War in Ukraine — Megathread

They should consider making it so that only people who have been active users here for 6+ months can participate in the politics discussions. @Rockstar stinks far away.

 

The above posts were not directed to me, but I'll respond anyway.

Does everybody have to be a War Hawk, in order to remain in this discussion?

I have found, at this point for me, that it usually is a waste of time to post on tinnitus-related topics, so I prefer when I am here to spend my time on the politics section.

 

Yeah I know what you said and you don't need to patronize asking if I did. The point I was making is that the situation is not good when even the UK government-funded BBC aren't painting a good picture. If the pro-Ukraine sources that people are reading from online are saying it's not looking good in Bakhmut recently, then not everything people are saying online is part of some mastermind plan about a spooky Russian psy-op.

Yeah there's some promotion of exaggeration online as pessimism runs deep such as "Bakhmut is about to fall in 5 minutes", however some people are actually just losing faith in the war. Even the protests which drew thousands in Germany shows it isn't just a few people, so not every account you see on social media is somehow a fake account Putin made. People can have a different opinion you know?

I have my own opinions about Putin and Russia. Not exactly very positive either. That's another long discussion altogether.

What, am I not allowed to think on my own? Which rules have I broken? If I want to talk about politics which is a main interest of my, then that's my choice.

If you're that paranoid, I'm sure the admin of this website will give you the location of where I live (hint: it's not Russia). I can even send him a picture of me and my street too if you need even more evidence of him confirming.

Plus have a think about this; why would these Russian government accounts you are getting paranoid about promote on a forum that isn't too mainstream? It would make more sense to choose mainstream websites or apps such as TikTok. More influential with less effort.

What are you going to do about it? I already post on the tinnitus sub-forum, but sometimes maybe people are different and prefer not to constantly think about their condition to deal with it?

If I want to talk more about politics, then I can. If you can't accept someone with a different opinion on this thread, then deal with it. I won't tell you how to use this website and you don't tell me how to use this website. I think that's a fair deal perhaps?

Thank you.

I first came on this forum after my head was getting too heavy dealing with my tinnitus recently and my first post was specifically about that. I'm on disability if that gives you any idea.

It just so happens you're allowed to talk about politics on this website, so I just did because distracting helps me deal with tinnitus. Maybe I just don't want to focus 100% on my tinnitus all the time as it drives me crazy doing that.

If it helps, then it's my life.

 

So who do you think is particularly correct when it comes to political opinions?

You can also stop with the poll thumping as anything can happen during the election. I remember when Trump declared himself the true winner in 2020 because all the polls said he was ahead, but he lost instead, and then decided that he was still president because he couldn't have possibly lost to 'that guy'.

We should take this over to the 2020 Presidential Elections thread. Meet me over there where you can enjoy my post about the stupid shit Trump did while president...

 

Nobody Googles and goes on a tinnitus forum unless they have tinnitus of some form.

 

Shocking I know? This further makes the Russian government worker accusation a bumbling mess lmao.

It says there's a little over 38,000 people on this forum and considering tinnitus will only affect a minority, expect not too much growth either. Compare this to the billions of active users on the social media apps that makes more sense to work full time on. No critical thinking but pure paranoia.

The way I see it, someone couldn't handle being called out on being condescending twice. Turns out the "apology" at the first time was just a virtue signal (still acted condescending in the same post - strange). Someone else has pointed out the belittling and insulting attitude in the past too. Others don't seem to be called out for the same reasons, so I wonder what excuse will be made.

There seems to be a lack of self-reflection from someone. Instead of accepting he can't always control people, his intolerance of people being different can't handle it so he breaks down into a mental state of paranoia convincing himself that someone who doesn't bow down for him and his views is somehow a foreign government worker??? Now he's convinced he's the owner of this website by bossing people around on how to use it even though no one did the same to him. Basically he has trouble treating people as equals and always wanting to look down people like he's the boss, but hates it when people treat him as an equal by pushing back in response as you might have seen.

Don't those collections of behaviours sound familiar? There was a complete failure on self-reflection after the virtue signal I mentioned too. Something isn't right.

It is what it is I guess. If the same thing happens again, then you know why and my point will be further proven again.

You have a nice day though.

 

Thank you, Captain Obvious. So why are you telling me this then? Weak attempt at a straw man and quoting out of context.

As usual, you never give us the full picture. You might want to check out who the organizers for those events were. Sahra Wagenknecht is the main one. Looking her up, she’s a member of the ex-communist Left party. A quick Wiki search tells us:

• “Wagenknecht has called for the dissolution of NATO and for a new security agreement that links Germany and Russia. Throughout her career, Wagenknecht has argued in favor of a closer relationship with Russia; in 1992, she penned an essay praising Stalinist Russia”.

