Russian Invasion of Ukraine Megathread

[White_N]

This video is every stereotype put together, lol. All this needs is some rock music in the background.

Wish granted

 

[draggs]

Genuine question: Why do people in western countries think they're the good guys?
I'm an American, and I don't see any of the wars we've started as good for the countries we've fought.
Are we really less corrupt than countries with dictators, solely because there's a different president every 4 to 8 years?
Do we really have an "open society" and "freedom" with a "liberal democracy"?
Cause in my neck of the woods it all seems to be pre-programmed by oligarchs just as much as any of the countries we are at odds with.

It's baffling to me that people criticize other countries for their corruption while ignoring their own. As if this is a "lesser of two evils" situation, and being "lesser evil" is a virtue.
Crazy times, as always.

I wish we did live in a tyrannical hellhole so you could find out lol

 

[Tim Curry]

Havent been following closely for the past few days, just skimming. Gist Im getting is the Iron Curtain is coming back into style and Peace Talks are basically meaningless rn?

 

[Fougaro]

EndWar had so many cool designs and concepts, shame it never got popular.

And sequel was already in the works, but ultimately cancelled.

 

[Aidan]

anyone who can shoot a gun is fit do do basic shit like sitting in a bunker to watch a nearby road
teaching someone how to aim and shoot an RPG so he can go lone wolf and ambush a supply truck isn't rocket science either

You wouldn't arm your untrained friends and family and expect them to be productive in those roles. Don't expect your average Vlad to do anything but fuck up if they actually have to pull the trigger, especially against a professional military.
I think we'll have to agree to disagree but I just see forcing people to stay and arming them as indirect murder for most who will encounter Russians.

 

[glib]

I wish we did live in a tyrannical hellhole so you could find out lol

tick tock

 

[draggs]

View attachment 3104850
tick tock

Thanks for changing your opinion

 

[Borscht]

Gist Im getting is the Iron Curtain is coming back into style

Not really. Russian citizens are free to leave the country as they please and can browse the Internet to their heart's content with the government specifically pointing out that the use of VPN will not be persecuted.

and Peace Talks are basically meaningless rn?

According to Lavrov and Zakharova, this is indeed so, largely because Ukraine keeps flip-flopping its demands and takes plenty of breaks to receive new instructions from the US as to how to proceed once even a tentative agreement is about to be established.

 

[Aidan]

Not attacking your position, just curious. Let's for one moment imagine the future where the Avengers do arrive in Ukraine, the ghost of Kyiv stops the Russian advance and Zelensky flaunts into Kremlin with all the panache of V from "V for Vendetta" and forces Putin to resign at the end of a shiny rapier pointed straight at his throat.

What then? What reparations will the victors ask for and what will they do to evoke change?

Genocide all Russian nationals and Russian-speakers in the Donbas. Simple as.
I'm genuinely concerned people would back this at the current rate

 

[kuuu]

Genuine question: Why do people in western countries think they're the good guys?
I'm an American, and I don't see any of the wars we've started as good for the countries we've fought.
Are we really less corrupt than countries with dictators, solely because there's a different president every 4 to 8 years?
Do we really have an "open society" and "freedom" with a "liberal democracy"?
Cause in my neck of the woods it all seems to be pre-programmed by oligarchs just as much as any of the countries we are at odds with.

It's baffling to me that people criticize other countries for their corruption while ignoring their own. As if this is a "lesser of two evils" situation, and being "lesser evil" is a virtue.
Crazy times, as always.

Shh, the time for glowies to do nefarious stuff is nigh.
You never know when this will be considered traitorous wrongthink.

 

[RedDelicious]

The United States is a food exporter, so we won't go hungry. Costs may go up, but there won't be a shortage here. Good luck if you live in a nation that imports food though. Like say china.

Yep, your diet in the case of a food shortage might not be particaurly interesting (drink your corn syrup) but you won't go hungry. The U.S. literally has warehouses of subsidized food sitting and rotting because they can't do anything with it. Even Russia could be self-sufficient if push came to shove.

 

[glib]

Thanks for changing your opinion

Changing my opinion on what, I asked the question.
Why do westerners think that their side is better than their enemies, exclusively because of the words "Freedom" and "Democracy" being touted, when elections have been proven to be rigged many times, in many instances.
Oligarchy is the most popular form of government these days.
One can be an oligarch, have immense power, and still act like citizens votes matter. This is what we fight for over the exact same behavior in the east?
It's a big joke.

 

[Spicey McHaggis]

Anything would be better than being stuck in an isolated pariah state that fucked us over for generations, though I have certain doubts about whether a regime change spearheaded by Russian people is even possible. Our entire history is that of learned helplesness.

Nevertheless, the goal is admirable. Thank you for indulging my curiosity.

