The Ukraine War thread

[Amiga500]

NATO has the best weapons but the cost of them is extremely prohibitive. I hope NATO are learning the lessons of the value of masses of cheap and deadly throwaway equipment.

Asymmetric warfare comes in many guises.

Aside from the obvious main one of conventional vs. guerrilla war, there are economics, politics and perhaps most ultimately, resilience to a rising body-bag count.

The Russians can afford to have cheap equipment that can prove to be ineffective - as the state's tolerance for high casualties is not a new thing. Conversely, imagine if the (modern) UK had a few hundred soldiers killed because the reactive armour on the tanks was ********?


Right now the USA are in a major crisis on deciding what to do because of 3 dead soldiers. Russia wouldn't even blink at that if it suited them, or conversely are well capable of starting a war if that suited them instead.

 

[McTallshort]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/01/29/ukraine-victory-russia-defeat-hopes/

Looks like we in the west are trading Ukraine in for peace with Putin

 

[Which Tyler]

Peace with Putin so t last - he's not interested in peace, he'll just return to war again in a few years.

All we're doing is teaching him that he can get away with it without much opposition

 

[Saintjay]

A war that could drag on for years. Possibly no support from the US with a Trump presidency. I think everyone should keep supporting the Ukraine military and financially. Although I'm not sure many world leaders have an appetite for perpetual war. Especially if they also have to divert resources to the middle east.

 

[McTallshort]

My biggest fear is that the Ukrainian government and infrastructure completely fails and it becomes a completely failed state with Russia coming in and "saving" it. If the west wasn't committed to this they should have just let Russia overrun them in the first year

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

All this is also feeding into the story they tell in Russia that the west is weak, the people are coddled and feeble and only Russia represents strong manliness. Putin invaded Georgia and they said he would be pacified once he got what he wanted. Putin then invaded Crimea and people said he would be pacified once he got what he wanted. Putin supported separatists and people said he would be pacified once he got what he wanted. Now he's trying to take over the entirety of Ukraine, what sort of idiot could still think he will be happy if he succeeds? He can't have that much longer left on Earth and he will not want this to be the last act he does to restore the USSR, he will almost certainly start the next conflict immediately after Ukraine finished, most likely sweeping straight into Moldova. We will sit back and let him take that too you can guarantee. After that?

He has given up any pretence of working with the west now, the gloves are off and this is the new cold war. At least in the first cold war the west was prepared to front up to Russia. Now?

 

[McTallshort]

Worth a watch if you have a spare hour

 

[McTallshort]

Ukraine support package worth €50bn agreed by EU leaders

The agreement came earlier than expected, overcoming previous opposition from Hungary's Viktor Orban.

www.bbc.co.uk

Well done the EU

 

[McTallshort]

**** yeah

 

[The Seeker]

Ukrainian Armed Forces have not confirmed elimination of Russian General Tatarenko in Belbek airbase attack

The Ukrainian Armed Forces have not confirmed reports that Russian General Alexander Tatarenko was killed in a strike on the Belbek airbase in occupied Crimea, according to a statement from Southern Defense Forces spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk on national television on Feb. 4.

www.yahoo.com

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Russian oil getting into UK via refinery loophole, reports claim

Russian oil is refined in other countries and sold into the UK as jet fuel and diesel, research claims.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Tucker Carlson interviews Russia's Putin - Kremlin

The ex-Fox News host's trip to Moscow has been given near-constant coverage in Russia's state media.

www.bbc.co.uk

And to "better inform" Americans why USA are involved in the war by supplying weapons and finance to Ukraine, let's go directly to the one who started it to explain why.

 

[Which Tyler]

It should come as no surprise to anyone that Carlson has good communication channels with Putin

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

Tucker Carlson interviews Russia's Putin - Kremlin

The ex-Fox News host's trip to Moscow has been given near-constant coverage in Russia's state media.

www.bbc.co.uk

And to "better inform" Americans why USA are involved in the war by supplying weapons and finance to Ukraine, let's go directly to the one who started it to explain why.

Unfortunately someone I know has gone right down the rabbit hole. He was on about "the mainstream media will jump to fact check" this. The guy seemed mostly sane if holding some extreme views but, since Covid, he's just gone off the deep end. Everything is a conspiracy, he bought every Trump lie the second it was spouted, goes on all the time about the "elite" and "mainstream media", all the usual talking points of these nutters. I've also found that he has the view that "******* off the libz" is not some side effect of stating his views but it the goal in itself. He genuinely supports a political position in which he feels the government should go out of its way to do things to **** left leaning people off for no other reason than it will **** them off.

Suffice to say, he is excited about Carlson interviewing Putin...

 

[Which Tyler]

the view that "******* off the libz" is not some side effect of stating his views but it the goal in itself. He genuinely supports a political position in which he feels the government should go out of its way to do things to **** left leaning people off for no other reason than it will **** them off.

That seems to have been official rightist policy since 2016 TBH.
Brexit (post referendum), Trump, woke as a perjorative etc etc

Though I've yet to see any reflection on whether the laws (for example), proposed or real, might ever be used by the libz against the rightists (eg the UK outlawing "being annoying" at a protest - absolutely a just and fair law, as long as it's being used against Greta Thunberg, gods alone know what the reaction would be if it was used against a ULEZ protestor, for example)

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Unfortunately someone I know has gone right down the rabbit hole. He was on about "the mainstream media will jump to fact check" this. The guy seemed mostly sane if holding some extreme views but, since Covid, he's just gone off the deep end. Everything is a conspiracy, he bought every Trump lie the second it was spouted, goes on all the time about the "elite" and "mainstream media", all the usual talking points of these nutters. I've also found that he has the view that "******* off the libz" is not some side effect of stating his views but it the goal in itself. He genuinely supports a political position in which he feels the government should go out of its way to do things to **** left leaning people off for no other reason than it will **** them off.

Suffice to say, he is excited about Carlson interviewing Putin...

Sounds like a pleasant fella.

 

[McTallshort]

Same bloke who admitted he didn't believe a word Trump said despite agreeing with it on TV

 

[Bada-Bing!]

 

[General Melchett]

Given the Republicans' sudden stance on Ukraine and their staunch support for Israel I wonder how much Russian and Israeli money is working it's way into Republican/Trump campaign coffers via third parties. It's a matter of time before election interference claims are made IMO.

 

[BrokenWing]

I assume there's more to that headline… there shouldn't be, but I assume there is.