Russia's Invasion of Ukraine (Official Thread)

[Professor Emeritus]

Trying to imagine Zelensky leading the troops into battle like a based Gary Oldman:

It's been absolutely bizarre the way in which Russian act affronted by the nation they're attacking responding as if they're being attacked.

This is in the same category as all those threats, "If you even dream of attacking Russian soil!" As if Russian soil is in some special holy category when you have 200,000 troops on Ukrainian soil?

 

[BK The Great]

Military aid approved by the president (as opposed to being passed by Congress) has no impact on the budget. It's just the transfer of material the Pentagon already has. It might not be the correct idea, but I somehow doubt that it has any impact on the country "rotting before our eyes", whatever you mean by that.

Doesn't seem like this dude Biden is doing anything to be honest. So all of this money being sent out doesn't affect the inflation or anything? They have said that wheat exports are coming from there and i'm sure it does affect stuff in the country a bit.

 

[Pressure]

More military aid? While this country is rotting before our eyes? fukk this shyt.

 

[Techniec]

Trying to imagine Zelensky leading the troops into battle like a based Gary Oldman:

It's been absolutely bizarre the way in which Russian act affronted by the nation they're attacking responding as if they're being attacked.

This is in the same category as all those threats, "If you even dream of attacking Russian soil!" As if Russian soil is in some special holy category when you have 200,000 troops on Ukrainian soil?

Same sense of historic grandeur, self delusion, and racism/condescending Israel's have towards Palestinians

 

[Professor Emeritus]

Same sense of historic grandeur, self delusion, and racism/condescending Israel's have towards Palestinians

Took me a second trying to figure out why you were comparing Gary Oldman's character in The Professional to the Israelis.

 

[Professor Emeritus]

Doesn't seem like this dude Biden is doing anything to be honest. So all of this money being sent out doesn't affect the inflation or anything? They have said that wheat exports are coming from there and i'm sure it does affect stuff in the country a bit.

This isn't money being sent out. This is weapons from our existing inventory. It's just always reported as a $ amount to give an appropriate approximation of how much we're giving.

Today, the Department of Defense (DoD) announces the authorization of a Presidential Drawdown of security assistance valued at up to $775 million to meet Ukraine’s critical security and defense needs. This authorization is the Biden Administration’s nineteenth drawdown of equipment from DoD inventories for Ukraine since August 2021.

Capabilities in this package include:

• Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS);
• 16 105mm Howitzers and 36,000 105mm artillery rounds;
• 15 Scan Eagle Unmanned Aerial Systems;
• 40 MaxxPro Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles with mine rollers;
• Additional High-speed Anti-radiation missiles;
• 50 Armored High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV);
• 1,500 Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles;
• 1,000 Javelin anti-armor systems;
• 2,000 anti-armor rounds;
• Mine clearing equipment and systems;
• Demolition munitions;
• Tactical secure communications systems;
• Night vision devices, thermal imagery systems, optics, and laser rangefinders.

In total, the United States has committed approximately $10.6 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration.

It has no impact on inflation at all. At worse, it may lead to additional spending in a future defense bill 1-2-3 years down the road in order to replenish supplies, but that will be a fraction of the total defense spending so it won't even be noticed. And much of that might not even be replaced if we were going to progress to next-gen by the time we got prepped for such a war anyway.

Again, not saying I support it either way.

 

[Sukairain]

@Rhakim

Tag me next time, I'm the neorealist, and I drink up everything Waltz and Mearsheimer have ever written, because you know something? They're right!

Go somewhere with that liberal-institutionalism like it means something. Woodrow Wilson over here There is ONE show in town for understanding interstate relations, and that's neorealism. I defy you to come up with a better understanding of the subject than neorealism.

You can't. All you can do is sit on the sidelines and snipe about irrelevant topics like morality, reason, and logic, like this illiterate Grozoubinksi, not understanding that the world of nations is one in which irrational fears, paranoia, and greed is what makes that world go round. It's called the security dilemma. I'd explain further, but I'm wasting my breath on you, and I have better things to do today.

 

[Piff Perkins]

How porous is the front line there? HIMARS are so mobile that it's within the realm of possibility that someone did a speed stealth run down an undefended road if the target was critical enough.

Or the USA might have simply lied about their combat capabilities to catch the enemy unaware.

It would be hilarious if some Ukrainian McGuyver has found a way to soup up HIMARS missiles to get an extra few miles out of them. Like those kids ramping up the clock speeds on a 486.

