Russia invades Ukraine

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by zamler

You really think Putin could be ousted in an election?

It’s Russia - revolution is how they roll.

[CroFlames]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

I really hope these reports of Ukrainian successes are really true and not Iraqi general true

I am thinking they are true. Ukraine is a country of 40MM people, they don't have a completely anemic military.

Of course Russia's is stronger, but they aren't going to win 100% of all skirmishes I think.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by chedder

Naive question but why can't or won't the Ukrainians blast that plane out of the sky?

Russia went after their anti-air defenses heavily in the opening stages of the war and took control of the skies.

[timun]

Originally Posted by Minnie

Leader of Russian Space Agency, Dmitry Rogozin making all kinds of threats on twitter right now. Basically threatening to de-orbit the ISS. The translation isn't exact, but that's the gist.

Originally Posted by agulati

Woof. That is absolutely crazy.

Ehhh... not to seem like a Russian apologist, but if he's making a threat of deliberate action it's a very heavily veiled one.

A google translate copy of his tweets on the subject of Biden-imposed sanctions on the Russian space program, stitched together:

Do you want to destroy our cooperation on the ISS? This is how you already do it by limiting exchanges between our cosmonaut and astronaut training centers. Or do you want to manage the ISS yourself? Maybe President Biden is off topic, so explain to him that the correction of the station's orbit, its avoidance of dangerous encounters with space debris, with which your talented businessmen have polluted the near-Earth orbit, is carried out exclusively by the engines of the Russian Progress MS cargo ships. If you block cooperation with us, who will save the ISS from an uncontrolled deorbit and fall into the territory of the United States or Europe? There is also the option of dropping a 500-ton structure to India and China. Do you want to threaten them with such a prospect? The ISS does not fly over Russia, so all the risks are yours. Are you ready for them?

Maybe if you read between enough lines you can conclude that he's threatening to de-orbit the ISS, but the way he said it he's making the point that the Russians are the ones who boost the station's orbit, and if as a result of sanctions they don't continue to boost it it puts everyone on the surface at risk.

(The bit about the station not flying over Russia is nonsense though, of course it flies over the biggest country on the planet, lol. Not all of it by any means, not far enough north to fly over Moscow, but its orbit shifts across the planet between roughly 52° N and S latitudes.)

[Monahammer]

I maintain belief that if Ukraine loses Kiev, the West may step in and create a sphere of protection around Lviv for a Ukraine in Exile situation. Russia may even accept this result and a ceasefire as it would leave their reported strategic goals largely accomplished.

[FlamesAddiction]

https://twitter.com/user/status/1496716601395073025

I would be losing it if I was there.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Azure

Shocking that Germany, a country completely dependent on Russian natural gas, would argue against kicking Russia off the SWIFT network.

Shocking.

Hey Kenney, get on the horn with Berlin.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by FlameOn

Gulags are going to start filling up. Poor protesters.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1496920429373571081

Ugghh...I cannot even imagine the feeling of being forced into one of those vans.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Again Russia was not an original or permanent member of the SC. USSR was.

I'm sure lawyers could draw something up if that's the path the SC wanted to go down - which isn't likely. You're right having Russia there is actually probably a good thing.

Throwing Russia out and dissolving the UN are going to have the same effect, effectively ending any diplomacy. At the end of the day, what does that even accomplish? Russia will continue to do Russia. They have their trading partners and allies, who they coerce with fear/bribes and/or are mutual enemies of the West. Those countries will continue to cooperate with and support Russia. And it's a pretty long list: Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Iran, basically all of central Asia, Belarus, North Korea, etc.. and then sometimes China.

At the end of the day, how do you deal with a country led by lunatics who are willing to sacrifice the lives of their own population (and potentially the globe) to get what they want? The only option is some kind of internal uprising. That seems pretty far off right now.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Again Russia was not an original or permanent member of the SC. USSR was.

I'm sure lawyers could draw something up if that's the path the SC wanted to go down - which isn't likely. You're right having Russia there is actually probably a good thing.

That's like saying Taiwan was an original member of the SC, not China.

[FlamesAddiction]

NSFW due to language.

