Russia & Ukraine
- Thread starter UsualName
- Start date
Ukraine announced today that the taking back of Crimea by force will have priority over taking back the eastern oblasts in the Donbas region.
Ukraine to change strategy for liberation of Crimea, announces Danilov
Ukraine will adjust its strategy for the de-occupation of Crimea, Secretary of the National Security & Defense Council (NSDC) Oleksiy Danilov said on Twitter on March 2.
https://english.nv.ua/nation/ukrain...ion-of-crimea-announces-danilov-50307897.html
“It’s time to revise our strategy to de-occupy Crimea”, he wrote. “The order of de-occupation – political-diplomatic, military, economic, etc. – requires a change in priorities.”
Adviser to the President’s chief-of-staff, Myhailo Podolyak, said that Ukrainian forces can liberate Russian-occupied Crimea before liberating Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in the Donbas region of mainland Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, the Russian occupation authorities are already preparing for the Ukrainian army operation to liberate Crimea.
Russia has occupied Crimea and parts of the Donbas since the beginning of its war against Ukraine, in February 2014. The Kremlin claims it has annexed the Ukrainian territory, but only a handful of rogue and pariah states have ever recognized this claim.
Ukraine says its war aim is now to liberate the whole of its territory from Russian occupation, and restore control over the whole of its internationally recognized territory as of its declaration of independence in 1991.
No, that is not naive in the long run. As I have said many times, Russia and the US should be friends. Doesnt mean we have to be the same.
Putin is insane. He is turning Russia into a vassal state of China. China does not give a flying fuck about "Russian World" or the orthodox church, or what the Prince of Kiev said in 700 so therefore Ukraine is part of Russia, etc. And he is bringing Islamic jihad trash such as Kadyrov into to fight for Russia. Yeh sure. What could go wrong there as far as preserving Russian culture?
The US has been to war three times with Britain and we are great allies today. We have been to war with Germany at least twice and we are allies today. Ditto for Japan. It is not inconceivable that the future could be brighter, even though the near future is not.
Russia needs to get its sh#t together. And work out an agreement that at least allows them to be Russia, rather than a colony of China. If they do not care about Ukraine, they should at least start caring about Russia.
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meanwhile - putinmafia goes all in (like hitler did):
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https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/In...ganda-Why-Putin-Wont-Pull-Out-Of-Ukraine.html
Politics And Propaganda: Why Putin Won’t Pull Out Of Ukraine
By The Jamestown Foundation - Mar 01, 2023, 4:00 PM CST
First, the war has caused an unusually high level of support among the Russian public for the Russian authorities and Putin personally; in recent years, before the invasion, this rating had been steadily declining (Radio Svoboda, May 25, 2019). Even independent sociologists, for example, the scientific director of the Levada Center (labeled as a “foreign agent” in Russia), Lev Gudkov, admit that public support is “not very clearly expressed, but quite tangible for the authorities and the war itself in society.”
According to Gudkov, approval for the war among Russians remains around 70 percent. Yet, at the same time, 50 percent of respondents want the fighting to end. He notes that this duality is partly due to the fact that many Russians are deeply aware of the war’s criminal nature but prefer to isolate themselves from the unpleasant truth and avoid receiving objective information (Eurasia Review, February 17). Another factor that ensures passive support for the war from the majority of the population is the constant stream of propaganda that paints a harrowing future in the case of Russia’s defeat (Readovka, October 6).
Pro-Kremlin sociologists say that the lack of stability is having a negative impact on public sentiment. However, they immediately reassure the Russian authorities that this “does not affect the ratings of trust in the country’s leadership, since the prolongation of the special military operation means the prolongation of the effects of the consolidation of society and power” (T.me/russica2, February 6).
Realizing this, Moscow is not only dragging out the war but also trying to draw the entire Russian society into the conflict. At the regional level, the creation of volunteer organizations and initiative groups to help the mobilized has been encouraged. Sometimes even schoolchildren and students are forced to participate (see EDM, November 28, 2022). In cities, medical and hygienic supplies are being collected for the military, and in some regions, students are forced to stand in for mobilized workers at their places of employment (see EDM, February 6).
Despite all these efforts, even pro-Kremlin sociologists state that the majority of Russian society remains apolitical and the level of involvement in the military effort is steadily declining (T.me/russica2, February 4). This is confirmed by a recent study from the Levada Center, according to which the number of people closely following military operations in Ukraine is declining. Nevertheless, sociologists counter that society is mentally ready to continue the “special military operation” for a long time (Levada.ru, February 2).
