Will Putin Invade Ukraine?

[Hydra009]

This is your brain on Putin: Deluded Russian soldier claims he's in Ukraine "to fight the Poles"

Mate, if you ever were to really "fight the Poles" they'd eat you for breakfast.  Take your cot and three hots and be happy that you'll live to see Putin's downfall.

[Hydra009]

After a bit of a lull the past few days (300ish), the kill count hit 620 today, with a whopping 24 (!!) Tanks destroyed!

[Hydra009]

In dictator-infested Russia, 12-year-old receives draft notice

[Mr.Obvious]

After a bit of a lull the past few days (300ish), the kill count hit 620 today, with a whopping 24 (!!) Tanks destroyed!

My half-asleep ass jumped to the idea of 620 russians driving around in 24 tanks. Like a bunch of clowns in one of those tiny cars.

[Hydra009]

A joke from President Zelenskyy: (paraphrased)

A Russian wakes up from a year-long coma and asks his father what has happened while he was out.
His father says, "We are at war with all of NATO!"
His son asks how the war is going.
His father admits that they've lost over 90,000 soldiers, a bunch of tanks, armored personnel carriers, and used up most of their missiles.
Incredulous, the son asks how much NATO has lost.
His father replies, "they haven't arrived yet."

[Hydra009]

Some people are wondering why there aren't a lot of big offensives lately.  I'll give you guys a hint:

https://i.imgur.com/6hqa5cZ.mp4

[Hydra009]

Last night, I got dragged into a long discussion on the morality of warfare.

It all started with a video of HIMARS blowing the crap out of a Russian base.

I take great pride in my country's weapons when used defensively and am so glad they're being put to good use protecting people (just war) rather than used in Middle Eastern adventurism (unjust war)

My dad was aghast at the sheer devastation of the attack and felt bad for the Russian deaths.

I don't feel bad at all, not post-Bucha.  They come to Ukraine, they attack civilians, they try to destroy a democracy and conduct genocide.  Anything that happens to any Russian military target involved in the war, inside Ukrainian borders or not, is richly deserved and 100% self defense.

And statistically, every Russian military death probably saves some unguessable number of Ukrainian lives - both Ukrainian military and civilians.  So on the whole, it's a net positive for humanity.

Obviously, I'd much rather them surrender or retreat so they can live and take no pleasure in death, though I admit, some isolated cases of particularly cruel individuals being neutralized comes with a small measure of schadenfreude.  A sip, not a gulp.

Imho, the perceived moral wrongness of blowing up soldiers in trenches with drones, brewing up tanks, and cratering bases should be weighed against the likely outcome of what would happen if they weren't blown up.

Thoughts?

[Cassia]

Last night, I got dragged into a long discussion on the morality of warfare.

It all started with a video of HIMARS blowing the crap out of a Russian base.

I take great pride in my country's weapons when used defensively and am so glad they're being put to good use protecting people (just war) rather than used in Middle Eastern adventurism (unjust war)

My dad was aghast at the sheer devastation of the attack and felt bad for the Russian deaths.

I don't feel bad at all, not post-Bucha.  They come to Ukraine, they attack civilians, they try to destroy a democracy and conduct genocide.  Anything that happens to any Russian military target involved in the war, inside Ukrainian borders or not, is richly deserved and 100% self defense.

And statistically, every Russian military death probably saves some unguessable number of Ukrainian lives - both Ukrainian military and civilians.  So on the whole, it's a net positive for humanity.

Obviously, I'd much rather them surrender or retreat so they can live and take no pleasure in death, though I admit, some isolated cases of particularly cruel individuals being neutralized comes with a small measure of schadenfreude.  A sip, not a gulp.

Imho, the perceived moral wrongness of blowing up soldiers in trenches with drones, brewing up tanks, and cratering bases should be weighed against the likely outcome of what would happen if they weren't blown up.

Thoughts?

Self-defense, especially against authoritarianism is a moral obligation. Russia is paying a price for its own decades-long apathy epidemic.

[Hydra009]

I've seen a lot of drone and artillery videos, but my absolute favorites are the ones where captured Russian soldiers are getting browbeat by Ukrainians - just completely told off.  I could watch those all day.  Hell, I could make wafer cookies out of that.

At the end of the day, everyone lives and no one is hurt (though there may be some crying involved) and the fact that the bullied are dominating the bullies is a great gift of cosmic justice.

Plus, it obliterates the stoic/macho warrior Russian propaganda image and I love to see the truth of the matter laid bare like that.

[the_antithesis]

Drowbeat?

[Hydra009]

Wagner unit ambushed and completely destroyed near Bakhmut

[Cassia]

(14 yo)

[Hydra009]

The guy at 7 minutes in is the most interesting.

"Americans want to take our land"  Mostly barren tundra, so enticing! /s
"Americans have no resources" LOL!
"No oil, no coal" Wait till he hears about Texas and Pennsylvania and West Virginia
"The point of war in Iraq and Afghanistan was to steal resources" That one's very plausible.
"nothing to live for" I feel like this is more of a global problem, but one could make the case that the US doesn't adequately treat mental health problems (just look at our last president)
"nothing to eat" I feel like this is one of the most wrong things that anyone could possibly ever say about anything.  Not to say that no one in the US goes hungry, but if I had to give a blanket statement that the US population eats too much or too little, I know which one I'd pick.

[Shiranu]

Russia is paying a price for its own decades-long apathy epidemic.

Someone will be saying the same of us tomorrow; and someone else the same of them after that.

We all pay a price for apathy, and we are all paying it together. Russia doesn't happen without the West, and the West doesn't happen without Russia.

It's good to see we can still do *something* good, but it's a bad sign how rare it is we see this that we now are celebrating it like Haley's comet.

[Cassia]

Someone will be saying the same of us tomorrow; and someone else the same of them after that.

We all pay a price for apathy, and we are all paying it together. Russia doesn't happen without the West, and the West doesn't happen without Russia.

It's good to see we can still do *something* good, but it's a bad sign how rare it is we see this that we now are celebrating it like Haley's comet.

I think in many ways the US is hyper-politicized. By all accounts the Russians citizens are pretty much head-in-the-sand when it comes to politics. They don't really even have "politics" as they are wary to even say anything.