Putin is Running Out of Time and Money

Good!

Fuck this POS.

And when the Putin gravy train comes to a screeching halt, watch with glee as his America allies like Donald Trump, Lauren Boebert, MTG and Matt Gaetz desert the sinking ship like rats.

There’s another EU price cap coming next month which will further devastate the Russian economy.

[QUOTE]Lost revenues will rise to $280 million a day when the cap is extended to refined products from Feb. 5, the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air said in a report. The research provides further evidence of how the cap imposed by Group of Seven nations — and associated European Union sanctions — are hitting Moscow. Russia’s flagship crude is already selling at less than half international prices.

Haven't they been saying that for years now?

No. Why would they have been saying that for years, R4? Russia was one of the largest producers of oil on the planet.

👋👋👋

Saying what, R4? That Putin's invasion and attempted annexation of Ukraine was costing Russia dearly on the economic stage? Hardly. Just a few months ago, they were saying that the proposed ban was going to make this a very difficult winter in most of Europe and was likely to fail.

Thank God we have a real leader in mighty Joe Biden.

R4 it surely feels that way. They're giving us false hopes, every time. Remember when the message was that Russia's military was so badly equipped that the war would be over in a week? Now large parts of Ukraine is turned to rubble. Fuck Putin, and fuck our newspapers who framed something as horrible and unpredictable as war as a walk in the park. There must be a better solution than sending weapons and more weapons. Take out Putin, send in Peacekeepers, I don't know. But not this.

As I understand it, so far the average Russian has not seen much of a change in their lifestyle in terms of prices and availability of goods due to this invasion. The casualties have largely been among non-ethnic Russians.

Behind the scenes, the Russians will need to start looking into a face-saving exit strategy. My feeling is that we might see a population exchange similar to the one between Greece and Turkey a century ago.

I'm hearing it's Ukraine that is in trouble, once you get past the Western propaganda. Ukraine is trying to draft teenagers now, its fighting population is miniscule compared to Russia. Russia is in a better position for a grinding artillery war. Don't forget that Ukraine has to convince the West to send more weapons and money by exaggerating victories.

[QUOTE] Remember when the message was that Russia's military was so badly equipped that the war would be over in a week?

Nobody said this.

Does he really have cancer? Is it hopefully terminal?

[quote]Don't forget that Ukraine has to convince the West to send more weapons and money by exaggerating victories.

What victories has Ukraine exaggerated, R10? Be specific and show your work.

R13 Not doing your homework. Tell me what victories Ukraine has had and show why they were meaningful.

R10, this is DL. You trolls need to up your game.

That says everything we need to know, R14. Thanks for playing.

R16 Just as I thought. You can't come up with anything.

Boris is busy today.

Sad li'l monkey face . . .

Could you please share with us where you heard this r10? A link to the article would be nice.

R10 Sure, Janova. lol

I can google dozens of articles on Ukrainian victories R16. Why can't you?

R10 just yesterday I was reading a Russian story about Russians being told to train up their boys and get them ready to fight. Sure you aren't projecting your shit onto Ukraine?

R20 Since you asked nicely I will. I didn't post it initially because it's long and this is DL.

R22. Nothing that you can google will be evidence that Ukraine is 'winning'. Sometimes Ukraine kills more Russians than Russia kills Ukrainians. Sometimes Ukraine gets lucky because Russia is often incompetent, like lodging soldiers next to an undisguised artillery depot. Idiotic.

These stories are being brought to you by the US government that is trying to placate Americans who are upset about the price tag. They do this all the time. I would love for Putin to stroke out or just die, but it’s turning into Castro is almost dead stories that went on for decades.

R10 asserted something he knows to be patently false, R22. It is not my responsibility to prove him wrong when he is challenged; it is his responsibility to support his claim.

Since he was the one who framed this as "homework" at R14, I'll ask if he demanded that his teachers do his work for him, and how far that got him?

Oh, now I see. He links to an opinion piece on a website that is, shall we say, obscure, and that's his authoritative source for a dubious claim. Okay, then.

I guess I just didn't ask "nicely" enough,

Great to see that the Putin-lickers are back up and running! They're going to have be more subtle, though, if they want to deflate western morale in a war that has only solidified democracy and depleted Russia.

Comrades, comrades! No one is getting any potatoes for posting in this shitstorm.

It's past time for Putin to fall out of a window.

Are you saying that the sanctions aren’t having an effect, R25?

Seriously, r30, what if he did?

Hilarious: Armenia snubs Putin -- refused to host Russia's military for routine exercises.

If you're in Russia r32, make it happen.

Armenia doesn’t want anything to do with that shitshow.

Did anyone else marvel at Zelenskyy’s speech on the Golden Globes last night? He basically said the end of the war was in sight and that the Ukraine would triumph. I wondered what special knowledge he had. Maybe this was it: That Putin really is nearly at the end of his rope and resources.

If Putin had half a brain, he’d leave Ukraine, declare victory, and drop it. Then he and the oligarchs can go back to making billions on the oil market. What a folly this was. It was never going to end well for Russia.

R35, neither does China!

[quote] Remember when the message was that Russia's military was so badly equipped that the war would be over in a week?

No-one in their right mind ever said this. The consensus, even in the West, was that Russia would take Kyiv within a week or two, Zelenskiy would flee for Poland, and a Putin-friendly puppet government would be “elected” by the summer. Many governments (notably Germany) initially refused to arm Ukraine because they assumed the war was lost and the materials would end up in Russian hands anyway.

That inbred mongoloid doesn’t have shit. Just like Trump, grandiosity that transcends reality.

[quote]Remember when the message was that Russia's military was so badly equipped that the war would be over in a week?

No, I don't remember that message at all. The message was that the Russian Army would roll over Ukraine and take complete control in a week. Didn't happen, and THAT'S when Russia's lack of preparedness and military incompetence became obvious to the world.

When Vlad runs out of money he readies the NUKES?

[quote] Are you saying that the sanctions aren’t having an effect

They already confirmed that they aren’t. China, Israel and others are funding them. If we could get these countries to cut them off, then they would REALLY feel the effects. As it is, Europe is being hit harder than Russia. People are freezing to death and can barely afford food.

This Russian proxy war is going to end up like Iraq. It was supposed to end in just weeks. We’ll still be watching this going on years from now. No one really wants to destroy Putin. They don’t want a war. What the West doesn’t understand is just how much hatred Russians have for it. As long as Putin keeps declaring war on Western culture, Russians will go along with it. They’ve never gotten over the toppling of the Soviet Union. They’re also a people who resorted to cannibalism. They’ll happily do so again. They are used to doing it the hard way, riding it out long term. The West simply can’t wait that long. There’s no patience and no one is really serious about destroying Putin. Russia still has resources and friends.

R41, yes, that's an attempt to push a false narrative about things that happened less than a year ago. Russia had claimed, and the US had believed, that Russia had seriously improved its army. Onlookers were baffled when, for example, the tires on tanks began to fail.

Nobody is freezing or starving in Europe, lol.

[quote]It was supposed to end in just weeks.

A little tip, r43, if you're going to try and play a neutral party, it's best not to use lines that have been debunked just a few posts ahead of yours.

[QUOTE] As it is, Europe is being hit harder than Russia. People are freezing to death and can barely afford food.

😂😂😂 Who the fuck is freezing to death in Europe? It’s 50 goddamn degrees.

Its been warm since the week before xmas. it was cold, earlier than that.

Putin can't afford to supply his military properly, but he can still pay for all the trolls push his propaganda, and he can still pay for any Russians that don't tow the line to have a woopsie out a window. Those Russians have such an altruistic leader!

People are freezing to death and can’t afford food in Europe? Somebody better provide a link because that’s news to, well, Europe.

There is new poverty in England. Because English capitalism is price gouging the poors. Not because of the war.

Don’t worry, republicans will help him out

[quote] Nobody is freezing or starving in Europe

Yes, they are. There are girls in the UK who stopped shaving their legs because it’s too cold. The supermarket shelves are bare. Where have you been? Why do you think the government has had to step in because people can’t afford their heating bills? Morning shows are holding contests - grand prize, they’ll pay Brits’ heating bills for couple of months. People are desperate.

Ahem.

R47 Must be Russian. They like to live in some alternative reality and store shit. That’s all they’re good at.

And.

And.

Stir*, I mean they STORE nukes but wouldn’t know how to read the directions to use them, but they think they’re the smartest people in the world.

Cough.

[QUOTE] Many British people are struggling to heat their homes without breaking the bank

= FREEZING TO DEATH? Hello! Yes, energy bills are higher for everybody. Doesn’t mean there’s some mass wave of deaths due to a lack of heating.

As I understand it, R31, life in Russia goes on pretty much the same, without sanctions affecting people directly.

Ummm…those articles are from Great Britain (and one from the conservative WSJ). If I recall correctly, GB left the European Union.

R61, as someone who knows them, Russians are absolutely [italic]obsessed[/italic] with maintaining appearances.