I wouldn't say it's impossible for it to happen tbh. It's just going to be a VERY slow process.

 

[Arc]

Probably nothing, since Aegis has already demonstrated the ability to track and shoot down ICBMs. Which also travel at thousands of miles per hour.

Once effective close-in anti-missile systems were developed in the 80s, the missile threat to ships has been too many missiles being fired so some get through. Not singular or a small number of missiles.

So if you had said a few dozen (or couple hundred regular slower missiles from a massed bomber attack like in Red Storm Rising), that would be an issue, but "a few" is just RussiaChina shill fantasy time.

Aren't ICBM much larger, slower, visible to radar and worse maneuvering? Hypersonic missiles are specifically made to counter things like Aegis. I'm no weapons expert by any means.

 

[bread n circuses]

Genuine question: Why do people in western countries think they're the good guys?
I'm an American, and I don't see any of the wars we've started as good for the countries we've fought.
Are we really less corrupt than countries with dictators, solely because there's a different president every 4 to 8 years?
Do we really have an "open society" and "freedom" with a "liberal democracy"?
Cause in my neck of the woods it all seems to be pre-programmed by oligarchs just as much as any of the countries we are at odds with.

It's baffling to me that people criticize other countries for their corruption while ignoring their own. As if this is a "lesser of two evils" situation, and being "lesser evil" is a virtue.
Crazy times, as always.

It’s a trick that’s been played on people for the last 400 or so years. Mass politics and political nationalism encourages people to identify with the state that rules over them. Before that, the European political and military order revolved around elites and the peasants were rarely involved in wars or politics, and mostly didn’t give a shit who ruled them as long as they weren’t taking too much of their crops.

The advent of liberalism and democracy didn’t represent some sort of devolution of power, it represented the greatest expansion and centralization of power in all of history. The modern liberal democratic apparatus is capable of controlling citizens in ways that no Roman Emperor could have dreamed of.

 

[Lone MacReady]

How's an honest warmonger supposed to make a living?
Amerimutts blowing shit up and simply having the time of their life in Ukraine.
View attachment 3104598

U.S. Southern Border: Wide Open, Gun-Toting Patriots: Fighting in Ukraine.

Something about this seems wrong.

 

[The Unbecoming]

Aren't ICBM much larger, slower, visible to radar and worse maneuvering? Hypersonic missiles are specifically made to counter things like Aegis. I'm no weapons expert by any means.

In the terminal phase of a launch ICBMs are hypersonic.

Hypersonics are not a magic bullet against naval vessels moving at speed that also have a curtain of Aegis equipped ships surrounding them. They're a threat. They are not an end all be all of flattop destruction like some people wish they were.

 

[Hell on Earth]

I would desire for an organic regime change spearheaded by the Russian people as opposed to following mandates from the west. If Russians manage this then it's almost a given that sanctions could be gradually revoked and the Rus would actually start getting financial aid from the west so as to ensure that Russia's more amicable, predictable and compatible state endures. It would be a long process, arduous even, but at least it would give tens of millions a chance for a better life as opposed to being stuck in an isolated pariah state that has fucked them over for generations. And yeah, this may prove to be idealistic, but I refuse to be entirely cynical.

The one thing that screws this plan is nuclear weapons and the fact that the Russian elites are cucked.

All revolutions originate from the top of society and fucking with Russia is a dangerous game that no one wants to partake in.

The Germans mingled in Russia by sending Lenin and that sent Russia into one of the bloodiest civil wars in history.

Chaos is a ladder and it's very difficult to stop once it has started.

 

[Henry V]

Source
Not sure if this was posted already but yeah this is real.

 

[The Ugly One]

I'm a Ruskie and I un-ironically believe that losing this war would be in Russia's best interest in the long run. This war is a jarring exposition of what 20 years of Putin's rampant kleptocracy has done to stymie its own potential. Humbling Russia just might inspire for a radical push for modernisation as opposed to retaining its imperialist ambitions at the expense of their own citizenry.

Point taken. I guess I just desperately want a white pill of "things weren't this shit" in the past.

I can understand this POV, but from my standpoint as an American, if America wins this proxy war with Russia, it's another victory for creeping totalitarianism here. It means their domestic propaganda campaign is validated. It means subverting global economic institutions and turning them into instruments of war worked. It means their ability to flip a switch and direct a huge portion of Americans to mindlessly hate an entire ethnic group passed the test. It means that the US political class can set up a puppet state as a bribe-soliciting apparatus, flaunt it, and see no real consequences at home or abroad. It means that Washington has the power to force the entire first world to be accessories to the money laundering schemes of our most corrupt families.

I'm not "for" or "against" Putin. I simply don't live in Russia or Ukraine, and winning this war will make things worse for us Americans.