Overall, the number of radical patriots who actively support the war, though they represent a smaller part of society, is nevertheless steadily growing. This is facilitated by massive propaganda, mobilization and an active policy of involving the population in the military effort, starting with the teaching of mandatory war propaganda in schools (Mel.fm, August 28, 2022). As former political prisoner Mikhail Khodorkovsky notes, these people, “whose whole life is now connected to the war,” have become Putin’s new support. The Kremlin’s stake in these radical “national patriots” represents the second major reason why Putin cannot end this war (Twitter.com/MikhailKhodorkovsky, February 6).
The third reason involves the growth in the number of beneficiaries, if not of the war itself, then of active support for it. Today, the public ratings of not only federal but also regional as well as local authorities depend on their degree of involvement in the war. As one experts point out, in the face of the threat of an external enemy, a “depoliticization of ideas of social justice [takes place], that is, its transfer from internal socioeconomic problems to the level of international politics and the special military operation as an event aimed at protecting the national interests of the country and restoring social justice” (T.me/russica2, February 11).
This is also understood by regional political scientists, who openly note that “support for the [special military operation] guarantees votes in elections” and explain how this has influenced the growing popularity of specific governors (Russia-rating.ru, December 28, 2022). As a result, both federal and regional authorities are trying to stand out as much as possible in supporting those who came to Ukraine armed and ready to kill its citizens.
Some Russian State Duma deputies propose involving these officials in teaching at schools in the occupied territories and promise to support them when they are nominated for elections. They also regularly report on measures taken to support “participants of the [special military operation]” (Kp.ru, January 14). Such a policy greatly raises the status of people returning from the war. This, in turn, creates the fourth reason for the impossibility of ending the war—that is, not only the increase in the number of radical patriots but also an increase in their influence in Russian society.
Based on this, one can envision the emergence of a future conflict between the apolitical part of society and the aggressive “patriots” returning from the front. Corrupted by impunity and the propaganda cult around them, these people may begin to demand too much from the rest of the population. However, the real paradox lies in the fact that the Kremlin, even realizing this, sees only one way to delay the social upheaval: continuing its war against Ukraine. In reality, this method could smooth out the external manifestations of social conflicts, but at the same time, it will only exacerbate their causes. Thus, sooner or later these conflicts will make themselves known within the Russian Federation.
********************************************************
https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/In...ganda-Why-Putin-Wont-Pull-Out-Of-Ukraine.html
Politics And Propaganda: Why Putin Won’t Pull Out Of Ukraine
By The Jamestown Foundation - Mar 01, 2023, 4:00 PM CST
- The consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are mounting both internationally and domestically.
- Despite the losses, however, the fallout for Putin if Russia does pull out of the war would be devasting.
- Propaganda has successfully garnered a lot of domestic support for the war, and it’s been a huge point in local politicians’ electoral success.
First, the war has caused an unusually high level of support among the Russian public for the Russian authorities and Putin personally; in recent years, before the invasion, this rating had been steadily declining (Radio Svoboda, May 25, 2019). Even independent sociologists, for example, the scientific director of the Levada Center (labeled as a “foreign agent” in Russia), Lev Gudkov, admit that public support is “not very clearly expressed, but quite tangible for the authorities and the war itself in society.”
According to Gudkov, approval for the war among Russians remains around 70 percent. Yet, at the same time, 50 percent of respondents want the fighting to end. He notes that this duality is partly due to the fact that many Russians are deeply aware of the war’s criminal nature but prefer to isolate themselves from the unpleasant truth and avoid receiving objective information (Eurasia Review, February 17). Another factor that ensures passive support for the war from the majority of the population is the constant stream of propaganda that paints a harrowing future in the case of Russia’s defeat (Readovka, October 6).
Pro-Kremlin sociologists say that the lack of stability is having a negative impact on public sentiment. However, they immediately reassure the Russian authorities that this “does not affect the ratings of trust in the country’s leadership, since the prolongation of the special military operation means the prolongation of the effects of the consolidation of society and power” (T.me/russica2, February 6).
Realizing this, Moscow is not only dragging out the war but also trying to draw the entire Russian society into the conflict. At the regional level, the creation of volunteer organizations and initiative groups to help the mobilized has been encouraged. Sometimes even schoolchildren and students are forced to participate (see EDM, November 28, 2022). In cities, medical and hygienic supplies are being collected for the military, and in some regions, students are forced to stand in for mobilized workers at their places of employment (see EDM, February 6).