It doesn't surprise me one little bit that the internet is a-flood with accounts of how great and normal life in Moscow is.

Everything is good here in Mother Russia. We have full belly from potato and beets and we still enjoy our favorite pasttime of stomping gay people. Yay Putin!

R64, one almost has to admire the amount of moxie it takes for pro-Russia trolls like R61 to show their faces here and defend that homophobic shithole.

Speach the preaching, R64! Also, brawnfull Kevin McCarthy will incarcerating Hunter Biden's penis in Guantanamo and put Killery Clifford before firing squad for eating babby's!

r61 in the *Katie Porter announces Senate bid amid uncertainty over Feinstein's future* thread:

[quote]I voted for Obama twice, Clinton, and Biden; yet, there are Democratic politicians I'm not thrilled with.

[quote]This obsession with Trump like that is clearly a sign of mental illness.

I come from Ukraine!

Russians will be happy to resort to cannibalism again R43? That’s pretty messed up if you ask me.

R67, that “l voted for Obama twice” line never gets old. It always makes me smile.

[quote]I'm hearing it's Ukraine that is in trouble, once you get past the Western propaganda.

Eat shit and die, tankie.

R35, and Armenians never forget.

Russia just made an enemy for life. ;)

I don't believe anything until it happens. Speculating, arguing and worrying proves nothing.

If Russia hates The West so much, stop importing our music, movies, electronics, appliances, and brands.

Stop fucking stealing TOILETS, ya filthy animals! And stop showing up in OUR countries trying to turn them into YOUR pathetic shithole oligarchy!

Once they lose Ukraine, it's time to carve that bitch up -- the benefits of Russia's oncoming disintegration.

R39 let me specify. It was clear that Ukraine was the one massively disadvantaged in this fight. But remember the memes about Ukrainian farmers towing Russian tanks with their tractors? That's when the west realized they had a fighting chance. With massive weapon imports and idealistic people fighting mercenaries who are just not motivated the same way, they now have a great chance to win. Just it is Ukraine that is destroyed, not Russia. Every shot of ammo, every missile is going to destroy Ukrainian infrastructure. In Germany, the arguments why or why not to export weapons were complicated and happened in sort of a spiral, with people - and parties too - changing their position, sometimes fundamentally, at every turn as the discourse evolved and events unfolded . Things that played into the equation were party traditions founded in the pacifist movement (the greens) who kind of had one foot in, one foot out at the start. They didn't want to alienate their base but also sitting this one out just wouldn't work. Another point is that the coalition (Greens, Liberal Democrats, Social Democrats) always only had a sliver of a majority. So apart from wanting to be in the right side of history, they also hoped that Zelensky's popularity would somehow brush off on them (the liberal Lindner is a prime example for this mindset). The latter didn't quite materialize. Then there is the AfD who receives funding from Russia and who is of course pro Russia. Do not forget that many people in Germany are from the Ex-DDR. They grew up being brainwashed for two generations by Russia and many don't really believe in a parliamentary democracy. Greens and also parts of the political left in general are deeply rooted in anti-imperialism. Just strangely, this only translates to anti-amricanism while they have a blind spot the size of China and Russia.

Has anyone ever met a nice Russian? They all seem like shallow, grasping whores who will do anything for cash. From what I hear they are some of the worst for welfare fraud along with FLDS and Hasidic Jews.

I’m not hearing any violins when it comes to Putin. Human lives are just pawns to him.

R77 I have a Russian dentist and he is compassionate but I can tell by some of the questions he asked that he was raised in a very harsh environment. He referred me to a colleague to perform dental surgery. She was downright disturbing. She tried to elicit pain in the molar of mine that had split despite having zero decay. When I jumped involuntarily she scolded me for not staying still. Weird reaction on her part to a simple positive result of a test of air exposure of a tooth split all the way to the maxilla.

I’ve met very nice people who came from Russia.

[QUOTE] I’ve met very nice people who came from Russia.

And they all got out as soon as they could.

Yep R80 indeed they did

I had Russian neighbors who were good people (although their American born son was a bit of a thug). It took about a year to get a smile out of them but when they did, it meant a lot and I knew they liked and trusted me.

I also made a good friend from Russia when I worked in China. She explained to me that Russians were very blunt (she was) and as a result cause unintended offense so she was trying to adapt to Western standards of polite behavior. She left Russia because of the Russian mafia which made it impossible for people like her without connections to start their own business. She said Communism wasn't as bad as the shit going on now, that's how much Putin has fucked the country. She was kind and loyal and openly antisemitic. I had to tell her this is not generally considered polite conversation among the westerners she was befriending.

[quote]openly antisemitic. I had to tell her this is not generally considered polite conversation among the westerners she was befriending.

damn... and nope, that is not a good person regardless of how 'kind and loyal' she seems. It is not a particularly 'Russian' thing to be antisemitic. It's a racist piece of shit thing to be.

R77 Yes I know nice people who are Russians, and not only those who got out a generation or two ago.

[quote]She explained to me that Russians were very blunt (she was) and as a result cause unintended offense so she was trying to adapt to Western standards of polite behavior.

By any chance, r82, was her name Ninotchka?

[quote].It is not a particularly 'Russian' thing to be antisemitic.

Oh shut up. 'Russian' antisemitism is real which you would know if you read anything instead of spending your time virtue signaling on DL.

Antisemitism has had a long and complex history in Russian intellectual life and has revived in the post-Communist era. In their concept of the identity of the Jewish people, many academics and other thinkers in Russia continue to cast Jews in a negative or ambivalent role. An inherent rivalry exists between "Russia" and "the Jews" because Russians have often viewed themselves-whether through the lens of atheistic communism or that of the most conservative elements of the Orthodox Church-as a chosen people whose destiny is to lead the way to world salvation. In this book, Vadim Rossman presents the foundations and present influence of intellectual antisemitism in Russia. He examines the antisemitic roots of some major trends in Russian intellectual thought that emerged in earlier decades of the twentieth century and are still significant in the post-Communist era: neo-Eurasianism, Eurasian historiography, National Bolshevism, neo-Slavophilism, National Orthodoxy, and various forms of racism. Such extreme right-wing ideology continues to appeal to a certain segment of the Russian population and seems unlikely to disappear soon. Rossman confronts and challenges a range of disturbing, sometimes contradictory, but often quite sophisticated antisemitic ideas posed by Russian sociologists, historians, philosophers, theologians, political analysts, anthropologists, and literary critics.

I know nice people currently living in Russia. They do exist. It's like saying during the Bush and Trump years almost everyone loved those two.

I dated a Russian twink in NYC for 2 years. He was from RUSSIA, starting new in USA. He was a total doll and very high IQ. He earned 2 doctorates in NY. I dumped him. Later I realised that was a mistake. Live and learn.

How unseasonably warm weather could end the Ukraine war:

[quote] Remember when the message was that Russia's military was so badly equipped that the war would be over in a week?

Will echo others in saying that I only remember uninformed/uneducated laypeople on DL saying this. I remember early on reading people who actually study war and sources from the Biden admin quoted in reputable publications saying that the conflict would probably last for years.

[quote]Boris is busy today.

Boris:

[quote]Haven't they been saying that for years now?

Haven’t they been saying “Russia's revenue from fossil fuel exports collapsed in December” for years, Matt-fatso? What does that even mean?

What fresh retardation is this from you? Even in your trolling you’re a lightweight.

The troll kept posting negative articles about the cost of energy in the UK. I'm British and I can tell you that it has not lessened our support for Ukraine so the troll really doesn't have a point by posting those articles. The majority of our media supports Ukraine as well as our politicians on both sides. Europe is widely moving to alternative sources of gas, especially Germany. Appeasing Russia because of energy prices just doesn't even seem to be in the national consciousness.

And Ukraine was never going to easily win the war because Russia still originally had the world's second most powerful and equipped military plus Putin seems to be all-in with mobilisation and effectively putting Russia on a war economy. It's amazing that Ukraine are able to even hold their own.

Zelensky is battling the end of the Second World War.

Biden is fighting the end of the Civil War.

Fuck the people who do not get the memos.

Troll = anyone who disagrees with the person crying "Troll!" And, no, there are not Russian bots here; there may be one or two actual conservatives, but even those posts are more likely to be attempts to annoying liberals than anything else.

Lol. Russia will be fine. Its economy will be fine.

Russia has the GDP equivalent to that of Illinois. If Illinois had been spending huge income resources on one-use armaments and had its income cut in half, you might come to a different conclusion with Russia put in context.

Russia is pending itself back to the 19th Century.

Putin is Running Out of Time and Money

chapter 324

[quote] Ummm…those articles are from Great Britain (and one from the conservative WSJ). If I recall correctly, GB left the European Union.

Oh, dear.

[quote] And they all got out as soon as they could.

The American Russians I know who are Jewish want to go back. All they do is go on and on about how wonderful Russia is and how this or that would never happen in Russia. These are people who had to flee the country. Their longing for the old days under the USSR is still strong.

