Will Putin Invade Ukraine?

[Hydra009]

Ukraine's Defense Intelligence Chief: Those who tried to intimidate us will soon regret it

"All those who have tried to intimidate us, dreaming that this would cause any effect, will regret it very soon. Our response will not be delayed. Soon, everyone will see everything."

[Hydra009]

Belarusian dictator says Putin will "give" nuclear weapons to anyone who joins (Soviet) Union State

Lots of words in that sentence don't quite jive with their normal meanings.  A more accurate description would be that Russia is willing to dominate nearby countries, drain their resources, and use them to station nukes.

Apparently, this "offer" was meant for Kazakhstan, which they naturally refused.

[Hydra009]

Ukraine strikes ammo depots near Mariupol, kills roughly a hundred invaders and wounds over 400

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Oldie but goodie:

[Hydra009]

Ukrainian forces continue to make tactical gains along Bakhmut's flanks

According to a Russian military analyst, Russian forces lack the organization, fire support, coordination, and training necessary to defend Bakhmut's flanks.

Russian forces allowed Ukrainian forces to drive an infantry fighting vehicle for 15 minutes into the Russian rear without destroying it, with the Ukrainian assault lasting only 16 minutes in total.

???

That has to be a typo, because I can't imagine an IFV operating in the rear of an enemy position for more than 15 seconds without taking serious fire.  15 minutes indicates some combination of 1) a loss of one or more of the five senses 2) some sort of advanced version of a "not my problem" mentality 3) suicidal tendencies (IFVs can call in drone/artillery strikes)

[Hydra009]

Ukraine fires on Wagnerites leaving Bakhmut, killing 80 and wounding 119

I can attest that at least a couple of those deaths were self-inflicted.

[Hydra009]

Ukraine strikes invaders near Melitopol

The Russians reported that air defense had successfully intercepted the missile, then a lots of black smoke started rising from the ground from the exact spot the Russians had turned into a barracks.

Either the missile hit its target or the missile was filled with a lot of black smoke with a metered release.  Which is more plausible?

[Hydra009]

They've been reacting to border incursions by deploying troops to their own territory instead of Ukraine (even blowing up a road between Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia due to an inability to otherwise secure it) and been reacting to the looming counteroffensive by deploying troops to Bakhmut instead of likely counteroffensive targets, revealing a shortage of manpower (otherwise they would bolster both) and a lack of ability to hold onto Bakhmut with existing troops.

The end result is that no new offensives are taking place (even in Bakhmut, activity has decreased significantly) and Ukraine is left to pick the time and place of the next battles.

[Hydra009]

Russia detains woman rescuing Ukrainian children from Russian abduction

Ukranian mothers attempting to rescue their children from Russian captivity

When I reached the school's director by phone, she saw no problem with dressing Ukrainian children in the uniform of an invading army.

"So what?" Tatyana Semyonova retorted. "What can I do? What's it to do with me?"

I countered that the Z symbolised the war against the children's own country. "So what?" the director demanded again. "What kind of a question is that? No-one is forcing them."

The Z-armband idea sounds vaguely familiar...as is the obvious forcing and obviously untruthful denials.

Zelenskyy says 371 have been rescued, but that's out of almost 20,000

[Hydra009]

Russia's month of missile madness - $1.7 billion usd worth and largely ineffectual

Don't get me wrong, some missiles did hit and some buildings were damaged - a psychiatric hospital and apartment building iirc - but those aren't exactly war-changing developments.

My best guess is that they were either going for Patriot missile systems deployed near Kyiv (if so, they failed because they only slightly damaged one system) or they intentionally targetted civilians per usual.  And while I'm sure Russians dislike the Ukrainians, I'm not so sure they'd be willing to pay tens or hundreds of millions of dollars to off each Ukrainian.

[Hydra009]

England, Germany, USA, Poland, Ukraine...How many eternal enemies can one country have?!

[Shiranu]

Medvedev is legitimately partly the reason I continue to stay sober; because my god, that man's brain is mush from all the Western brandy and whiskey.

[Hydra009]

Medvedev is legitimately partly the reason I continue to stay sober; because my god, that man's brain is mush from all the Western brandy and whiskey.

He posts walls-o-text so thick with z-speak jargon that they're basically indecipherable for a foreign audience.

And the stuff that makes grammatical sense offten doesn't make logical sense, like "Ukraine will disappear because nobody needs it" and I'm sitting here apparently unaware that countries somehow get manifested into existence through foreign desires as if they were chaos gods or something and don't just exist.  Like, I'm pretty sure I can't just wish away Andorra.

[Cassia]

These attacks across the Russian border are a great diversion for an offensive. Just hope they don't diminish support from NATO members. They might rally the Russians against Putin or for him, IDK.

[Hydra009]

These attacks across the Russian border are a great diversion for an offensive. Just hope they don't diminish support from NATO members. They might rally the Russians against Putin or for him, IDK.

True, though I wish they had gone full bore during the diversion to really exploit an off-balance opponent.  Russia appears to be adapting to its domestic troubles and is no longer as distracted as it was.