Despite all these efforts, even pro-Kremlin sociologists state that the majority of Russian society remains apolitical and the level of involvement in the military effort is steadily declining (T.me/russica2, February 4). This is confirmed by a recent study from the Levada Center, according to which the number of people closely following military operations in Ukraine is declining. Nevertheless, sociologists counter that society is mentally ready to continue the “special military operation” for a long time (Levada.ru, February 2).
Overall, the number of radical patriots who actively support the war, though they represent a smaller part of society, is nevertheless steadily growing. This is facilitated by massive propaganda, mobilization and an active policy of involving the population in the military effort, starting with the teaching of mandatory war propaganda in schools (Mel.fm, August 28, 2022). As former political prisoner Mikhail Khodorkovsky notes, these people, “whose whole life is now connected to the war,” have become Putin’s new support. The Kremlin’s stake in these radical “national patriots” represents the second major reason why Putin cannot end this war (Twitter.com/MikhailKhodorkovsky, February 6).
The third reason involves the growth in the number of beneficiaries, if not of the war itself, then of active support for it. Today, the public ratings of not only federal but also regional as well as local authorities depend on their degree of involvement in the war. As one experts point out, in the face of the threat of an external enemy, a “depoliticization of ideas of social justice [takes place], that is, its transfer from internal socioeconomic problems to the level of international politics and the special military operation as an event aimed at protecting the national interests of the country and restoring social justice” (T.me/russica2, February 11).
This is also understood by regional political scientists, who openly note that “support for the [special military operation] guarantees votes in elections” and explain how this has influenced the growing popularity of specific governors (Russia-rating.ru, December 28, 2022). As a result, both federal and regional authorities are trying to stand out as much as possible in supporting those who came to Ukraine armed and ready to kill its citizens.
Some Russian State Duma deputies propose involving these officials in teaching at schools in the occupied territories and promise to support them when they are nominated for elections. They also regularly report on measures taken to support “participants of the [special military operation]” (Kp.ru, January 14). Such a policy greatly raises the status of people returning from the war. This, in turn, creates the fourth reason for the impossibility of ending the war—that is, not only the increase in the number of radical patriots but also an increase in their influence in Russian society.
Based on this, one can envision the emergence of a future conflict between the apolitical part of society and the aggressive “patriots” returning from the front. Corrupted by impunity and the propaganda cult around them, these people may begin to demand too much from the rest of the population. However, the real paradox lies in the fact that the Kremlin, even realizing this, sees only one way to delay the social upheaval: continuing its war against Ukraine. In reality, this method could smooth out the external manifestations of social conflicts, but at the same time, it will only exacerbate their causes. Thus, sooner or later these conflicts will make themselves known within the Russian Federation.
yes, second time that Nazi's will be defeated.
Hopefully like 1945.
Because that was the year that a Fuhrer shot himself in a bunker in the capital.
No reason why Vlad should not be provided with such an opportunity.
The Putin cronies in Russia are jumping up and down while demanding the assassination of Zelensky and complete destruction of Ukraine by bombing. All in response to the "Ukrainian terrorist attack" in Bryansk -- you know that attack which was actually done by a neo-Nazi Russian nationalist.
Russian Officials Demand Assassination of Zelensky in Leaked Texts
https://www.thedailybeast.com/russi...zelensky-over-bryansk-attacks-in-leaked-texts
Russian lawmakers are demanding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky be assassinated and his country bombed into oblivion after what the Kremlin touted as a “Ukrainian terrorist attack” in a border region early Thursday.
Every level of Russian government from Vladimir Putin to the Federal Security Service and regional governors blamed the Ukrainian military for the attack in Bryansk, which authorities said had left two people dead and a child injured. The official version of events from the Kremlin is that Ukrainian “Nazis” and “saboteurs” stormed over the border into Russia, invaded two villages, shot up a car, took hostages, and scattered explosive devices throughout the area.
Though a group of Russian volunteers took credit for the mayhem—led by a well-known Russian neo-Nazi who has openly spoken about his past cooperation with the security services, though he now says he is fighting for Ukraine—the incident seems to portend a dark new phase in the war against Ukraine. One after one, Putin’s minions in parliament and mouthpieces on social media immediately called for revenge, arguing that the “red line” had been crossed and it was now time to go to war for real (as opposed to just lobbing cruise missiles at civilians.)
“We will destroy , we will rebuild,” one lawmaker wrote to colleagues in a private chat about events in Bryansk, according to the independent outlet Verstka.
“‘Zelensky is fucked,” another lawmaker was quoted saying.
“Everyone wants to fuck up [the Ukrainians], fuck, these are children,” a source in Russia’s Federation Council told Verstka, using a slur to refer to Ukrainians.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov called for the families of the “saboteurs” to be hunted down, noting that they “might live on Russian territory.”