R100 So why don't they? There's nothing stopping them.

They want to go back to a Russia that never really existed.

Like Republican women who long to be barefoot and pregnant in the security of their husband's job in the 1950s. .

R99, what was wrong with the sentence? I don’t see the grammatical error.

Not true R96. In fact, I have Russian neighbors who love Russia and travel there often (like r100 says). They’re here because they are very educated (one of them works in the medical field as a researcher and one is a teacher) and they make a ton more money here. They said things are very bad in Russia. Prices sky high, a lot of lost jobs due to companies leaving, the media obviously closed off people from the rest of the world. People arrested if they protest. A huge portion of the young male population is off fighting the war, and the alcohol/drug problems with the ones behind has gotten worse.

Russia cannot win. There's no path to victory for them. The west won't allow it. It would be the end of NATO if they did, because if they let Ukraine fall, then Article 5 would be in jeopardy, because what happens when Putin is pissed off with Poland or Hungary or Romania?

Ukraine has earned the respect of western allies, and so now they're starting to get the good stuff being shipped. Rather than the 1980s and 90s stuff. They're going to need much more weaponry over the coming months and years. And they'll get it.

We may be cold here in the UK, but never forget, that we have a long history of standing up against European tyrants. That history, we learn in school, it's in our national psyche. You only have to turn on the telly to find Remembrance Day, D-Day commemoration, some war film or some history program on. Sure, that may be long ago, but remember, we are the most aggressive nation on earth. You Americans may have the firepower, but we Brits have the hearts and stomachs for war. We've been waging it for over a thousand years, so we're pretty good at it, minus one or two colonial exceptions.

Great post r105. The UK stood up to Hitler and won. And Putin, you’re no Hitler.

Russia's economy is fine! She sends her love!

R99 has no idea what the “Oh, dear” is used for.

We really have no idea what it's like there now that Putin has gone over the edge. Remember, the first thing his did was to demand the news agencies there tell only his side of things (lie), punishable by jail. This trolls that come on here are either on his payroll, or they're just making shit up. We don't know how it's changed the life of the average Russian, but we do know Putin expects the Russian people to sacrifice virtually everything for his conquest. They can't be enjoying the changes.

"This trolls that come on here are either on his payroll, or they're just making shit up."

Or they're in the US Congress, i.e. Tulsi Gabbard, Rand Paul, Lauren Boebert, MTG, etc.

[quote] ... once you get past the Western propaganda.

There are several strategies to deal with internet trolls:

1. Ignore them: Trolls thrive on attention, so the best way to deprive them of it is to simply ignore them.

2. Don't feed the trolls: Any responding to a troll's provocations will encourage them to continue.

3. Block them: Most social media platforms have a feature that allows you to block or mute users. DL makes this easy. You are not forced to deal with them.

4. Take a break: If the trolling is getting to you, it might be best to take a break from social media for a while. One individual, especially one you don't even know, should not have such impact on you that he riles you up that much.

It's up to you to control your online experience. You don't have to put up with abuse from trolls.

So much group think in this thread.

R105: Ukraine, in its pseudo-NATO status, isn't covered by Article 5. Also, Article 5 obligations aren't what you seem to think they are,

And Ukraine isn't being shipped "the good stuff", mostly it's obsolete crap and warehoused Warsaw Pact equipment, in order to make way for future arms purchases from mostly US suppliers ...and what they're being sent isn't in any quantities to make any difference to the outcome. Do you think a handful of British Challenger 2s, which may or may not be sent, will make any difference to this war's outcome?

Reading your post, you need to appreciate how little the UK matters other than as loyal shit-stirring vassal in world affairs.

5. Fat hips sink ships.

All of us generational American's who have ancestors who lived and died on the Julian Calendar, Today is NEW YEAR'S DAY for all the Boris' and Natasha's in the world.

Russian television puts on a vaudeville extravaganza celebrating Novi God, новый год.

One skit I found ochen interyesna, очень интересно, was a "tribute" to Trump.

Oh, and back in the old atheistic days when Pravoslavni Rozhdestvo was not celebrated, nor Maslenitsa, New Years was the big celebration that rolled drinking, eating and fucking to the heights only Russians could reach.

So if the UOC moves to the new calendar, it is a HUGE fuck you to Russia.

Всех с Новым годом! and enjoy the show...

UOC?????

*

The Ukrainian Church that already has a Tomos from the ecumenical Patriarch.

It was quickly hushed up but a month ago the EU Commission head Ursula Von der Leyen revealed Ukraine has lost 100,000 troops plus 20,000 civilians. That's roughly equivalent to the estimated Russian troop losses. The Polish and other western mercenaries can only go so far in filling those ranks. Anyone think Macron will order the French Army to directly intervene ?

As far back as Kutuzov Russia wrote the war of attrition playbook.

Ukraine is a country of 43 million people.

If there were 43 million Americans fighting the British, what do you think would happen?

I am glad we are improving their armaments.

Slava Ukraini

Ukraine hasn't been a country of 43 million people fir a long time, and it isn't one today by a long shot. When was the last national census, do you know?

Sorry Boris, but the figures are only available pre invasion:

R122: The first (and so far only) national census of Ukraine took place in 2001. It was originally planned that the next one would follow in 2010, but it was postponed until 2020, which never took place.

R123 I don't understand your point? Are you saying that Ukraine magically had a huge loss of people in between 2001 and 2020? The 2001 figures are the best official ones that we have and I don't know of anything that caused a big loss of population in 20 years.

R124: Yes. There has been a huge loss of population. Between 2001 and 2023.

You understood my point.

R123 is a Russian Troll who denigrates the Ukrainian People at every opportunity.

They are so tiresome. The point being that a 120K loss of life is not as big as the Borises want you to believe. But it is big enough to get major increases in Western weaponry.

This "troll" business is incredibly depressing. Are there really that many unhinged tribalist loons? I'm going very far out on a limb and saying it's beginning to look more and more like Putin is becoming a transferred (displaced?) focus for Trump hatred since 2021.

This is beginning to seem like World War I where all these secondary nations are sucked into the vortex of something not directly affecting them.

R127 When the Russians literally pay people to be trolls online you have to expect it..

So ...if I disagree with the dominant narrative in this thread, I'm a paid Russian agent, is that your conclusion, r128? Only "right think' is allowed or they're an enemy infiltrator? Everyone has to agree with you?

I stand by my opinion that since Trump has been forced out of the White House the hatred for him has been channeled into Putin.

I know it won't make any difference to these loons, but I will say my opinion is that the Ukraine invasion was a stupid idea. Putin seems unstable to me. The best case scenario would be to fix the borders where they are now letting the Russians have control of Crimea to the rest of the country with a population exchange if necessary. In exchange, the Russians need to make a very public accountable statement that Ukraine is a nation for the Ukrainian people and that they promise to respect that sovereignty.

R129: if you haven't realized that very far left liberals are in cultural revolution dunce mode thought, or perhaps even French Revolution guillotine, then you'd better grasp that now. NO DISSENT PERMITTED!

[quote] The best case scenario would be to fix the borders where they are now letting the Russians have control of Crimea to the rest of the country with a population exchange if necessary. In exchange, the Russians need to make a very public accountable statement that Ukraine is a nation for the Ukrainian people and that they promise to respect that sovereignty.

Russia already had control of Crimea. But that wasn't enough for Putin. That's a pretty useless 'solution' because Putin will never accept it. He's made it clear that he considers all of Ukraine to be Russian, or at least the other territories he's 'annexed'.

[quote]I stand by my opinion that since Trump has been forced out of the White House the hatred for him has been channeled into Putin.

""forced" out of the White House, r130?

R130, why do you think Putin is "unstable."? (Also, what does that mean.) Genuinely curious.

I think he's unstable because he's living in a Soviet Union mindset that doesn't mirror current reality. He wants to somehow forcibly establish the greatness of Empire which isn't possible, nor desirable particularly.

By the way, the British are sending C2 tanks to Ukraine. 🕺

That will immediately be the best tank in theater.

There will be issues of course. It has a rifled 120mm cannon and the UK will have to provide ALL the ammo.

Plus it’s a very advanced western mbt and not at all like Soviet/Russian tanks so the Ukrainian crews will need a *lot* of training.

Still, this made my day.

Now if only we’d send Abrams. At least it uses easier-to-get NATO 120mm APFSDS.

Ok mattfatso at r98

My favorite troll move on this thread is making the length of the war a sign of Ukraine's inability to wear down the Russians, rather than vice versa—complete with the straw man that "the message used to be that Russia would be defeated within a week." Very deft!

And no, taking account of a wide range of verifiable facts does not count as "group think."

R135, and where do you get that impression, which seems very much at odds from everything I know about him? Soviet mindset? Doesn't mirror current reality? Wants to re-establish an empire? Where are you getting this from? Your ass?

How many. R136? When will they arrive? How long to train the Ukrainian troops to man them?