• “In the lead-up to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Wagenknecht was a prominent defender of Russia and its President Vladimir Putin, arguing on February 20, 2022 that while the United States was trying to "conjure up" an invasion of Ukraine, "“Russia has in fact no interest to march into Ukraine”.”

This explains a lot. We’re talking about a radical here. Most Germans probably think she’s a lunatic thankfully, but it’s sad to see misinformed individuals fall victim to her BS and manipulation.

A vocal minority consisting of generally misinformed individuals and tankies ultimately doesn’t impress me. Tankies and far left radicals (far right too) have been objectively wrong about this war since the start and still are. It’s astonishing actually. No one should take what they say at face value anymore. These people would give up East Germany if it meant that they could appease Russia.

No one’s paranoid, nor do I care. I doubt you will be posting regularly on this forum 1 year from now anyway. I just found it odd how much posting you were doing here and the fact that you’ve yet to criticize Russia or Putin of any wrongdoing so far. To me, that speaks volumes about where your thinly veil loyalties lie which is fine and your right to believe whatever you want. But stop getting your panties in a bunch anytime someone calls you out. Man up.

And FYI, you don’t have to be actively working for the Russians, to be considered an ‘asset’. It's better for Russian intelligence, if they can push someone in their direction, without any direct involvement, and it fits well into their agenda. Anything that cause infighting and distrust over supporting Ukraine is a win for them. It’s why Tucker Carlson gets features in Russian state media all the time. Dude is doing their work for free unknowingly. Some people will tell you knowingly. I disagree though. Stupidity is strong in Fox News.

Nothing. I will continue to attack any nonsense and BS whenever I see it. Not exclusive to you though.

Btw, you’ve yet to tell me how peace negotiations would play out with Russia? What are the stipulations? What would be the agreed upon terms where we ensure Russia doesn’t do anything like this again? All this crying you do about wanting peace and stopping endless wars, but you don’t offer any practical resolutions to stop it.

L
et me preface by saying I’m not a war hawk. But you need to be realistic about the situation. Again, tell me a path to peaceful resolution without using weapons based on everything Russia has done since 2014 or prior?

Let’s say Russia walks away with territorial gains. What happens in 5 years when they implement plans to take over Belarus if the civilian population revolts against Putin and Lukashenko? What do we do if Russia successfully implements a coup in Moldova (which they recently tried to do btw)? Russia is showing no signs of slowing down its imperialistic tendency and the disturbing part is that they are doing it using nuclear threats. If this is allowed, nuclear non-proliferation will be finished. A bunch of countries will look to get nuclear weapons, many of them from unstable countries. If you think the risk of nuclear war is too high now, then you’ll hate a future where most countries have them either for conquest aspirations or defensive purposes against imperialistic enemies. I can’t fathom that there are people that can’t see the geopolitical implication of letting Russia win this war and all Putin needs to do to call it a win is some territorial gain.

The only option right now is for Russia to be humiliated and embarrassed militarily until it withdraws. Anything else is blatant appeasement that will be exploited by Russia. Ukrainians are literally doing us favor here. They want to fight and by withdrawing aid, it will result in more death and suffering.

 

After Liberation: Russian Bombs Pound Kherson

Another great piece from Vice News. Their live reporting has been one of the best.

 

Maybe the tax authorities should also have a look at the City in London, the financial hub where oligarchs have been hiding tons of money too.

Swiss prosecutors charge four bankers with helping to hide Putin’s millions

 

Public support for funding to Ukraine is losing ground, as I have said it would. Ten months ago, 60% supported it, and it has fallen to 48% now. It has been over a year and Biden wants to continue spending hundreds of billions of dollars on support for the war. One year ago, 7 percent of Americans thought that we had given them too much. The number has grown to 26 percent now. The number of those who support it, who are now in the minority, will decrease because nobody but the war industry wants an expensive, drawn-out commitment to it.

Biden Challenged by Softening Public Support for Arming Ukraine

 

I think we can all agree that war of any kind is seriously insane. What is happening in Israel is seriously bad now w/ that "leader" who is out to make himself a dictator and abolish the rule of law. The invasion of Ukraine could and should have been avoided. And on and on.

What I have to ask myself is, what can I do about any of this? Nothing, other than sending a small amount of money towards humanitarian causes, most of which is surely eaten up my huge administration salaries. To me, this is the fundamental question though. Can I do anything about it? No.

So getting upset or riled up about events I have no control over and no real input is not a productive, healthy or smart way to live. I care of course, but in the end, caring doesn't get anything done in the real world. I can only work within the community in which I live. Can't fix immigration, or inflation, or rising crime, or COVID-19, etc. Better to be busy doing things I enjoy and are productive, things that, no matter how small, make the world and my life a little better..