NSFW!

https://twitter.com/user/status/1496709462241026050

Possibly not the same missile, but it doesn't look like a military target.

https://twitter.com/user/status/1496714698917617669

[FlameOn]

Originally Posted by Azure

Shocking that Germany, a country completely dependent on Russian natural gas, would argue against kicking Russia off the SWIFT network.

Shocking.

Well for Germany that would mean having to go cold turkey on their Russian natural gas addiction overnight. Junkies can't get clean that quickly.

[Calgary Highlander]

Originally Posted by zamler

Ovechkin is in an awkward position given his open support of Putin.

Ovechkin is an absolute idiot. I get not saying anything negative about Putin in fear of retaliation, but Ovechkin literally started a celebrity social movement in support of Putin. I expect him to be pretty quiet about it now given he has family in Russia, but Putin has been well known as a murderous dictator for a long time now.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

Looking at what's happening today, it's my opinion the following events may happen:

1. Russia will take Ukraine in a first phase, probably by the early March at the latest, but certainly longer than Putin expected.
2. Russia will install a pro-Kremlin government, likely with a puppet admin that has been agreed upon for months now. Civil unrest will happen for a while.
3. The insurgency will begin to organize, and NATO will support this insurgency with special forces training, weapons, forward reconnaissance, etc. This will take place over the coming weeks and months, and galvanize European powers to fight a proxy war through this insurgency.
4. Russia is going to continually have to deal with insurgent forces that will take a much larger toll on the Russian resolve in Ukraine than they anticipated. There's going to be a lot of Russian body bags being sent home when the insurgency begins.

They may also find Volodymyr Zelenskyy and execute him, although that will prove to more difficult than they thought.

Executing a democratically elected government official would most certainly be a precursor for all out war in Europe. Not a single NATO member would stand by and watch that happen and Putin isn't stupid enough to do that.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by Calgary Highlander

Ovechkin is an absolute idiot. I get not saying anything negative about Putin in fear of retaliation, but Ovechkin literally started a celebrity social movement in support of Putin. I expect him to be pretty quiet about it now given he has family in Russia, but Putin has been well known as a murderous dictator for a long time now.

I get the questions, it's fair game, but let's maybe focus on the real issue at hand - Russian governance and the fate of many innocent Ukrainians at the moment. Pointlessly vilifying Ovechkin when he's said nothing on the matter directly and has zero effect on what is going on now isn't doing anyone any favours.

[zamler]

Originally Posted by Calgary Highlander

Ovechkin is an absolute idiot. I get not saying anything negative about Putin in fear of retaliation, but Ovechkin literally started a celebrity social movement in support of Putin. I expect him to be pretty quiet about it now given he has family in Russia, but Putin has been well known as a murderous dictator for a long time now.

I hesitate to call him an idiot, but at this point I can't see how anyone with any sense could support Putin now.

Panarin, an open critic of Putin plays Ovechkin tonight.

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

I get the questions but let's focus on the real issue at hand - Russian governance, and not pointlessly vilifying Ovechkin when he's said nothing on the matter directly.

Vilifying? Ovechkin is basically buddies with Putin and given what has just happened he needs to address this.

[Hot_Flatus]

Originally Posted by zamler

I hesitate to call him an idiot, but at this point I can't see how anyone with any sense could support Putin now.

Panarin, an open critic of Putin plays Ovechkin tonight.

Vilifying? Ovechkin is basically buddies with Putin and given what has just happened he needs to address this.

He doesn't need to do anything. Why do you need him to answer for something he has no control over? Get a grip. This has nothing to do with pro athletes at the moment and there will be plenty of time to dissect immaterial matters like this when people aren't being effectively murdered by a war machine invading their homeland.

[burn_this_city]

I think there's a significant amount of coercion that happens when you're a public figure in Russia. If you want to criticize the regime you risk a polonium umbrella or your family members disappearing.

[81MC]

Originally Posted by Hot_Flatus

Executing a democratically elected government official would most certainly be a precursor for all out war in Europe. Not a single NATO member would stand by and watch that happen...

Evidence to the contrary.

[Goriders]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

We are bought by Russia and China. Globalism!

The hook was they they would become ecapitalist. When Xi was elected President he's an economist, he's going to reform China. He's going to reform China alright. Wow was the west duped.

The west is to busy out woking themselves to have a reasonable grasp on reality anymore.

Russia, China and the link must laugh when they watch us function.