[quote] I stand by my opinion that since Trump has been forced out of the White House the hatred for him has been channeled into Putin.

Really it's always been the same thing. In 2016 Bad man Putin was a handy alibi for Hillary's failure though she had a long lit of additional excuses. Then the fake Russian dossier pushed Putin to the top of the list as a matter of faith

Hi potato face at r140.

Are you now the worlds leading authority on vehicle incorporation?

Do you even know what a C2 is? Do they have any in Pittsburgh?

Potato face makes me laugh. I've heard 'pancake face' as well. I think it's the Asian influence in Russia.

RussiaGate was the pr primer for this war, which had been in the offing for a very long time.

It's starting to get surreal when our local Putin-licker actively asserts that Vlad is suavely succeeding in all his (strictly non-colonialist) ambitions. Is Glenn Greenwald up late drunk-posting?

What's your point, r142? Do you think these tanks will change the outcome of the war?

Do you know anything about modern military operations, Defatso @ r146? Or are you just here to eat the turds out of the dictator Putin’s ass?

You know he’d put you in a death camp, potato face. Then again, you probably want that.

[quote]where all these secondary nations are sucked into the vortex of something not directly affecting them.

NATO consists of all the secondary nations, and RUSSIAN aggression, the raison d'être of NATO, affects them all DIRECTLY.

R143 is playing dumb but we all know who the potato faced flyover loser is

In praise of the Challenger 2 tank, it comes with a toilet situated under the Loader's position. The Abrams does not have this luxury, lacking even the M-60 Patton's small hatch on the hull bottom. If the MOD can find 14 C2s that can actually be made operational this will be a very valuable contribution.

And now you bring in the Hillary bashing, r141. God...you trolls *really* need fresh material.

Who benefits from this horrible war. Now. Medium term Long term. That’s who’s winning and will win. Let’s just hope it doesn’t turn into an all out war. That’s what really worries me.

Ukraine will have to go on the offensive in Spring to seize back previously lost territory. British C2 tanks will help Ukraine do this, but it will also help Ukraine get far more numerous Leopard tanks from Germany, Poland etc. The key thing is timing. Training on the Leopards really needs to start now.

China benefits from this war.

R152 Nobody. Except people who manufacture weapons and academics with an expertise in Russia. But ultimately Putin chose this stupidity for what? A pyrrhic victory at best.

R152, I think Croatian Niccolo Soldo nailed it last year:

"... Six months into the war in Ukraine and the winners and losers that I listed on the first day of the conflict remain the same today:

Big Winner: USA

Winner: Russia

Loser: European Union

Big Loser: Ukraine"

[quote]Winner: Russia

No-one rational seriously believes this. Russia is losing tons of working age males and is a virtual pariah in the West now. It might be worth it if Russia was actually winning the war but they aren't even doing that.

How do you know the casualty numbers of Russia, r157? How do you know it's not winning?

R158 Many educated working age male Russians have emigrated to flee conscription while even the Russians acknowledge that thousands of working age male Russians have died in the horrific meat grinder of Putin's dumb war in Ukraine.

[quote] So why don't they? There's nothing stopping them.

Everyone who hears them would love to say this but chooses to take the high road.

[quote]How do you know it's not winning?

Because the Russians tried to take over all of Ukraine and have lost a lot more territory than they have gained since the start of the war. This isn't even controversial: it's a fact. The Russians have had to retreat from Kyiv, retreat from Kharkiv, retreat from Kherson...

[quote]Russia already had control of Crimea. But that wasn't enough for Putin. That's a pretty useless 'solution' because Putin will never accept it. He's made it clear that he considers all of Ukraine to be Russian, or at least the other territories he's 'annexed'.

Not to mention that Zelensky came to power on a ticket that included driving the Russians out of Ukraine (meaning, then, the Donbas region and Crimea). The fact that Putin invaded after his election, to try to take over the whole country, is only going to make it more important to Ukrainians to push Russia right back to its own borders if it is at all within their powers.

R159, current Russian population is approx. 144 million. It will be ok. And after the war ends, and the Cold War intensifies, may expats will return, I did-etc. And the casualty numbers are far lower that claimed in the West. The way this war is being presented is very skewed.

*I did-etc = I expect. ( missed that typo, but autocorrect didn't)

R163 'OK' - sure, Russia will survive but Russia as a 'winner'? Please! No country wants to lose that amount of working age males whether by fleeing conscription or dying/wounded in war. Not to mention how Europe is stopping their Russian gas buys. Both things are very bad for Russia's economy.

[quote]The way this war is being presented is very skewed.

Perhaps. Nevertheless these Russians who have superior population, arms and everything else you're on about, including that they chose the timing of the war, still very plainly haven't won it.

And if they should (God forbid) win it, how long will their economy be wallowing, and their oligarchs smarting personally, under Western sanctions? The West cannot at any time afford to let Russian leaders think there is any possibility they can repeat the exercise in Belarus or Poland.

The fact that Russia is still fucking around practically a year after it started says everything.

Russia constructed the New Iron Curtain. All of Europe (minus Belarus and Moldova, but hold on) against Russia.

Putin is a historical fuck-up. An isolated Russia will suffer long after Ukraine is admitted to the EU and NATO.

Russia does not control the skies.

It has not succeeded in controlling the whole Donbass region.

It's military and political objectives have failed.

It is not winning the war.

[quote] and is a virtual pariah in the West now

And not just the literal, geographic "West" (western Europe and Anglophone countries): Japan, South Korea, Taiwan etc. declared sanctions on Russia. It's a democracy thing.

No one is winning in this conflict, it just goes on and on in pretty much a stalemate at this point.

I don't understand the reference above to the USA being the big winner in all this? How?

As I understand it, many of the soldiers so far have been non-ethnic Russian.

To the poster above who fears that Poland will be invaded, Putin is well aware of the fact that it is a NATO country. Not going to happen. The dictator in Belarus is an ally of his.

Seems like an awful long time to complete a three-day war.

R171, Russia, historically an enemy of the U.S., weakened itself on the world stage. Its military was exposed as much less effective than it had claimed. It gave Europe a common enemy. It raised questions about Putin's capacity as a leader. All of that benefits the U.S.

"To the poster above who fears that Poland will be invaded, Putin is well aware of the fact that it is a NATO country. Not going to happen. The dictator in Belarus is an ally of his."

Do you honestly think an amoral, immoral, illogical egomaniac of a dictator like Putin is going to let a little gnat like NATO prevent him from recreating the Soviet era empire? Seriously?

[quote]Do you honestly think an amoral, immoral, illogical egomaniac of a dictator like Putin is going to let a little gnat like NATO prevent him from recreating the Soviet era empire? Seriously?

Like how Russia took over Ukraine in three days? Oh wait.

Bitch Putin isn't going to go head to head with NATO because he's presently getting his ass kicked by little old Ukraine.

[quote]Putin is going to let a little gnat like NATO prevent him from recreating the Soviet era empire?

Ahem, NATO is a nuclear power. Little gnat my ass, you Natasha cunt.

Angela Merkel's legacy.

Battle tanks from German industrial reserves wanted by Ukraine will not be ready to be delivered until 2024, the arms manufacturer Rheinmetall has warned.

Rheinmetall, which manufactures the battle vehicle’s gun, has 22 Leopard 2 and 88 older Leopard 1 tanks in its stocks. Getting the Leopard tanks ready for battle, however, would take several months and cost hundreds of millions of euros the company could not put up until the order was confirmed, Papperger said.

“The vehicles must be completely dismantled and rebuilt,” he added.

I expect the UK Challengers are in similar condition.

German defense is a disgrace. These people thought they’d never have to go to war again?

R174, a big reason that Putin invaded Ukraine was to keep them from joining NATO. So why would he care if NATO is a gnat?

R178, the rest of the world was fervently hoping that Germany would never go to war again.

Germany has been coasting on its defense obligations for decades. The diplomatic world was horrified Trump had the audacity to call them out on this.

[QUOTE] the rest of the world was fervently hoping that Germany would never go to war again.

Well there should have been an expectation that they might have to do it as part of the NATO alliance someday. These countries just thought America would be there to do every goddamn thing?

Of course, r182.

All we do is war. It makes money for OUR oligarchs, takes kids from poor families off the streets and gives the repugs kickbacks.

Now the US is combat training Ukrainian troops.. in Germany. The Germans couldn’t do this?

Well we have to do something with all those military bases in Germany that we taxpayers are subsidizing?

[quote] Now the US is combat training Ukrainian troops.. in Germany. The Germans couldn’t do this?

I'm not totally convinced US troops can do this either

So the latest troll tactic is to try to bog the discussion down in nitpicking about Germany's share and US funding.

NATO is there to defend representative, multi-party democracy against exactly the kind of kleptocratic autocracy that Putin champions. The Ukrainians overwhelmingly choose the former against the latter.

Meh, the criticisms against Germany are very valid. They should have kept up their payments.

Isn't that fucker dead yet?

Can we send Russia a grease fire to move things along?