 

I am sure soon we will find this "did not happen":

Live news: Russian fighter jet strikes US drone over Black Sea

When Russian bombs fell in Poland... well, it turned out it was a "mistake". In reality those bombs did not fall in Poland but in Ukraine.

 

Jeffery Sachs | The UNITED STATES is a MADMAN

 

International court issues war crimes warrant for Putin

 

It’s official now.

Finland to Join NATO Tuesday, Military Alliance Chief Says

Putin complained about NATO on Russian borders, and now his actions will result in a country which vowed to be militarily neutral since WW2 to join NATO.

It’s astonishing really, not even Stalin managed to make Finland stop being neutral and join NATO.

Regardless of how the Ukraine War turns out, history will look down on Putin as one of the worse tacticians ever in military history.

An absolute dumpster fire. Well played.

 

That's what happens when someone suffering from "little man syndrome" lets his ego run his life, and the fortunes of a country (Russia). Disaster is sure to follow sooner or later--in this case sooner.

 

Last time I checked Ukraine was losing the war.

The only country who can stand up to Russia is the USA. All other NATO countries are insignificant.

I have no doubt Finns are brave and skilled soldiers, but how many hypersonic missiles do they have? Last time I checked, zero.

Someone said if Russia attacked the UK, the UK would have ammunition to last 24 hours.

 

Currently static. Russia’s winter offensive left a lot to be desired to be honest. Yes, they’ve made advances in Bakhmut, both sides took significant losses (although attrition rates still favor Ukraine). The Wagner mercenary group have spent months trying to capture Bakhmut, at an enormous cost. They are basically using their poorly trained and unequipped troops (most recruits are convicts lol) as cannon fodder to make these incremental advances. Their manpower is diminishing again which will lead to constraints in their offensive operations.

Ukraine is prepping for another major counter-offensive soon and it’s a crucial one at that. This key window of opportunity here will set expectations. If the counter-offensive has any major success, support will ratchet up again, especially in the U.S. People love an obvious clear winner. The Kharkiv counter offensive was evident of that.

I think Russia’s long term strategy is hoping the West will stop giving aid because they know they can’t sustain the war effort as long as Ukraine keeps receiving western assistance. That’s all they can hope for at this point.

NATO is a defensive alliance. Any show of force on NATO soil is an attack on all 30 NATO nations. It’d be ill-advised to launch a ‘special military operation’ on NATO grounds. And seeing how the US is the biggest contributors to this alliance, you’re pretty asking for a death wish if some country starts feeling froggy.

Finland have one of the best standing militaries on the face of the earth. More artillery than France and Germany combined. A highly trained reservist army of 280,000. Russia would get bodied in a heartbeat. But I’m not sure why we’re obsessing over these 1 vs 1 military competitions when Finland now have NATO behind them. There literally couldn't be a worse country to drive into NATO than Finland.

And let me reiterate again, this war was supposedly started to prevent NATO from encroaching on Russia’s borders. Finland and Sweden were firmly against NATO membership prior to this invasion for years on end. Fast forward a year later, Russia are doing poorly and NATO’s direct border with Russia just got a whole lot bigger. And once Sweden joins NATO too, the Russian naval fleet (already laughable as it is) in the Black Sea will become an afterthought.

Well played, Putin.

 

It seems Sweden is still suffering the Turkish veto to join NATO.

As for the evolution of the war, little changes:

- The US continues making a ton of money selling expensive oil and gas to Europe.
- The Chinese and India are purchasing oil on the cheap from Russia.. On top of that they will end up getting our perfectly working, second-hand "polluting" Mercedes and BMWs for a steal.
- Ukraine is still the most corrupt country in Europe, only second to Russia.

The Big Losers in this whole mess are the Europeans and the EU, as always. The country most benefited from the war is the US, as always. Nothing changes. Same story as usual.

 

It's not over until the fat lady sings, my friend. You don't know Russian people. They will capture half of Ukraine as planned and your offensive is a last ditch effort, when it fails, it is over for Zelensky. It is just way too much territory to take back and Crimea is a fortress by now, even worse than Bahmut. So sit back and place your bets.

 

It's getting kind of scary now that this latest Taiwanese Prezz or Prime Minister or something flew into Texas for talks with the Republican Speaker of the House, McCarthy.

Those Chinese are awful sensitive.

A proxy war on a second front on the cards? I hope not. That would be ruinous for all sides.

