Russia invasion of Ukraine

[Tactics]

Explosions heard in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital.

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by Tactics

Explosions heard in Kyiv, Ukraine's capital.

It’s on. This is most serious confrontation between Russia and the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis. Putin will keep raising the bar until he sees some downside in it for his personal wealth and power - the question is how the West can do that without engaging him in direct conflict. The U.N. seems utterly toothless at this point so I wouldn’t look there for help.

[AnimeFan188]

Russia's Major Military Operation Against Ukraine Has Begun

"After months of a buildup of weaponry, materiel, and troops along Ukraine's borders,
as well as extreme geopolitical posturing and brinksmanship, Russia has begun a major
military operation in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of
the "special military operation" in a speech broadcast on national television this
evening."

See:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...aine-has-begun



=============================



Mysterious Humvee Has Appeared In Russian Vehicle Convoy
Near Ukrainian Border

"Among the stream of Russian military vehicles gathering around Ukraine’s borders as
Russia began sending troops into two separatist areas of the eastern Donbas region
earlier this week, one unusual convoy has stood out as peculiar. One especially
intriguing item among the diverse selection of vehicles was a U.S.-made High Mobility
Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or Humvee, which bears all the hallmarks of a distinct
variant used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Exactly what force is now using the
vehicle, and why, is a mystery, but its presence in Russian territory comes as Ukrainian
officials warn of possible infiltration by Russian forces in Ukraine."

See:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...rainian-border



=============================



Now we'll see how it all compares with Binkov's predictions from last month:

YouTube

https://youtu.be/Z9c_HhpvBpg

Sorry; dynamic content not loaded. Reload?

[Ithekro]

Sooooo....

Pandemic then World War III? Doesn't sound fun.

[AnimeFan188]

Russia's Frightening Multi-Prong Invasion Of Ukraine Has Only Just Begun

"At around 5 AM local time, after a fiery speech, Russian President Vladimir Putin
ordered a "special military operation" in Ukraine's contested Donbas region. Of course,
just as expected, the actual military operation that commenced had elements that
occurred far outside of this region as Russian forces launched opening standoff missile
attacks on command and control facilities, air defense sites, airbases, and other key
targets in a move to blunt Ukraine's ability to defend itself and shatter its command and
control capabilities. The widespread use of land-attack cruise missiles was especially
clear, along with long-range anti-radiation missiles used to knock out radar sites. Special
operations also appeared to have played a major part in these opening maneuvers that
were largely focused on 'shaping the battlefield' for what was still to come.

Meanwhile, it appears that a multi-pronged ground offensive emanating from Ukraine's
northeastern border with Russia, as well as south from Crimea, and north from Belarus,
is still in its beginning stages. There is the worry that such a multi-directional attack
could trap Ukrainian forces concentrated in the east, severing their supply lines from the
west, while leaving the capital of Kyiv vulnerable to being sacked from the north.
Amphibious operations are still a very real possibility, as well, with Odesa and Mariupol
being prime targets. Regardless, at least as it stands now, by every indication, it
appears the scale of Russia's invasion operation is among the largest feared."

See:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...nly-just-begun

[MeoTwister5]

Putin has the world by the balls now. He's essentially what every authoritarian on the planet dreams of becoming. One asks how the world let a man like him into power.

[The Green One]

Thus the game of chicken begins once more.

[Last Sinner]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

It’s on. This is most serious confrontation between Russia and the West since the Cuban Missile Crisis. Putin will keep raising the bar until he sees some downside in it for his personal wealth and power - the question is how the West can do that without engaging him in direct conflict. The U.N. seems utterly toothless at this point so I wouldn’t look there for help.

Oh, I think there's enough conservative leaders in power at the moment to enforce conscription...

[mangamuscle]

Originally Posted by MeoTwister5

Putin has the world by the balls now. He's essentially what every authoritarian on the planet dreams of becoming. One asks how the world let a man like him into power.

The simple truth is that western democracies have been content with the status quo. While the USSR tried to export their (authoritarian) system of government to other countries, there was no real effort to export democracy to other countries. The west could have put pressure on Russia when Boris "buy me a drink" Yeltsin stormed the parliament with tanks and could have put pressure on Belarus to have free elections decades ago, just to mention two important inflection points.