The second most senior official in Berlin says other countries should be allowed to send German-made tanks to Ukraine if they want.

Very generous of Germany. Other countries can spend as much money for Ukraine as they wish.

😂 Mighty considerate of them.

r173, and Putin)/Russia caused the expansion of NATO. Winning?

Medvedev threatening nuclear war if Russia is defeated. They’re shaking in their boots.

Some random thoughts.

Of course the Russians will threaten nuclear war every five seconds. Their nuclear weapons are now THE major part of their military. Putin prioritized the “rocket forces” (nuclear weapons) over everything else in their military spending.

The idea was that they would threaten any major adversary with the end of the world if they were attacked. The conventional military was supposed to be capable of fighting colonial wars, one or two tops, on the fringes of Russia. Russia is still an empire, after all.

So they wanted to be a bit like the British Empire in the late 19th century, but instead of having the English Channel plus most powerful fleet, they’d have nuclear weapons. Hence all the nuclear saber rattling.

They treated Ukraine/Crimea like a colonial war, with great success. Then they gambled that they could take the whole country in another glorified colonial venture but got their dick caught in a bear trap instead.

When the Germans sell weapons to another country, they require that that country retain the weapons. So does the USA by the way. So someone upthread sneered about the Germans conceding on other European powers giving Ukraine Leos, but that’s a big concession.

Defacto is crowing upthread about how Trump identified the pathetic German defense posture, but…spare us. Obama and Bush both identified the same problem and complained about it. The difference is, Obama and Bush were both committed to NATO and wanted Germany to pull its share. Trump is committed to Putin-style rightwing authoritarianism and wanted the US to pull out of NATO, wanted NATO to crumble so that Europe could be dominated by his idol Putin instead, and complaining about it was a tool to get that done.

The Germans are very worried about antagonizing Russia. People are calling them simps for that, but it’s easy for us to say that when we’re on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. I’m not agreeing with the Germans — Ukraine needs Europe’s help — but let’s not so lightly brush off Germany’s concerns.

The Defacto troll is also peddling the notion that Russia is secretly winning the war, despite having over 100,000 casualties, losing almost TWO THIRDS its fleet of T-72B3 updated tanks, and being forced to throw untrained conscripts into the furnace of war, and using museum piece T-62 tanks without any ERA added which are almost immediately destroyed as a consequence. I’d be truly embarrassed to make such a blatantly false and propagandistic argument, but trolls have to be completely shameless — they are trolls, after all. Anything for a little attention.

People who argue the USA is the beneficiary of the Ukraine War have the typical tankie mentality. The USA is this evil octopus ensnaring the globe. All bad things emanate from the US. Please, do us a favor.

Putin employs this argument toward his own ends — “our naked aggression in trying to gobble up Ukraine is actually America’s fault.” Then again, Putin uses “1984” as an instruction manual, so there’s that.

Russia's losses are truly staggering. I believe the estimates for the number of wounded typically run 2x to 4x times the number KIA. That puts the number of casualties at between 200,000 to 400,000. They've basically run through their entire newly-mobilized troops in less than 4 months and it appears they're going to have to order up hundreds of thousands more, even more poorly trained and equipped than the last bunch. Astonishing.

Thanks for the thoughtful post Bootsy.

I think we would hear more grumbling out of Russia, somehow, by some method, if 400K parents have got their sons back in bodybags. No?

Reread R195, R197.

R198, it's not 200k body bags, it's 100+k KIA so far, with an additional 200-400k wounded. The majority of these are from distant rural areas that seem to just mourn unheard. Since this next round of mobilization will have to include Moscow and St. Petersberg, I think you'll begin to get serious unrest.

Sorry, meant my comment to be directed to R197.

Doesn’t Russia have mobile crematoriums so they can get rid of their soldiers’ bodies right there on the field?

The Russians were actually giving body bags to the mobiks, r201. They were posting about it in telegram. Let that sink in.

I noticed that large portions of this thread disappeared for me after I posted at r194. I wonder why that might be? Perhaps someone wants to continue to post misleadingly and without being contradicted. ;-)

Speaking of trolling: the Kremlin's sparring with Zelensky this morning over whether Putin's still alive.

Heh.

Just block the defarto troll.

"Putin prioritized the “rocket forces” (nuclear weapons) over everything else in their military spending."

I know we absolutely WOULDNT want to call their bluff, but I wonder just how functional their nuclear arsenal is. That country is beyond fucking corrupt. For decades, military generals/Putin's cronies have cannibalized the military budget to line their pockets. Upkeep of nuclear weapons is expensive and requires ongoing maintenance. There is a distinct possibility that the strongest leverage they have is saber-rattling.

Again, I wouldn't want to make that bet - but I do wonder.

From a British point of view, supporting Ukraine has been a no-brainer. Not just because Ukraine is clearly a victim of a bestial aggressor, but also because Russia has been trying to Fuck around with Britain for the whole of the Putin pregnancy: barely even trying to conceal it’s attempts to kill Russian dissidents on British territory and launching campaigns to influence the Brexit vote.

The British government, military and civil service has now embarked wholeheartedly on a mission to allow Russia to find out the consequences of their actions. Every weapon placed into Ukrainian hands is retaliation for Russia’s previous hostile acts, and allows retribution without escalation.

I suspect the reaction of the US to this conflict is very similarly motivated. Russia’s manipulation and open support for Trump was always going to lead to a backlash.

R205 I suspect you are correct. If they can't even supply working tanks and guns they nukes are probably for show and missing the uranium needed. Sold on the black market years ago.

Putin is carrying Britain's love child, R206?

[quote] Putin is carrying Britain's love child, r206

Urgh, well spotted, r208 ! What a stupid blunder…

[quote] If they can't even supply working tanks and guns they nukes are probably for show and missing the uranium needed. Sold on the black market years ago.

Seems like wishful thinking. One - they DO have working tanks, guns and bombs - just look at the damage done to Ukraine. There's no real reason to think that they don't have working nuclear weapons. I think people just don't want to believe that they are working. However, I doubt that they will be used at least. It would probably mean retaliation from the US whom you can be fairly sure do have working nuclear weapons. And there is a chain of command.

MEA culpa, darling R209.

[quote] Mia Culpa

All is forgiven!

R210, let's be realistic. They have SOME working tanks and guns. If they all worked this little war would have been over. Russia is fucked and has a shoddy military

R213 So going by that logic they also have some working nuclear weapons? Anyway, I suspect that any nuclear strike would be aimed at Ukraine only if they did decide to do it.

Of course they have some but not as many working as they might pretend.

All this disastrous war has achieved is the barbarous destruction of Ukraine’s infrastructure. That’s terrible, but fixable.

Otherwise, the war has caused Europe to liberate itself from an addiction to Russian gas, and (more seriously for Russia) it has proven to the US, China, NATO and Western Europe that they have absolutely nothing to fear from non-nuclear Russian forces.

Russia has nuclear weapons and they have HUGE bombs. But also thousands of small tactical war heads that incinerate a city block or a power plant but produce no mushroom clouds. If they are exploded at a proper height above the ground, they do not produce longterm radiation poisoning either. Europe decommissioned most of the thousands of American provided weapons of this sort. There were once 4000 to counterbalance Soviet's stock.

You can count on Russia having nukes.

For my money, the public should be educated about the small nukes so there is not complete pandemonium if and when Russia uses one.

I'm no expert, but I believe it was the Peloponnesian War which was described as neither side winning, just years of grinding losses? Everything old is new again.

The Korean War ground to a permanent stall.

R218, that’s more a description of the Hundred Years’ War. I think Sparta pretty much destroyed Athens by the end of the Peloponnesian War. In any event, both wars were the product of rivalries between two essentially equal forces, which isn’t the case here.

Agreed, r205, Mia.

Britain and the US are ovah Putin’s ratfucking. Of course, we BOTH have people and parties who are beholden to him and his dirty $$. Those people are trying to prevent offensive weapons from going to Ukraine but they will fail.

I have a feeling that once Putin gets his ass handed to him, there will suddenly be all sorts of nutters who simply fade away. Now, the crazies will always be around and Putin will amp up his vatnik trolls to 11 but it will be a last, desperate effort before the end of him.

We all need to more aware in the future of their tactics.

What would be the strategic aim of starting a nuclear war after declaring you'd lost Ukraine? What could Putin hope to gain? He'd have to have gone so crazy he'd beat Dr Strangelove in a crazy race.

Putin is just trying to delay his loss until his death, imo. I think he is dying from cancer and doesn't want to be murdered before the cancer kills him. Either way, just die already.

The fear is Putin escalates Ukraine into nuclear attacks on Ukraine.

Would someone very kindly explain to me why so many are angry at us for not sending more powerful weapons and equipment to Ukraine? Isn't the reason bc it would violate NATO rules or some such? Why aren't they angry at other countries, why us?

Would someone very kindly explain to me why so many are angry at us for not sending more powerful weapons and equipment to Ukraine? Isn't the reason bc it would violate NATO rules or some such? Why aren't they angry at other countries, why us?