It would calm my nerves so much if the US could arrange things one at a time. First get some sort of victory or stalemate or such-like on the Ukraine front. Then when that's done, Biden could give Nancy Pelosi permission to visit Taiwan or give the Taiwan guy permission to visit the United States.

 

My father, 60 years ago, when I was a young man, said the following and I go by it today:

"Here's some advice, never discuss politics or religion with people you don't know, or with people at all. It will only lead you down a blind alley, and a black eye."

 

Any advice about women?

 

Yes there is and here's his comment:

"If it has tires or tits, you're going to have trouble."

 

Reports of corruption in Ukraine, by award willing journalist Seymour Hersh.

Ukraine War: Zelensky Embezzled $400 Million Allocated By The US For Purchasing Fuel – Seymour Hersh

 

Some thoughts.

- There's an absolutely horrific video going around of Russian forces beheading a Ukrainian soldier ALIVE. Not for the faint of heart, so please be careful. I had to stop watching as the Russians were severing his neck with a small knife. One of the far more disturbing atrocities I’ve seen so far. The Ukrainian PoW getting tortured and castrated in Pryvillia was bad too, but this new one that’s circulating right now is some ISIS-level barbarism by Russian soldiers. Taunting, torture, bragging, egging other soldiers... bunch of savages.

- I don’t think those leaked US pentagon documents pertaining to the Ukraine war will prove to be very problematic nor advantageous for the Russians. However, what can be drawn from these leaks is that US intelligence has penetrated and infiltrated Russia so deeply that Putin is unable to do things without the CIA's knowledge. They can predict his every move, just like how US intelligence were caught wind of his plans for a Ukrainian invasion as early as November 2021.

There’s going to be a lot of ‘excitement’ now in the Russian government and in the military too. Lots of accusation hurled at everyone and a search for spies. The situation there is spicy tense anyway. I hope they have enough windows in the Kremlin to handle the situation.

- This war has proven to a great effect that the horseshoe theory is a real thing.

- According to the leaked documents:

• Ukraine: 124,500-131,000 casualties of which 16,000-17,500 killed
• Russia: 189,500-223,000 casualties of which 35,500-43,500 killed

So a wounded/death ratio of roughly 8:1 for Ukraine and 5:1 for Russia. No idea how US intelligence calculates and tracks these casualties.

• 2,048 Russian tanks destroyed

They lost over 2,000 tanks even before NATO started supplying western MBTs. Wow, look at the power of the second world army people. They are losing equipment so fast that they can’t rebuild it in time.

I’m not totally sure about the veracity of these numbers. Numbers seem way lower than visually confirmed from photos of destroyed russian equipment. The equipment losses are still bad for Russia regardless.

The Russian army capabilities are plain to see. What you see is what you get. There’s nothing more to them that they haven’t already thrown into Ukraine. No air superiority to begin with either.

I’m expecting the Russian army to fold like paper (again) when Ukraine finally makes their counter move. Russia continued to be extremely overextended and just don’t have any real capability to hold any of the occupied land in the long run.

Read the article, a whole lot of conjecture on his part. He’s accused the CIA of blowing up the Nord Stream Pipeline with the help of Norway. Bold accusation. Can his anonymous sources be verified?

But you know, even if it were true (the embezzlement), Russia still has no place being in Ukraine in the first place. They need to leave.

 

Those documents are fake (propaganda). Watch Col. Macgregor on YouTube - that's real.

 

I am convinced that Russia is going to end up with a piece of Ukraine, eventually, and if Zelenskyy had negotiated with Putin, this war could have been avoided.

If Biden likes Zelenskyy or anybody for that matter, it means nothing to me. Seymour Hersh has had a powerful presence among the very top journalists, specializing in war and politics, for over fifty years. If he says that he knows that Zelenskyy is corrupt, which I have suspected was the case considerably before Hersh's article was written, I believe him.

 

Your tendency to interpret BS as confirmation of your existing beliefs and theories is showing.

Hersh also said in February that he believes the US is behind the sabotage that affected Russia's Nord Stream natural gas pipelines, which is now shown to be BS. Intelligence suggests Pro-Ukrainian Group Sabotaged Pipelines, as reported by U.S. Officials.

This Hersh dude is aslo parroting Orban that "the West was very close to seriously discussing the prospect of sending in troops to support Ukraine." Sounds like one of your "many people are saying" theories.

 

If the West does not send troops, it does not indicate that Hersh was wrong, by suggesting that a discussion of this was likely. Calling him "This Hersh dude" speaks volumes about your knowledge of American journalism. In addition to his prestigious career as a reporter in investigative journalism, Seymour Hersh is the author of eleven books. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1970 for Investigative Reporting, for exposing the My Lai massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War. He has won a number of other awards, since then, for his reporting and his books.