Lawmaker Mikhail Delyagin said the “only normal response” to the incident is the “immediate elimination of Zelensky and [Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Valerii] Zaluzhnyi.”’ Several Kremlin-connected military bloggers jumped on board, calling for Ukrainian leaders to be assassinated using “Mossad methods” and wiped out like “Chechen terrorists.”
The prospect that the “attack” could be used by the Kremlin as a pretext to order a full-on mobilization was lost in the frenzied reactions of “patriots” who’ve spent the better part of the war fuming that Moscow hasn’t used enough brutality to force Ukraine into submission.
But in the wake of the chaos in Bryansk—accounts of which remain murky several hours later—even some pro-Kremlin figures blamed Russian military leadership.
“It is absolutely clear that if last summer the ‘brothers’ from ‘Azov’ had been hanged on construction cranes and trees in Mariupol for several weeks, gradually decomposing, then there would be no raids in the Bryansk region now,” wrote one popular military blogger.
“Ukrainian nationalists really like it when they are given security guarantees and then sent home,” he said, blasting Moscow’s prisoner swap that saw hundreds of Ukrainian POWs freed.
Others questioned how the “saboteurs” had managed to pull off such an attack in the first place, with one high-profile propaganda channel questioning “how they entered and left so calmly.”
Russian Officials Demand Assassination of Zelensky in Leaked Texts
https://www.thedailybeast.com/russi...zelensky-over-bryansk-attacks-in-leaked-texts
Russian lawmakers are demanding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky be assassinated and his country bombed into oblivion after what the Kremlin touted as a “Ukrainian terrorist attack” in a border region early Thursday.
Every level of Russian government from Vladimir Putin to the Federal Security Service and regional governors blamed the Ukrainian military for the attack in Bryansk, which authorities said had left two people dead and a child injured. The official version of events from the Kremlin is that Ukrainian “Nazis” and “saboteurs” stormed over the border into Russia, invaded two villages, shot up a car, took hostages, and scattered explosive devices throughout the area.
Though a group of Russian volunteers took credit for the mayhem—led by a well-known Russian neo-Nazi who has openly spoken about his past cooperation with the security services, though he now says he is fighting for Ukraine—the incident seems to portend a dark new phase in the war against Ukraine. One after one, Putin’s minions in parliament and mouthpieces on social media immediately called for revenge, arguing that the “red line” had been crossed and it was now time to go to war for real (as opposed to just lobbing cruise missiles at civilians.)
“We will destroy , we will rebuild,” one lawmaker wrote to colleagues in a private chat about events in Bryansk, according to the independent outlet Verstka.
“‘Zelensky is fucked,” another lawmaker was quoted saying.
“Everyone wants to fuck up [the Ukrainians], fuck, these are children,” a source in Russia’s Federation Council told Verstka, using a slur to refer to Ukrainians.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov called for the families of the “saboteurs” to be hunted down, noting that they “might live on Russian territory.”
Lawmaker Mikhail Delyagin said the “only normal response” to the incident is the “immediate elimination of Zelensky and [Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Valerii] Zaluzhnyi.”’ Several Kremlin-connected military bloggers jumped on board, calling for Ukrainian leaders to be assassinated using “Mossad methods” and wiped out like “Chechen terrorists.”
The prospect that the “attack” could be used by the Kremlin as a pretext to order a full-on mobilization was lost in the frenzied reactions of “patriots” who’ve spent the better part of the war fuming that Moscow hasn’t used enough brutality to force Ukraine into submission.
But in the wake of the chaos in Bryansk—accounts of which remain murky several hours later—even some pro-Kremlin figures blamed Russian military leadership.
“It is absolutely clear that if last summer the ‘brothers’ from ‘Azov’ had been hanged on construction cranes and trees in Mariupol for several weeks, gradually decomposing, then there would be no raids in the Bryansk region now,” wrote one popular military blogger.
“Ukrainian nationalists really like it when they are given security guarantees and then sent home,” he said, blasting Moscow’s prisoner swap that saw hundreds of Ukrainian POWs freed.
Others questioned how the “saboteurs” had managed to pull off such an attack in the first place, with one high-profile propaganda channel questioning “how they entered and left so calmly.”
If anyone sees any video of Russian tv -usual suspects- reacting to this.
Put up a link.
Thanking you in advance.
In related news, there is 1.75 trillion in outstanding student debt now.
Maybe if that were all paid back that could help with the Ukraine expenditures regardless of whether one agrees or disagrees with them.