kraze

Nah, he's smelling consequences personally hitting him and that's why he is mad. If his army, an army he pays for with his taxes, raped, murdered and looted unopposed - you'd never hear any complaints. But it's a very good example because at the start of the thread DMS was playing a victim, like "I've been seeing too much dead bodies of poor russian soldiers that die at a war started by some old guys, have you no shame", then "our army would never do Bucha, they are all tophat and monocle wearing gentlemen" and now it's a passive aggressive transformation to "b... but Ukrainians deserve it, see they don't like us killing them". Unfortunately, having a "honor" of understanding their language only due to generations-long occupations, this is not an uncommon character development there.

Here's some more perspective on what russians truly want and their reasoning for you, literal words of their deputy prime minister / head of roscosmos "What has grown in place of Ukraine poses an existential threat to russian people, russian history, russian language and russian civilization. If we are unable to end them, like, unfortunately our grandfathers didn't end them, our grandchildren will have to die, paying even greater price. So let us end this. Once and for all. For our grandchildren" As stated before - whole russian faux-history and ideology that holds enslaved populations together - is built on a lie that Russia comes from Kyiv. If Kyiv is inhabited by people indigenous to it, that have their own culture, language and history and keep existing - then there's no reason for russians from Buryatia or Yakutia to consider themselves russians because them coming from Rus is a lie, it means everything is a lie - and it will lead to a disintegration of an empire. Thus this war of extermination and genocide is going on for 300 years with Russia trying to erase the identity of anyone they occupy, including through mass murder. And especially when it comes to us. I do hope this time it's their end.

Ukraine means 'center of the country / inside the country' (Kraina = country, U = in) and basically meant the very core area of Ruthenia initially. So Ukrainians are people living in and around the Kyiv area, as opposed to the rest living in the newly colonized lands. When German (and other European) outcast dynasties that usurped power in Muscovy decided to falsify history in early 18th century and invent "Russia" - they had to steal the history from somewhere - so suddenly Kyiv, the center of whole Eastern Slavic culture became "borderlands" and swampy, remote Moscow with its unwelcoming climate and badlands where no crops grow became the center of the world. And it's why for the past 300 years it's a war of extermination. If Kyiv exists and prospers - it means Russia has no historical glue to hold its occupied peoples together. Stealing history to invent an empire isn't even a new thing, if you remember it's what Germanic tribes did, when they captured decaying Rome - they suddenly proclaimed themselves to be the actual, genuine Roman Empire, even though Romans have been at war with them for centuries. Kyiv to Russia is what Rome is to (Holy) Roman Empire. If it's not under control - then why are you even calling your state that?

And you don't exactly see EU countries reinforcing Baltic borders much. Only one country does that and it's the one overseas. Not to mention that most European countries refuse to do that "2% minimum of GDP" thing (actually only UK and Poland do it). And it's possible that certain countries would rather happily trade with the enemy as it steals territory from their allies. Hence why any military alliance without US and UK in it isn't worse a damn.

Oi! me and me green boyz say rok is da 'ard armor - it meanz its da 'ard armor!

Just like all other things stolen by them - "Kuznetsov" ends up facing the same gloomy fate.

It means they attack less and defend more. Which is true if you consider there is only a single area where any offensive actions happen

Ah, but Pinochet, Kim Jong Un and Mugabe didn't have the state control over everything simply because they decided "I'm gonna be the dictator now, everyone obey me". Somebody has to do the controlling. There have to be military, cops, journalists, jailors, teachers (from kindergartens to universities) who will all willingly agree to follow the guy and do his bidding. Same as whole supporting industry for the guys who do the "controlling". So by the time they are brute forcing the opposition - the numbers of supporters far outweigh the numbers of unhappy. Otherwise it won't work, there will be insurgency. Says every single dictator dethroning ever. There's a reason why in russian army and police there are at least 200.000 people who are willing to go and kill for putin in Ukraine in person but there are no people who are willing to go and kill putin to not kill in Ukraine. And it's not because somebody brute forces anybody. North Korea is North Korea because its people want it to be like so. Russia is Russia because its people want it to be like so. UK is UK because its people want it to be like so. People aren't the same. Some want democracy and freedom, some want totalitarian regime and obedience. Yes, there are people that do want that and there are billions of them. Dictator is just a single guy made of meat and bone. He is nobody unless an absolute majority of the population decides he is the guy they wish to worship. He is nobody unless that same majority decides that anyone who disagrees with said majority is an enemy. Only people make dictator a dictator. Otherwise who is there to dictate over?