Donated Sea King Helicopter Makes Debut Near Black Sea

New video shows the ex-Royal Navy helicopter sporting Ukrainian blue and gold for the first time during operations near the Black Sea.

Ukraine just imported itself a lot of problems

Brilliant video, but is it really that dangerous?

[quote] is it really that dangerous?

Never flown one myself but the design goes back to the early 60s and the production line stopped in the 70s. That song was written by military pilots as late as 2002 so now 21 years later I'd recommend you take the bus.

R229 Yeesh, that is scary.

Russia is doing fine.

Kind of gross dumping all this old shit on desperate Ukraine.

r231, give it a rest, Boris.

R226, by “US”, I’m guessing you mean the US?

There was a big protest in Germany this past weekend where people demanded that Germany send the Leopard tanks they’ve been promising to Ukraine. It’s not just the US where people are angry about the lack of heavy equipment going into Ukraine.

There are also Ukrainian military training to use more US artillery. This stuff isn’t WWII leftovers that someone could figure out in a day (like the Russians are using). This is computerized stuff and it’s all IN ENGLISH.

IDK about you but if I had to learn what “pew, pew” and “no pew” looked like in Cyrillic, it would take longer than a few days.

Why Leopards are such a big deal and why they make sense for Ukraine (I didn't realize their percentage was so high).

R234- Earlier today I read some posts on the Ukraine Reddit sub. They believe we could send the needed weapons to end this war but are not going to do that bc we are bleeding Russia out at the expensive of the Ukrainian people and that is why we are getting the majority of the criticism.

R226 I think it would only be breaking NATO rules if Ukraine was trying to make aggressive incursions INTO Russia.

Putin would of course say they were, in trying to claim back their own territories that he has already occupied, but nobody else is buying that one.

[quote] we are bleeding Russia out at the expens[iv]e of the Ukrainian people

This idea that NATO and the US are fighting a "proxy war" against Russia at the expense of Ukrainian lives is premised on a total denial of agency to the Ukrainians and their elected government—as if Ukraine were just a big empty battle zone with no one worth listening to in it. I'd argue that that whole idea is basically pro-Putin and anti-democracy, since it denies the value of the people's voices and votes and of self-determination, and tendentiously draws an equivalence between democracy and authoritarian kleptocracy.

Not long after the war started, an astrologer online predicted that the hostilities will end with a shrunken or contracted Ukraine because of the influence of the planet Saturn. Makes sense to me as there's no foreseeable way that Ukraine will get those eastern provinces between Russia and Crimea back.

[quote] there's no foreseeable way that Ukraine will get those eastern provinces between Russia and Crimea back

But your evidence/source for that is... an online astrologer.

No, that was my own opinion independent of the astrologer.

[quote] an astrologer online predicted that the hostilities will end with a shrunken or contracted Ukraine because of the influence of the planet Saturn

I'm no astrologer and I made the same prediction, based not on the stars but on the historical precedent of Stalin sacrificing a million casualties and 3000 tanks to take the portions of Finland he felt Russia needed prior to WW2.. That war likewise exposed how inadequate were the then Soviet military doctrines and logistics leading to the reforms by which they fought the Germans.

Biden sending Abrams tanks to Ukraine

[quote] as Germany authorizes the transfer of Leopard tanks to the Ukrainian military.

As Germany authorizes 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 𝑒𝑙𝑠𝑒 to transfer the tanks they bought from Germany, if they really really want to. The Russian proxy control of German policy through Schroder, Stasi Merkel, and now Scholz is a really remarkable story general media closes their eyes to.

R243, I love that!

Saturn's shifting power to the people after the shift to multinational corporations.

Turkey blocks Sweden joining NATO

Hotcha, r246.

Turkey thinks a lot of itself.

R233, let's revisit this in 6 months, shall we?

R231, I believe you used the present tense. Are you now switching to "Russia will be fine 6 months from now"?

Western countries of Europe, and the US need to rethink their attitude about political assassinations. Putin needs to be put down like the rabid dog he is. Then we need to move on to Hu Flung Dung in N. Korea, that turkey in Turkey Erdogan, that corrupt bastard in China, and several on the African continent.

Can NATO kick turkey out? Authoritarian goat fuckers.

We need Turkey.

So Erdoğan's price for letting Sweden into NATO is for them to abandon basic human rights—to protest, to speak freely, to criticize religions. He's pushing democratic Europe towards autocracy and theocracy the same as Orbán is doing in the EU.

Erdoğan probably likes the money the displaced Russians are spending in Turkey.

Russians AND Ukrainians.

[quote]Russians AND Ukrainians.

Don't forget the comedy of criminals that Zelensky replaced.

Moscow and St. Petersburg need to be bombed like Dresden.

I just want to know where Lev and Igor are in all of this. They used to be so busy.

After Russia loses this war [bold](and they will)[/bold], that entire country needs to be partitioned into spheres of influence the same way that Germany was following WWII.

^^I'm thinking a Russia carved up six ways between the US, UK, Japan, EU, etc. would be fair.

China -- watch your back. You're next.

I hope Turkey doesn't block Sweden (and Finland?) from NATO. From Bloomberg link:

"Alliance leaders should press Erdogan to approve the Nordic countries’ bid no later than May 18, which would be a full year since they applied for membership. If Turkey resists, the US Congress should respond by halting the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Ankara. NATO should reduce Turkey’s participation in joint exercises and sideline Erdogan at the NATO leaders’ summit in July. Expulsion from the alliance — an unprecedented step — should also be on the table."

Also, his trouser do not fit.

Illustrative video of how President Zelenskyy has changed in a year.

Poor guy has the weight of his people on his shoulders. Good luck Ukraine////////////////////////////

World war is on the horizon. Russia is going to go full Blitz on Ukraine in the coming weeks . Russia will fight like hell

Isn’t that what they’ve been doing, R267?

Seriously, r265 and r266. I think the last person in the world I’d want to be is this guy. I cannot imagine the pressure he’s under.

I hate joe biden for sending those creeps in Ukraine all that money knowing Putin's time was running out. America has tremendous problems in our own backyard, we cant afford to play captain save a hoe to other countries until the pandemic is officially declared over.

R267, you obviously have never been to Russia. I have, many times for work. They have an extremely serious problem with alcoholism and it affects young, old, male, and female, and particularly lower and working class men. They will never fight hard because many of them are not sober. And if you think they can’t get hooch on the front, you’re wrong, they make their own. And their commanders are right along side of them when it comes to drinking.

The men they’re bringing to replace the dead are in even worse shape. So Russia can exhort them all they want—it just isn’t going to happen.

Stupid troll alert at R270.

"Russia is going to go full Blitz on Ukraine in the coming weeks . Russia will fight like hell"

Those drunks, R267? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

When you say "blitz" r267, do you mean nuclear bombs? Is Putin an insane madman who will endanger the world (even more than he is already)?

Stupid Russian fangurl alert at R272

Hunty, R275, I'm no Russian fangurl. Those drunk losers? I'm wet for the sexy dude Zelenskyy!

I like how R270 attempts to disguise their glaring pro-Russia crap with "Putin's time is running out." Clever twist, Natasha, but your soiled slip is showing. (And what the hell does the pandemic have to do with anything?)

R270 is just a silly, stupid Russian troll with a prolapsed asshole from taking empty Russian vodka bottles in her hole. You can ignore her.

R277 it has everything to do with not sending hundreds of millions of dollars to other countries when there are vast homeless populations in major US cities like Los Angeles and New York city. Crime and food prices are skyrocketing Americans are broke and struggling. And shut the fuck up about me being Russian you have no idea how stupid you sound. I live in downtown Phoenix and the homeless population is out of control. I can't walk down the street without numerous homeless people begging me for spare change. There are tents everywhere downtown for the homeless to live in. Every day is extremely depressing. Just shut the fuck up. You are obviously an extremely sheltered and privileged cunt if you can't recognize this country is in shambles and a shell of what it used to be.

R279 seems to think supporting the war in Ukraine is taking food and shelter from all those homeless she sees in Phoenix. Boy, what a rube you are, R279.

By the way, do you read the news? The economy is up 2.9% as of today--more of an upturn than was even expected.

R278 fuck off you privileged cunt! Dont skip your next antiviral dose or the hiv will ravish your anorexic tattered body. Go fuck yourself.

Oh, my. Someone is cramping. I suggest a double dose of Midol, R281. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Read this R280 GO FUCK YOURSELF!

WHAT A RESPONSE, R283! Thanks for proving my point, you fucking hick. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

I suggest you take those hiv meds R282 and too bad they wont make your stupidity undetectable. R284 you have no point you aids ravaged whore🖕🖕

R279/R283/R285 is some MAGAt from Arizona who's up very early this morning bitching about Ukraine.

It seems you also have sand in your vadge. A good douching should help that.

You would know all about douching you bottom bitch R286. Go fuck yourself.

