War

[DIY-HP-LED]

Judging by their lock on the state media, they are close to being as entrenched as the regimes in Saudi, Iran and China. So I am not optimistic that exchanging the head will change the way of things. They had a clearer shot thirty years ago, and look where they are now.

Well, there is a historic pattern of them losing power after losing a war, 1905,1917 and Afghanistan come to mind. Change at the top in Russia comes from the top and the impediments to change are the same as in America, Putin's older fans who watch state propaganda , ultra nationalists and bigots they all have their analogs in America. Liberal democracy will mean the dissolution of The Russian federation, but information will be pouring into European Russia from Ukraine and Belarus via broadcast TV and radio, there can be no iron curtain through the middle of the Slavic world. You tame a wild elephant by tying it to a tame one.

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1569738899404034049

 

[DIY-HP-LED]

MSN

Vladimir Putin is kaput. The proof of that is the below letter, written by a 26-year-old soldier in the Russian army, V.V. Tarasenko. We know nothing about Tarasenko, except that he was a resident of Putin’s brainchild, the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic, and that he has a wife, Valeria, and a small son. We also know that Tarasenko died in battle during the recent Ukrainian offensive in Kharkiv province. Ukrainian intelligence found the letter; the Ukrainian analyst and soldier Taras Berezovets posted it on Facebook. The letter was written with little punctuation and without capital letters. I’ve added them to make it more comprehensible:

 

[injinji]

Close enough ,

100% agree. One is one of the two premiere papers in the county and the other is a tabloid. But like you say, it's close enough.

 

[injinji]

the latest disinformation efforts by the trolls

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1567120051395772416

You know what they say about Russia and the GOP? Ride across the river, deep and wide.

 

[BudmanTX]

You know what they say about Russia and the GOP? Ride across the river, deep and wide.

yep and from the looks of it other MAGA idiots have caught that hook and sinker too, ol pooty is doing overtime with his disinformation and BS stuff now....i would expect more to come to....

 

[Bagginski]

I could be wrong, but the use of even one small nuke would lead to a massive response by Nato. It’s for what the organization was made and is being maintained.
Imo.

I agree

 

[printer]

I agree

I dissagree. I think if a tactical nuke is used one of the same size would be used.

 

[Roger A. Shrubber]

They will be exchanged for Ukrainians and will go home with tales to tell their Russian students! Or maybe, like Stalin, Vlad will send everybody who was in Ukraine soldier or civilian to the Gulag, to avoid embarrassment and keep a lid on things!

They're non combatants, they won't get traded through the usual channels. If they get traded, it will probably be in exchange for the Ukrainian civilians the russians kidnapped and sent who the fuck knows where.

 

[cannabineer]

I dissagree. I think if a tactical nuke is used one of the same size would be used.

Why?
Curiosity, not argument.

Stipulating to your premise, how do you think that nuke would be used?

 

[xtsho]

It's time for Zelenskyy to make a speech similar to that of Winston Churchill that is broadcast around the globe. Just to send a message to pootin.

 

[xtsho]

They need to seize the momentum. Retaking Crimea should be on the table. Russia is weak. Keep kicking them while they're down.

 

[cannabineer]

They need to seize the momentum. Retaking Crimea should be on the table. Russia is weak. Keep kicking them while they're down.

They have the momentum imo. Russian disorganization seems to be so severe, and slowing both their initiatives and reactions to the extent, that Ukrainian forces (appear to) have the luxury of taking the time for tactical and logistical consolidation. That is an effective force multiplier in UA possession.

 

[Bagginski]

I dissagree. I think if a tactical nuke is used one of the same size would be used.

So, you expect the NATO response to NORMALIZE the use of tactical nukes?

Talk about bad precedents…

 

[xtsho]

They have the momentum imo. Russian disorganization seems to be so severe, and slowing both their initiatives and reactions to the extent, that Ukrainian forces (appear to) have the luxury of taking the time for tactical and logistical consolidation. That is an effective force multiplier in UA possession.

One thing I've learned over the years is that when you're challenged by a bigger opponent and you gain even the slightest upperhand at anytime in the battle is that you exploit it immediately and not allow the aggressor any opportunity to catch their breath. You kick, claw, and go all out taking control of the battle.

Russia is nothing what people thought. They have a bunch of poorly trained soldiers, outdated and unreliable equipment, a lack of basics like ammunition, etc...

The Russian military is in shambles. Decades of lack of maintenance has left them with an aging collection of crap that should be in a junkyard. Their tank designs were also flawed from the beginning making them easily destroyed by a US supplied drone and hellfire missile.