What westerners, most of whom are very conscious people (hence why you don't live in totalitarian states, no matter how much smoothie-sipping leftists like to whine about it), fail to understand about people living in totalitarian states they themselves built - is their thought process and why they say things they say. (also the sole fact that these interviews happen is just another proof Russia isn't a place where you get insta-executed for asking questions or answering them - and not because there's some kind of "freedom of expression"). You see - when a person in a totalitarian state says "I'm apolitical" - it literally translates to "I'm more than happy with and fully endorse current politics - thus they don't bother me, hence I have nothing more to add". And that's why when asked further, more precise questions - they suddenly become very "political" and you learn about Murica Bad, West Evil, Zpecial operation Good. And when somebody they elected* and/or highly support - cocks up royally - they reply with "we have no say in it". What it literally means "we thought that guy will do what we want right, but he effed up, so it's his responsibility, not ours, we hoped he will finish Ukraine in 3 days, why should we pay for his mistakes?". *Because, again, living in the West it's hard to understand how totalitarian states work. Totalitarian state isn't when some single guy decides how things should be and everyone follows blindly (even if it may seem so to a people who is used to democracy and personal freedoms from outside) - totalitarian state is when people in their vast, absolute majority, almost unanimously give a single person so much power and support - that it seems like a single person is running the show. What really happens is that dictator, for having the privilege of getting every luxury he desires, has to follow the wishes of his people to a letter - otherwise he will seem weak and get dethroned. It's why putin hasn't mobilized yet - if there was the "movie dictatorship with poor people who are afraid of one guy" - what would he be worried about? Democratic leaders require 51% support to stay in power. Dictators require 95%.

'Germany'.

Much like their history - this song is stolen too. It's originally our army's song from 1918

Yeah and Democratic People's Republic of Korea is called so because it's democratic and has people running things. Just like German Democratic Republic was democratic and a totally independent republic. And let me tell you about the Japanese civil war of 1931. Or civil war in Finland in 1940. Warsaw too is often mentioned as being in need of liberation as an inherent part of Russia by its indigenous buryat and kalmyk population.

Aren't they independent republic, people's republic even, says so on the tin. Don't they have a leader elected by said people? Why are they petitioning some guy in a foreign country?

The first strike also quite clearly sets off the "tower" flying

There was a televised meeting between Putin and Lukashenko from some years back where Lukashenko jokingly asked Putin what would be the best way for Belarus to integrate with Russia. And Putin replied "you can simply integrate your oblasts, one by one".

it's 190000 attacking force on the border. We had 200000 everywhere, so about half to cover the actual border with the invaders. Same goes for tanks. We can't just pull every tank from everywhere so about half of that 2000 estimate were able to oppose russians in the best case. Especially with the russian enclave in Transnistria, also Belarus and... Hungary. So yes if talking pure numbers - they had the numerical advantage. On the first day.

Only official statements and confirmations. I wouldn't trust Arestovich, no matter how much I want anything he posts to be true, until confirmed (or better - double confirmed). In fact I find the guy problematic in that he posts something, it gets hyped, then it turns out to be overstated and people start writing "see - Ukrainians lie".

Of course, this whole war is one giant grim advertisement for Baykar's product. Giving away one Bayraktar for free nets them such street cred - that they are going to be having even more clients now. And I'm really happy with this business model.

Eh, they all support the war, they are just against the responsibility. "Going home" means they will have to suffer the consequences. So either support it till the bitter end or pretend to be against it so maybe the guy will be the one to avoid personally suffering the consequences of his own actions/inaction. What I want won't change russians. Only our army will and does. As for living with them - pretty sure that's easily resolved. By not letting them in anymore. P.S. I dig your comparison with Roman Empire though. Ukraine, the big intimidating empire that wants to eliminate the other small people.

"In Russia, more and more people are against the war. " - what happened? They started losing it?

So as I take it things haven't changed much even after all the current events, even when russian BS is laid bare for everyone to see. South Ossetia is not a breakaway region. It's a Georgian territory completely occupied by Russia since 1992. That way they keep on victim-blaming Georgia for defending itself in 2008, when Russia occupied even more land. "ditches referendum on joining Russia" thus translates to "we decided not to redraw the border so as not to get effed by even more sanctions"

This war is a proof that quantity doesn't have "quality of its own". They even outnumbered us in hardware, still do. And they constantly cut down on their goals. From taking whole Ukraine in 3 days to calling it "special operation on protecting Donbas" now. That's literally how it's called for the past month. Plus if russians could do full mobilization realistically - they would've done it months ago. Yeah and remind me who is stealing toilets from whom en masse?

1. of course, Crimea is Ukrainian 2. it won't change. They don't consider Ukraine a country, but their territory that got invaded by Ukrainian untermenschen that must be exterminated and replaced with russians. What are they going to do? Invade us? 3. Crimea is Ukrainian territory. So everybody that came there after 2014 will be kindly asked to leave. Yes we have toilets and yes those are nice, but those aren't yours and they still have their legit owners that had to leave. Just save some money and buy your own back home. The rest may have a say after every single russian soldier is made to not be there.

I still fail to understand how english letters N and I look like wolfsangel, especially when Z looks literally like it. But every russian lover in the West was like "look if you forget it's "N.ational I.dea" and consider it a single symbol and also turn it 90 degrees - it looks somewhat like that Z symbol!" - so OK. But who gets to be the "nazi batallion" now?