The "go fuck yourself" MAGAt troll at R287, et al, really has a limited vocabulary.

Tell me, R287, how do you currently feel about your dear leader, currently in exile at Maga Lardo? Will you be supporting him in the next election?

The Russian troll bullshit is really old R288 the irony of you talking about a limited vocabulary.

Do you have reading comprehension issues, R289? I'm not calling you a Russian troll. I'm calling you a MAGAt. And you didn't answer my question: are you supporting Trump again?

R288 Spend just five minutes in downtown Phoenix which currently resembles a third world country in first world America and see how Russian that is you privileged troll.

I never supported him in the first place R290. I know this site is anonymous but my God the stupid ASSumptions made about other posters is nothing short of hilarious. You cant see what I look like you're only guessing based on this stupid back and forth.

R291/R292, we know you're a MAGAt. You drip MAGAt.

Funny how all the MAGAts like this one from Phoenix disown their dear leader when it suits them.

You drip cum from last nights raw gangbang R293 I'm no trump supporter but again ironic of you to talk about anyone's limited vocabulary when you ASSume that everyone who disagrees with you is either a Russian troll or a MAGA there's no in-between with you small minded cunts. Same for the idiot R294

"You cant see what I look like you're only guessing based on this stupid back and forth."

We don't need to see you, R292. Your words are very revealing.

R295, you're a MAGAt. We all know it. And why are you so obsessed with HIV?

"Phoenix which currently resembles a third world country"

MARY, R291!

It actually reveals nothing R296 keep ASSuming tho shit for brains. And keep proving my point R297 I MUST be MAGA because I dont agree with you. There couldn't possibly be other Americans who feel similarly 🤣🤣🤣

R291=Kari Lake

No, R299, you're a MAGAt because of your words. Tell me, how do you feel about Katie Hobbs? Did you vote for her?

Hope you can get the relief from vaginal cramps you so desperately need, R299.

Fuck your MARY you prick 298. R300 actually= fed up American struggling to get by. R301 why would you ask me if I voted for Hobbs when you are convinced that I'm MAGA LOL. Are you fucking stupid? Nevermind I already know the answer is yes. R302 suck my DICK

R298 I mean fuck your MARY🖕

Oh, dear. Poor MARY R298/R303. I asked if you voted for Hobbs or did you support Lake? It was a simple question.

R288: You’re a MAGAt

Troll: Why do you assume I’m Russian?

Interesting bit of word association with this piece of shit traitor, tipping its hand there

That was for the MARY at R299/R303.

"Traitor," R303? Spoken like a MAGAt!

This troll writes like he’s preteen

[quote]Tell me, how do you feel about Katie Hobbs? Did you vote for her?

Thats what you actually asked R305 no mention of Kari Lake. Now on top of being retarded i now also think you're schizophrenic. What a sad cunt you are

Sorry, that was for the MAGAt MARY at R306.

He references other posters like he’s never seen the internet before

I'm asking now, R310--who'd you vote for?

no R309 but I know you lust after preteens pedo trash

[quote] suck my DICK

…and is stupid enough to think this is a burning insult on a gay site

R313 you're fucking retarded. Why should I answer your questions when you can't even get them right? 🤣🤣

Says the moron who can’t quote or post a reference right

R315 go take those antivirals before you collapse fag boy

Clearly this is just some stupid child who thinks he’s a keyboard warrior because he can type a little

Another non-answer, R316. Why won't you tell us?

Wow one troll tanked this thread.

…and it thinks being homophobic is “edgy” and “funny”

R317= projecting retard who lied about mentioning Kari Lake only to throw and throw the question in later. Dumb cunt.

Any Ukraine/Putin thread will inevitably bring out trolls like the MAGAt MARY from Phoenix, who stupidly revealed everything about herself.

R323 doesn't know whom she's even referring to on this thread. Wrong, MARY.

[quote] Another non-answer, [R316]. Why won't you tell us?

You won’t get an answer. Not a real one. Trolls don’t engage in conversation. They have nothing to offer a conversation. They just shitpost to try to shut that conversation down.

R323--Hobbs or Lake? Who did you vote for?

[quote] Wow one troll tanked this thread.

That was its purpose. Trolls’ main objective is to shut down conversations they don’t like.

Tanks are rolling into Ukraine from Germany and the U.S. And it's about time. This will significantly fuck Putin and his drunk army even harder.

R328 YEP you got me! And you all fell right into my trap hahaha

General Petraeus: "Putin is in an unsustainable position." The tanks rolling in are an "iron fist" against Russia.

Only a straight boy would assume "suck my dick" was an insult on a gay website.

Go fuck off back to Breitbart, Nazi scum.

Yes, R332, it's true--and did you see how the MARY bristles at being called a MARY?

And now disengaging from the idiot breeder troll who I've got blocked anyways:

We know Putin is going to kick the bucket at some point here. I'm guessing the big question is what happens right after that? Do the even looper hardliners take over and escalate even further into scorched earth insanity?

R333 I enjoy being called MAGA now. Do try and keep up dear.

No, R334, they want to back off from this suicdal position Putin has put them in. They would love to see him dead so they can move on. Their economy is destroyed, and it's only getting worse for them.

Of course you do, R335--because you've proven you are one. Except the term is MAGAT, Mary.

Notice how the MAGAt at R335 is trying to co-opt the DL phrase "do keep up dear" to pretend she's something other than a MAGAt--that she's one of us. What a transparent fool.

Keep up with what, R335? We've been calling you a MAGAt for several posts now, dear.

You're so right R337 R338 R339 it's just all apart of my insidious plan to troll DL and each response you give me feeds my enormous ego.

[quote]No, [R334], they want to back off from this suicdal position Putin has put them in.

I have no doubts that the majority of Russians are fucking sick of this mess. (at least the ones who aren't soaking up the propaganda.) But aren't the hardliners mostly in power positions at the Kremlin?

Could be one big messy palace coup when Putin bites it. Or perhaps a repeat of 1991 where the hardliners try to take over and get shoved out.

Yes, R341, Putin has singlehandedly destroyed Russia's economy, and it won't recover for many years.

Panzzzzeeeeer!!!!!

Fucking pig. Let him drown in his own blood.

[quote] Only a straight boy would assume "suck my dick" was an insult on a gay website.

That’s not true

Straight women also spew this as an insult, and they think they’re being extra “edgy” using it.

No straight women I know do, R345. Can we stay on topic?

Sure, r346, but only if you’ll stop responding to off-topic posts

Everyone, PLEASE FF the MAGAt troll, then block it. The insult he directed to us about HIV is more than enough to reveal it as an outsider who doesn’t belong here, isn’t gay, and actually hates gays. The MAGA shit just solidifies that. If we all FF we can get it blocked by Muriel, at least for a few days.

So pick a post. We can’t FF everything the twit has spewed. We have limited FFs

R347, the troll had to be dealt with, and it was. You're not helping by making up shit about straight women. Moving on.

^now, back to the thread at hand. I’m not familiar at all with land war strategy. I’m the poster above whose been to Russia and knows how dire the alcohol problem is. I have no doubt the tanks will be effective, but can someone explain why in particular the German and US tanks are superior? I know Russia’s tanks are shit since they’ve been cannibalized and are old, but what superiority are we gaining? Is it simply because Ukraine doesn’t have tanks? Or are these tanks superior?

R349, I’m not sure, but I don’t think it matters unless the troll is using multiple accounts. If it gets enough FFs I think it gets a time out.

But yes, on to the topic at hand.

No, R351, these tanks will be very effective. The American tanks being given aren't ideal for the terrain in Ukraine but they'll be highly effective.

Thanks, r353! Now I’m going to follow up with some more dumb questions. How will they be used specifically? Do they target other tanks? Do they target soldiers? Is their superiority the only factor? Will they transport soldiers?

I’m just so fascinated by this and am pretty clueless.

Here you are, R354.

And this, R354.

[quote] [R347], the troll had to be dealt with, and it was. You're not helping by making up shit about straight women. Moving on

It’s quite possible this troll was biologically female. Several indicating factors are there.

Thanks, r355 and r356! Just what I’m looking for… appreciate it!

Can we all agree to address the MAGAT troll as nonbinary just to piss them off?

Put has enough bodies to sacrifice, and enough money coming in from selling natural resources despite the European & North American embargo, and enough BOMBS, to destroy Ukraine and half of Europe if he so chooses.

He has bodies but trained personnel? He's got to be scraping the bottom of the barrel at this point, there's been so many casualties.

As far as going nuclear, hasn't that been debunked? Too many of his people won't go along with it despite the big talk.

Possibly, r360 but he has NO ONE sober enough to man his busted ass, broke down equipment.

He may have plenty of money and bodies but his money can only buy cut rate shit from Iran and North Korea. Ukraine is getting equipment and supplies from the UK, the US, Poland, Sweden, Germany and, I believe, Slovakia just agreed to send them some equipment also.