Now we not only have authoritarian regimes all over the world, but autocracies led by "strong" (old) men. Don't be surprised if in the near future so called "allies of the west" suddenly align themselves with the Kremlin, like Turkey. Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

https://freedomhouse.org/explore-the...=fiw&year=2022
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I didn't comment yesterday day expecting to wake up to wholesale carnage, but it seems the worst is yet to come. It is clear that putin wants a clean surgical operation, but it is clear to me that if the highly trained USA army could not pull it in Iraq, the russian conscript army will very soon start to shed civilian blood.

p.s. to me it is clear that putin thinks he can end the occupation in a couple of weeks, put a puppet government with ousted president in place and might even give back Crimea to Ukraine thinking everything will go back to normal. No doubt years of testosterone overdose has damaged his brain.

[Sheba]

There be fighting around Chernobyl. Putin Simps are accusing the West, and the CIA, to false flag it to bring NATO into conflict.

[mangamuscle]

Friendly reminder, today Putin threatened other countries without saying names with retaliation if they get involved. Now, what country is far enough from moscow and is technically at war with Russia ...

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-p...an-2021-12-02/

[Last Sinner]

They're penalising people on Facebook for showing the Ukraine flag. So we're just to pretend nothing is happening...while a country is offered as sacrifice...

[ramlaen]

Ukraine is doing much better than expected but it has not even been 24 hours yet.

[AnimeFan188]

Ukraine's Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Falls To Russia As First Full Night Of
Fighting Begins

"Russian forces have captured the now-defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine,
the site of the infamous nuclear disaster in 1986, and detained the personnel working
there as part of their invasion of Ukraine. This is just one area of Ukrainian territory now
under the Kremlin's control as the country enters its first full night of this new conflict
launched by its eastern neighbor."

See:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...ighting-begins


==================================


Russian Forces Have Captured The World's Biggest Cargo Jet In Ukraine

"The fate of the world’s largest fully operational aircraft is uncertain in light of Russia’s
invasion of Ukraine. The one-off Antonov An-225 Mriya, from the Ukrainian "Мрія," or
“Dream,” has been at Hostomel (or Gostomel) airport northwest of Kyiv since it landed
there on February 5. While there has been heavy fighting at the airport, there are
unconfirmed reports that the Mriya is still intact, at least for now, although it is now in
Russian hands."

See:

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...jet-in-ukraine


==================================


Here’s the Ukrainian Air Force Sukhoi Su-27 Flanker that landed in
Romania after having been intercepted by Romanian Air Force F-16
Fighting Falcon fighter jets

"The picture in this post was taken on Feb. 24, 2022 and features the Sukhoi Su-27
Flanker belonging to the Ukrainian Air Force that landed to the RoAF 95th Air Base in
the northeastern Romanian city of Bacău."

See:

https://theaviationgeekclub.com/here...-fighter-jets/


==================================


Sean Penn in Ukraine filming documentary on Russian invasion

"Sean Penn is in Ukraine filming a documentary amid the invasion by Russian forces."

See:

https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-kno...ssian-invasion

[TheForsaken]

Okay, I was wrong. I didn't expect that Putin would actually start a war.
And it's not like it is a desperate move that someone makes when he is cornered.
Clearly, Putin has planned this for months (if not years), after that he gave the West an ultimatum and then executed his plan immediately once his demand is rejected.

What is equally surprising is, despite their loud mouths in the last few months, the West has no preparation whatsoever for this. Seriously, their responses are completely pathetic.
It's almost as if they, just like me, didn't actually believe that Putin would attack, despite hyping up an imminent invasion the whole time.
If they were indeed certain that war was coming, then their actions genuinely confuse me.
When someone gives you an ultimatum, you either give in or prepare for war. There is no other option. The West did neither, and this is what they get.

It's so abundantly clear now that the US is only capable of bullying countries much smaller than them.
They will never go head-to-head with Russia or China (while at the same time, doing their best to antagonize both, seriously who is the genius thinking that it is a good idea?)
Maybe it's time for Taiwan to rethink their strategy. The US is useless.

