Russia-Ukraine War

Might come as a surprise to you Cornelious, but in the Russian Republics, and of course the Ex Russian republics, ethnic Russians are not popular….far from it!!! Why did so many leave Mother Russia when they got the chance in 1991? Don't ever make the mistake of calling a non-ethnic Russian a "Russian" by mistake. You might get away with it once, being a foreigner, but not a 2nd time. The Republics all have their own separate cultural identities, in many cases different languages etc. And also, you will not find inter-marriage between two neighbouring republics being very common. In some cases, it's downright forbidden. The much-hyped up Ukronazis is exactly that, hyped up Kremlin Propaganda. The Azov battalion had a very tiny % which hold far right views but deny adhering to Nazi beliefs as a whole. Unlike Putin's Nazi's, who are followers of the real thing…Putin's war in Ukraine is fought on the same principles he copied from his hero, Adolf Hitler, and his propaganda, is page by page, taken from Goebbels hand book

I was being sarcastic, clearly nobody is getting a look in at Russian POW camps when they're returning people in that state.

This is a great post.

I know it already got plenty of thanks, but bravo !

Or why it's leaders liked to decorate themselves in such a manner as this…..

This is great. Around 18:30 there's a question posed that is relevant to Ireland. Unfortunately we don't have leaders, or a public I suppose, who get it.

Ah, the infamous Azov Battalion,foundation of so many Ruzzian fantasy narratives. From scrutinising Kremlin propaganda over the last couple of years, a number of facts become clear. The Azov ''battalion''is much more like a division than a mere battalion, or even an army, such are it's numbers and it's astonishing capacity for regeneration. It was supposedly destroyed, most of its members killed or captured at Mariupol, yet it reconstituted itself, doubtless in some amoeba-like manner, or like zombies to fight again. It also had enough spare manpower to murder the slain civilians at Bucha, whilst blaming the Ruzzian army for this heinous act and to maintain a permanent corps of fiendish nazis, whose main function is to both protect, yet threaten and intimidate Zelensky and force him to do their bidding. They are the real power behind the Zelensky administration, the Ukrainian government only puppets dangling from their strings, rather like a terrifying mixture of the Praetorian Guard, the SS and the Janissaries. They are yet nebulous yet ubiquitous, dreaded yet invisible and like Xerxes' 'immortals' no matter how many of these bogeymen are killed, their nefarious power and influence remains.

Ha, a higher calibre of Putinbot turning up there. (By that I mean volume of content smeared onto the thread, not nessisarily quality). Given the pro-China stance seen in post history, I guess we're looking at a commited anti-West "tankie" as opposed to an actual Russian asset.

I guess it's worth reflecting on why even after 2 years of a war that is clearly about conquest (which Russia don't even keep secret in their propiganda) that you'll have people in western democracies willfully ignore the actions of a clearly facist state, simply because they are opponents to the Hated West™.

Full disclousure, I think I remember being like this myself in my teenage years. Very much anti-US. But even then, I don't think I remember gleefully cheerleading the attempted destruction of a demrocatic state or the innocent civilians therein.

As I aged, and studied the history of facism through my interest in WWII, I began to gain perspective on my dislike of the US & her allies. As much as I disliked their foriegn policy, these countries had at least in principle the notion of being able to publically disagree with the sitting government, and to vote out its members if they failed to do their jobs. Without this, the whims and egos of a small group of people can impact the lives of countless ordinary people.

The Russians represent something that the Nazies very nearly brought back to the world had they succeeded during WWII. They represent the removal of the idea of personal agency and protection of personal freedoms under the law. In both cases you live for the pleasure of The Party or The Leader and if they deem that you are to be enslaved for their enrichment, then that is what they'll make happen.

Russian control of Europe pretty much means a return of Serfdom for those they would choose to spare. As we have seen with the Nazies, (and possibly also with the Russians in some cases with the Ukrainians they have taken under their control) that once the freedoms we take for granted are gone, then slavery comes soon after. They might call it something else, but that's what it usually amounts to.

Defeating Russia is also about defending the lawful freedoms we now take for granted. The same applies to defending Taiwan from Chinese invasion or the potential take over of America by MAGA christian nationalist fasists.

I'm not sure how to get though to a commited Tankie who has willfully ignored what a Russian success would potentially mean to their own freedom. Even in a facist state…the facists themselves are only safe while those in charge find them useful enough to keep around. Very quickly, that safefy may be gone, and they will find that they had gleefully helped remove the safeguards that would have protected them, from the ire of one man's ego.

So easily disproven. There was a total of around 3 to 4000 civilians killed. Of which the greatest individual atrocity was flight MH17. So all the rest were committed by Ukrainian forces? While the fascist Russians were committing the atrocities in the attached report? You're just pulling numbers out of your arse at this stage.

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2016/07/un-report-2014-16-killings-ukraine-highlights-rampant-impunity

What's your point? They're culturally and geographically closer to Russia therefore we shouldn't be so hard on the Russians for invading them? I guess we should set a cap on the list of nations who should enjoy the right of self-determination so. If you're unfortunate enough to have been born next to an imperialist/ autocratic power who doesn't believe in basic civil liberties, then tough luck?

People's narrow mindedness and short sightedness really depresses me sometimes. Its easy to see how countries slip so easily into chaos. Just look at the success the populists like Trump, BoJo, Farage and their armies of right wing independent candidates have had. And they irony is that they're the sort who look down their noses at others for being 'sheeple', all the while oblivious to how they're being played by elites for the benefit of elites.

I had to push a number of times here on the huge figures that were being bandied about, the helpful responses I got seem to clarify that the 500,000 figure is not 500,000 dead but 500,000 casualties. I think the Russian deaths stood at something like 150,000 on the last detailed figures. Those figures seemed to have tallied with estimates published by other UK/ US sources, so seem realistic enough.

But no, despite how the media spin it for maximum clicks and effect, its not 500,000 Russian deaths. Still a shockingly huge number for a 2 year war, planned in advance, against an underprepared opponent. Just compare it to the figures from Chechnya for example - and I can remember the sense of Russia having been handed its ass there… it just seems that Putin has kept much tighter control of the media this time around. There'll surely be a reckoning when the real figures ultimately come out, and I wouldn't want to associated with Putin when it does.

Well, I guess that his own life might be at stake on the outcome, he'll fight to the last Russian, be they from Moscow and St. Petersburg or the republics.

If he starts drawing too heavily upon the denizens of places in Russia which actually matter, then he may only hasten his own downfall. The only way around that would be to convince those people, who live comfortable lives by Russian standards, that the war in Ukraine truly is existential, but I don't think he has so far managed to do this. Sure, he's repressed any open protest against the war for now, but I don't think he can repress the sceptical views that the younger, more cosmopolitan Russians must be harbouring in their hearts.