Pootz wanted a Rolls Royce and got an exploding Tesla

I agree with all the info mentioned after my post at R360. But the coming destruction by missiles of Ukraine is going to be a very difficult passage. This will be mid winter or early spring. We just saw Russia not hesitating to drop missiles on a still populated Kyiv. The missiles will not go directly into government buildings, compounds, and historic sites, and besides being physically destructive, will be soul crushing.

Big typo. The missiles will NOW go directly on important sites. Next. Putin will destroy Kyiv, and I think soon.

R563, my only question is why haven’t they done it by now before they took untold casualties, mostly his elite soldiers? He’s now drafting felons and people off the street. What’s he waiting for?

Putin's somewhere in the third reel of "Downfall" at this point. As are his troll armies crowing about military resources that quite simply don't exist.

Sure, MARY R360/R364. Wishful thinking on your part, you gash.

R360 and all her gashy posts are officially blocked. I suggest everyone do the same. She's just that MAGAt Mary Putin ass licker.

Yeah, you’re right r368. And don’t forget the shit she said about everyone getting HIV. I was hoping Muriel would throw her into the junk pile but I guess not.

Hey, that HIV shitstirrer wasn't me. Use trolldar. I am a new troll and started posting at R360.

R363, what coming missile strike?. He's almost out of the missiles he's been using, and will have to resort to ancient cruise missiles that are highly inaccurate and easily shot down, and/or use up the few new hyperexpensive hypersonic missiles they have.

Wouldn't "the few" missiles remaining suffice?

Anyway I hope he doesn't do it.

And I am not the ridiculous unhinged troll up thread that you have accused me of being.

I do watch German and French news daily and I live in Europe. Putin is manufacturing new missiles every mouth. And has a few thousand small tactical nuclear weapons. Russia is still making 640 million euros per day selling natural resources. That is down but but it's still a lot. That is enough to buy the few deadly missiles he would need.

Didn’t Kyiv also just receive or about to receive the Patriot Missile system to shoot down incoming bullshit from Putin? If they don’t have it now, it’s coming and the Ukrainians are being trained on it.

Plus, with the amount of drones in the air and radar, anything incoming would certainly set off the air raid sirens.

That deranged loser can bomb all he wants. All it does is make everyone madder AT HIM. He’s losing and he’s DYING.

PUTIN IS DYING if he ain’t already DEAD. His pathetic dreams of “Empire” and “Tsar” are as dead as Kevin Sorbo’s career.

I agree with all that. But if he's not dead the next few months will be a tightrope war of nerves.

Starting in the late 1980s, many new-production M1A1s for the U.S. military began to feature composite armor packages that include depleted uranium (DU), a metal known for its high density, and other materials.

R372, are you talking about delivering nukes or conventional warheads? If nukes, then just one missile is enough. If conventional, the way they've been bombing up till now with ~70 missiles/drones at a time, then no, he's not got enough to continue for more than a few strikes. Read the Newsweek article.

Newsweek? Seriously? Yes tactical nukes that take out a city block, a power plant. Rather than entire cities.

And with conventional weapons, same reaction. You say no more than a few more strikes. But it only takes "a few more strikes" to destroy things spiritually and tactically central to Ukrainians and the world. I am NOT saying Ukrainian spirit will be defeated, but it will be challenged when there is no more electricity, and their cultural heritage is obliterated.

R377, are you living in October 2021 when Russia thought it could bring Ukraine to its knees by lobbing missiles and drones into power stations? Since then, Ukraine has been able to shoot down the vast majority of the weekly attacks, and have restored power in a surprisingly short period of time in most major cities. Ukrainians resolve and morale has certainly not been diminished by these attacks, they've been bolstered. And the worst of the winter is mostly past, so it's not terribly likely that even tactical nukes on power stations would have the results you and Russia seem to expect.

Hey trolls, remember when you crowed about how Russia was going to overrun all of Ukraine in three days?

Good times.

Putin must be out of Iranian drones as well.

Yes, R380, we haven't heard anything more about those drones. The well's running dry for the old cunt Putin.

US tanks 𝑚𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 reach Ukraine by 2024. Tanks will have to be built first.

While the White House has said Ukrainians need the more advanced capabilities to gear up for a fresh Russian offensive expected this spring, the US tanks won’t roll into eastern Europe until the predicted push is a distant memory.

“We just don’t have these tanks available in excess in our US stocks, which is why it is going to take months to transfer these M1A2 Abrams to Ukraine,” Singh said, referencing the specific newer version of the tank the US will send.

White House officials warned Wednesday it could take up to a year before Kyiv receives the tanks that President Biden publicly pledged because they would be purchased new with Congressionally approved funds as part of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative.

While the Pentagon typically takes about four days to prepare and deliver weapons that come from US stocks to Ukraine, those sourced through the USAI program can take months to deliver — or even years — as the government identifies and hires defense contractors who then build the weapons from scratch.

“We are using the USAI to show a long-term commitment,” Singh said. “It’s not about delay; we just do not have these Abrams available in our stocks to give the Ukrainians at this time.”

Q: Sabrina, is there a shortage of M-1 Abram tanks? Is that why you're having to go through the procurement process that's not going to allow them to be there until, you know, almost a year's time? Why not just take them off the shelf to get them in the fight sooner?

MS. SINGH: That's a great question. We are using the USAI because that's exactly it. We just don't have these tanks available in excess in our U.S. stocks, which is why it is going to take months to transfer these M1A2 Abrams to Ukraine. And I think that you have to remember, I mean, as you probably know, these tanks are going to require training, maintenance, sustainment that is going to take a very long time to also train the Ukrainians on. And so, because of that -- and we took that into account -- that's why we are using the USAI capability in order to procure these tanks for the Ukrainians.

Q: And what changed from Tuesday to Thursday, when here at the podium we heard that the M1 Abrams was too difficult logistically to support, it was the wrong weapon to be sent, and then hearing that the President had authorized 31 to be sent?

MS. SINGH: Well, I don't think that -- I would just say that, you know, we stand by the statements that we made from here at the podium, and that you've heard Secretary Austin and the chairman say before. These are going to be difficult capabilities to maintain and sustain. We stand by that. There's going to be challenges to them.

Q: That's why I asked. So this -- this implies that you're going to upgrade older-model M1A1s that are not in the active Army inventory into this A2 configuration. Is -- is that accurate?

MS. SINGH: We're working through the details right now. We're trying to procure new tanks through the USAI. But, again, we're working through those details right now, so I don't have any additional updates on that.

Q: So new tanks implies building from scratch, taking pieces together putting -- that's not the way the Army's done it for the last 20 years. Wanted to check into that, actually.

MS. SINGH: Well, it would -- it would entail working with industry and -- and contracting those out, and part of that is acquiring new tanks. So that's where the process -- that is our goal in the process. In terms of final delivery, again, we'll keep you updated on that, but that is the goal of what we announced.

The NY Post, R382? Total bullshit it wll take a year to get tanks to Ukraine. It was reported today it will take months.

I was watching some military expert on DW (Deutsche Welle - German news channel), and he said the soonest the German Leopard (sp?) tanks could get there and ready to use is 6 weeks (at a push).

They're not just in Germany - Italy has some, maybe some other countries.

I think to get Scholz to change his position, it was required for the US to pledge tanks - even though they may not be practical and it may take months. Maybe Macron promised the French would try to send tanks - I can't remember what theirs are called, but they're not Leopards (or Abrams, obvs)

Looked it up - the French tank is called the "Leclerc". He gave numbers - like how many the Germans and French have now and could spare, but I can't remember. Enough for "one battallion" for sure, within six weeks or so, whatever a battallion is.

Hell I know jack shit about military crap. What a shame we have to think about all this, in Europe of all places. Oh and they showed a photograph of a tank now being used by Russia and it was in a museum - an old looking thing - I think the T14-Armata, not nearly as good as the Leopard.

The T14-Armata was supposed to be Russia's super-duper advanced tank platform that was going to outclass Western tanks, but they've had nothing but production and design delays and have only been able to build a few prototypes, which keep breaking down. They don't have the electronic components to build more even if it worked. I saw an article yesterday that intimated they've given up on it. They're down to using tanks from the early 1960's and even some WWII era tanks being pulled out of mothballs.

Human wave attacks, criminals used as cannon fodder and tens of thousands dead: How Putin 'won' the Battle of Soledar in Ukraine at a massive cost in human lives.

Another large missile barrage this morning. 47 cruise missiles shot down, and all 24 Iranian Shahed drones shot down (100% kill ratee).

That's great soldiering! Bravo. How many missiles landed?

10, R389, killing at least 7 and damaging one power station I believe.

"If Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine had succeeded in 2022, Ukraine's industries would have been seized and taken over by Russian oligarchs. A leaked document shows that oligarch Konstantin Malofeev intended to create a 'DMZ Concern' from Ukraine's largest plants"

That may be part of the reason why the oligarchs haven't been objecting too much to the war yet, R391 - they still hold hope for future takeovers.