The world's reaction of this invasion is also interesting. And I am talking about non-West countries here (let me remind you, they, not the West, are 80 ~ 90% of humanity)
China is clearly supporting Russia. Putin would have not carried out this plan if he hadn't been sure that China would not hinder him.
India is indifferent.
Pakistan's Prime Minister is at Moscow right now, being buddy-buddy with Putin.
Brazil's Bolsonaro was just buddy-buddy with Putin last week, and is silent right now.
Even Israel, close ally of the US, and Turkey, a NATO member, did nothing but paying lip service to Ukraine.
Smaller countries obviously didn't give a fuck. After all, Ukraine's well-being doesn't rank very high in their list of priorities.
The old world order is crumbling. This is the beginning of the end of Pax Americana.

[mangamuscle]

Originally Posted by TheForsaken

If they were indeed certain that war was coming, then their actions genuinely confuse me.

In the words of Admiral Ackbar "It's a trap!". Still confused? How about?

"Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." - Napoleon Bonaparte

It's so abundantly clear now that the US is only capable of bullying countries much smaller than them.

You are mistaken, the size of Russia's economy is a little bigger than that of my country (an we would have surpassed them years ago if politicians here weren't so corrupt, inept and even malicious).

There are only two things big about Russia, their territory and their nuclear arsenal. Remove the later one and their #2 spot as the worlds most powerful army would crumble.

The thing is, the best defense for Russia would have been going the japan route, becoming a modern democratic industrial powerhouse. But Putin wanted none of that and went full cronyism (like the old USSR) and now has fallen into Afghanistan 2.0, not only this war is going to take russian time, money and lives, but it gives the west the opportunity to block putin's government.

Maybe it's time for Taiwan to rethink their strategy.

My bet is that xijin ping is going to play the long game, invading an island is harder than you think and unlike russia, time is on their side, their army is improving (unlike russia who has been stagnating for years now) each year.

[Sheba]

You are speaking too soon, the one reason Afghanistan stood so long against USSR was CIA's help, and a endless supply of guerilla from everywhere around the world.

Now? UE is too spineless to make a stand, and Joe know he gonna lose the midterms if he drags his country into a war over some Slavs your average trucker, farmer, blue collar dont care about. I want Ukraine, and Ghost of Kiev, to make Putin puke blood, but yeah, Ukraine is surrounded by people scared shitless over the prospect of freezing in their home because we cut the gas.

[MeoTwister5]

The center of Kyiv supposedly getting hit by missiles now.

[AnimeFan188]

Attack On Europe: Documenting Equipment Losses During The
2022 Russian Invasion Of Ukraine

"A detailed list of the destroyed and captured vehicles and equipment of both sides can be
seen below. This list is constantly updated as additional footage becomes available.

This list only includes destroyed vehicles and equipment of which photo or videographic
evidence is available. Therefore, the amount of equipment destroyed is undoubtedly higher
than recorded here. Small arms, munitions and civilian vehicles and derelict equipment are
not included in this list."

See:

https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2022/0...equipment.html

[Magin]

Originally Posted by mangamuscle

You are mistaken, the size of Russia's economy is a little bigger than that of my country (an we would have surpassed them years ago if politicians here weren't so corrupt, inept and even malicious).

There are only two things big about Russia, their territory and their nuclear arsenal. Remove the later one and their #2 spot as the worlds most powerful army would crumble.

I feel like this is the key.

If the US (or really, The UN) REALLY wanted to, they could step in and do something. unfortunately, for the ast ~70 years, we've been living in a MAD world- both ways, though I'll spell it out and say Mutually Assured Destruction. Anyone who COULD stand up to Russia... would cause all the nuclear arsenals to be launched or some such. And that's not the worst part; the worst part is that the Atomic Bomb is child's play compared to what we're capable of now.

No, the UN and the West would rather see Ukraine fall than risk nuclear warfare. Hell, I'm pretty sure NATO's whole reason for existence is to PREVENT nuclear war- anything else goes so long as we aren't launching nukes. We're about to find out just how miserably NATO may have failed, though.

One more thing I'm half curious about... Putin IS getting up in age- he turns 70 this year. That's... a bit on the older side. While I'm certain that just like Crimea, he's seeing just how much he can get away with... another part of me wonders if he's at the point where he's going "Fuck it, we're all gonna die soon anyways. Might just as well speed up the process so I can die with all my power and money" or some such line of thinking.