations with cyberattacks, a senior Ukrainian government cybersecurity official asserted on Friday. ... The “IT army” is a loose band of Ukrainian citizens and foreigners that are not part of the Ukrainian government — but Kyiv is encouraging them. It’s an example of how the Ukrainian government is pulling out all the stops to try to slow Russia’s military assault, and illustrates how cyberattacks have played a supporting role in the war. .... Hacktivists of various stripes — from Belarusians opposed to the war, to self-described Russian vigilante hackers — have entered the information war and claimed to have carried out hacks on their opponents. The website of Russian state media outlet TASS was hacked Monday and briefly displayed a message referencing Russian casualties in the war in Ukraine and denouncing Russian President Vladimir Putin. Though it wasn’t clear who example was responsible for the hack, the logo of the hacking collective Anonymous appeared on the TASS website."
A lot of people seem to be mocking their equipment and questioning the training of their troops. Obviously they have advanced fighters and a nuclear arsenal. I guess if you are willing to just lay siege and bomb the crap out of civilian areas indiscriminately, it almost doesn’t matter. He must see his own troops as cannon fodder. Obviously gives no crap about the living conditions inside Russia either.
Some light-hearted humor. From a Tiktoker: Putin has spent over 20 years crafting his image carefully, almost meticulously, to exude this bravado, alpha, brave Russian. Like the shirtless horseback photo shoot, videos of him lifting weights, etc. How does he feel knowing that Zelensky has become the icon he is now due to Putin's own actions? Zelensky is now the embodiment of everything Putin wanted to be in the eyes of the world. He spent 20 years doing this & lost the battle in a week, to the voice of Paddington Bear. LOL
Agree. I think when Putin decided to invade Ukraine he expecting Hungary in 1956 or Czechoslovakia in 1968. Instead Russia will be getting Afghanistan in the '80s.
Although Russia's invasion of Ukraine is on a scale magnitudes greater, a weak domestic economy and falling popularity is what motivated the Argentine military junta to invade the Falklands in 1982.
Ukraine war: 'My city's being shelled, but mum won’t believe me' — BBC News As someone once said anyone can spot a lie unless he is in need of that lie. But even though they worry about me, they still say it probably happens only by accident, that the Russian army would never target civilians. That it's Ukrainians who're killing their own people." "My parents understand that some military action is happening here. But they say: 'Russians came to liberate you. They won't ruin anything, they won't touch you. They're only targeting military bases'." Russian state TV channels justify the war by blaming Ukrainian aggression, and continue to call it "a special operation of liberation". Any Russian outlet using the words "war", "invasion" or "attack" faces being blocked by the country's media regulator for spreading "deliberately false information about the actions of Russian military personnel" in Ukraine.
Sanctioned Russian billionaire banker Mikhail Fridman was locked out of the private-equity firm he cofounded and staff were told to ignore him, report says He was locked out & employees were told to ignore him
He has to hold back his best troops for counterattack in case NATO countries step in with a modern military force.
This part got me: "There are a lot of thoughts in my head now. What will happen to us all? Where is this going? Will I ever come back? Will I ever see my parents again? I still love them deeply, but something inside me has broken and I don't think it can ever be fixed."" Just how her mom could've just laughed it off basically. Parents not believing their kids even with evidence because they trust only state media. There are going to be a lot of destroyed relationships here between children & parents. I'd say that level of delusion is unreal but unfortunately all too real.
Yandex: Russian search engine warns it could default - CNN "London(CNN Business)Russia's biggest search engine could collapse as financial fallout from the invasion of Ukraine spreads. Yandex (YNDX), which handles about 60% of internet search traffic in Russia and operates a big ride-hailing business, said Thursday that it may be unable to pay its debts as a consequence of the financial market meltdown triggered by the West's unprecedented sanctions."
Question? Is it possible for NATO or the UN to form a blockade? Keep any goods from entering Russia by sea? I'm assuming that the air restrictions are making it difficult for goods to get into Russia by air.