Some speculate that their nuclear capability isn't even a threat as the missiles that would be used to disperse any warheads are aging pieces of garbage. They might not even make it out of the silos.

Screw pootin and anyone on his side. He's just caused the deaths of tens of thousands for absolutely nothing. He's finished. It's now just a matter of what happens internally in Russia. Will they become more Democratic or will they let the same power structure remain in place but just with someone else as the face.

 

[BudmanTX]

The use of nukes shows desperation imo...let the legions drain him....pooty and his cronies are gonna have to some big choices.....let him and them burn..

 

[cannabineer]

So, you expect the NATO response to NORMALIZE the use of tactical nukes?

Talk about bad precedents…

I think you put your finger on something that has been below my awareness threshold til now.

77 years ago, we used the first and only nukes spent in war. World opinion about that is still haunting us. It was a bad precedent then (even though I believe that the alternative, Downfall, would have been much worse for us and our enemies).

Today Nato possesses conventional weapons, and their delivery systems, that are quite sufficient as instruments of policy. Unless Russia’s first use is massive (numerous nuking in a short time), we can visit strategic consequences on the Russian war machine greater than the use of one or two tactical nuclear weapons would exact of Ukraine or Nato.

The moral high ground is of value immediately. It remains of arguably greater value when the histories are written, and “this is who we were” will be something we can say without bearing that particular shame. All jmo of course.

Yesterday I was drawn outside by the peculiar scream of a jet coming fast and low. I saw a B-2 come by directly overhead at no more than seven thousand feet AGL. What a sight and sound! (I think the topside engine housings were white! We get some unique “mule” airframes come through here .)
These are the weapons that will allow us the necessary authority to speak to Russia, without needing to use the bomb.

That said, it is probable Printer knows something I don’t, and I anticipate his response with anticipation.

 

[cannabineer]

One thing I've learned over the years is that when you're challenged by a bigger opponent and you gain even the slightest upperhand at anytime in the battle is that you exploit it immediately and not allow the aggressor any opportunity to catch their breath. You kick, claw, and go all out taking control of the battle.

Russia is nothing what people thought. They have a bunch of poorly trained soldiers, outdated and unreliable equipment, a lack of basics like ammunition, etc...

The Russian military is in shambles. Decades of lack of maintenance has left them with an aging collection of crap that should be in a junkyard. Their tank designs were also flawed from the beginning making them easily destroyed by a US supplied drone and hellfire missile.

Some speculate that their nuclear capability isn't even a threat as the missiles that would be used to disperse any warheads are aging pieces of garbage. They might not even make it out of the silos.

Screw pootin and anyone on his side. He's just caused the deaths of tens of thousands for absolutely nothing. He's finished. It's now just a matter of what happens internally in Russia. Will they become more Democratic or will they let the same power structure remain in place but just with someone else as the face.

Agreed by and large. The thing that strikes me is that, despite the nominal huge difference in the size of the warring nations, militarily Ukraine is proving not to be the smaller or lesser power.

Bottom line, I am confident that Ukraine’s flag officers will turn the heat on quite soon. I am near certain that the Donbas territories will be deconquered in short order, and pretty confident they will retake the entire Crimea. And set up a heck of a nice toll booth on the western anchorage of the Kerch bridge.

 

[Roger A. Shrubber]

So, you expect the NATO response to NORMALIZE the use of tactical nukes?

Talk about bad precedents…

i would be hard pressed to pick an equitable target for a retaliatory strike. Was the weapon used in an urban area? Against mostly equipment and buildings? Or against civilians? Even which way is the wind blowing...If you want to return force with equal force, there is a lot to consider.
much easier to take out selected military targets with minimal collateral damage, to prove a point. with what NATO has at the ready at any moment, they could easily return any single russian attack tenfold, one hundredfold, without using nukes.

 

[Friendly_Grower]

They need to seize the momentum. Retaking Crimea should be on the table. Russia is weak. Keep kicking them while they're down.

If everyone is paying for the party and Putin doesn't call up a Draft.
We all need to realize that if Putin drops this Special Police Action BS and declares war on Ukraine that it's over for Ukraine.

On the other hand, as far as I can tell the economic sanctions are starting to have an effect.
That effect is possibly limiting Putin's choices.

True True that it will take a few years to get LNG terminals installed in Europe but it is happening so if Putin wants to do his worst short of nuclear the future is less profitable for a lot of Russians with sanctions enforced. That is in my opinion.