The initial reports were that the computer systems were stripped from the HIMARS to ensure Ukraine couldn’t cross major lines by striking deep into Russia. While they technically have not done that, it sure is looking like the computer systems were either not stripper or the weapon is simply more powerful than anticipated. This is decades old US tech, too.

Ukraine allegedly just took out a Black Sea naval HQ today. Seems like they’re slowly taking away Putin’s last card: blockade and starving Europe this winter.

 

[88m3]

Trying to imagine Zelensky leading the troops into battle like a based Gary Oldman:

It's been absolutely bizarre the way in which Russian act affronted by the nation they're attacking responding as if they're being attacked.

This is in the same category as all those threats, "If you even dream of attacking Russian soil!" As if Russian soil is in some special holy category when you have 200,000 troops on Ukrainian soil?

I think it is great that the public especially and but also the media to an extent are doing more to push back against Russian disinformation this time around.


Yeah, there's really a lot to unpack there....

Putin has taken Russia down a very totalitarian path in recent years... you see it in their elections, laws, and their media

I can't speak to the national psyche but there's clearly a very imperialist/colonialist mindset in their government and military


I'm assuming you've seen the video of Russian college kids protesting outside of a US embassy in Russia because the US is arming Ukraine...


Anyways I really can't understand the persecution complex when Russia instigated the entire conflict, is the aggressor still now, is a super power(lol or at least a dominant regional power) and has been occupying Ukraine since 2014.


It's pretty surreal

 

[88m3]

Estonia officially bans Russian tourists from entering country over Ukraine invasion

Roughly 2,500 Russians enter Estonia everyday, according to the country's Interior minister.

www.axios.com

Ukrainian spies snuck into Russia ahead of the invasion and found a lot of drunk Russian troops had traded supplies for alcohol: report

In many respects, the invasion has been humiliating for the Russian military, which has suffered massive troop and equipment losses.

www.businessinsider.com

 

[Professor Emeritus]

I think it is great that the public especially and but also the media to an extent are doing more to push back against Russian disinformation this time around.


Yeah, there's really a lot to unpack there....

Putin has taken Russia down a very totalitarian path in recent years... you see it in their elections, laws, and their media

I can't speak to the national psyche but there's clearly a very imperialist/colonialist mindset in their government and military


I'm assuming you've seen the video of Russian college kids protesting outside of a US embassy in Russia because the US is arming Ukraine...


Anyways I really can't understand the persecution complex when Russia instigated the entire conflict, is the aggressor still now, is a super power(lol or at least a dominant regional power) and has been occupying Ukraine since 2014.


It's pretty surreal

I think social media has been the #1 culprit behind the reversal in the ability of authoritarian leaders to force their narrative upon the public. It simply makes it far easier for an tyrant with a plan to push his agenda on his population without them realizing they're being manipulated and rebelling...or with them welcoming the manipulation due to the positive social pressures.

I'd say that since the 1960s we'd probably experienced a fairly steady anti-tyranny global movement that was making it harder and harder to get away with bullshyt until about 2012 or so, and then shyt started regressing like a motherfukker.

Low-key Gingrich, the War on Terror, and Trump all played their part too by normalizing the game from the seat of power and re-affirming the "any tyrant is okay if he's our tyrant" policy.

 

[Chef]

How porous is the front line there? HIMARS are so mobile that it's within the realm of possibility that someone did a speed stealth run down an undefended road if the target was critical enough.

Or the USA might have simply lied about their combat capabilities to catch the enemy unaware.

It would be hilarious if some Ukrainian McGuyver has found a way to soup up HIMARS missiles to get an extra few miles out of them. Like those kids ramping up the clock speeds on a 486.

There’s stories circulating around about Ukraine’s own domestic MLRS, Grom putting in the work but it was still being developed during the invasion so take that with a grain of salt.

It’s safe to assume, some of these military packages don’t have all the inventory written down for intel reasons.

Honestly, after seeing drones drop mortar rounds down tank hatches. Nothing surprises me about this war.

 

[bnew]

Spoiler: mirror

archive.ph

 

[bnew]

Spoiler: mirror

archive.ph

 

[rightfultoefinger]

They really going to try and take Crimea back? I guess they saw how paper tiger the Russians are and now got some new toys to play with.

Russia better make a move soon because winter is coming in a few months.