Pener Kropoopkin posted:

"Denazification" means they're going to be targeting the far right elements of Ukrainian society & politics. That means for sure they're looking for Azov & the like, but they may also be looking to target members of Pravi Sektor and Svoboda. That doesn't mean they're looking to take out the government. Ukraine's government is legitimately elected, and whatever else you could say about Zelensky he isn't a Nazi. I'm guessing that the Russians will leave the Ukrainian government untouched, because they want legitimate officials to negotiate a ceasefire & an eventual end to the war. Setting up a puppet government would be too much trouble in the long run, because they'd have to deal with an endless insurgency and the war would never end.

This also ties in to what Putin said about "demilitarization." The Russians have been primarily targeting only military assets so far. I think based on what's happening as of now, that the Russian plan is to totally wipe out Ukraine's standing army. That means bypassing all the major cities without trying to fight for them and keeping any forces there bottled up; surrounding Kiev & putting it under siege to force the government to sue for peace; and actively hunting for all military equipment in the country they can destroy.

Based on all of that, I think what the Russians want is a totally demilitarized Ukraine forced into neutrality under the threat of Russia's military. Russia is going to achieve total strategic dominance over the whole country and there's nothing NATO can do about it. Ukraine's army, or what's left of it, won't be allowed to field anything more sophisticated than light vehicles and infantry weapons.

That's my guess based on everything Putin has said and what we've seen from Russian ground forces so far. I think a lot of information floating around about Russia's objectives is disinformation, probably intentionally seeded by the Russians themselves, to make it impossible to discern their intentions. But if we assume Putin isn't lying about his causes and intentions, then I think what we're going to see is the reduction of Ukraine to a de facto Russian client state with their security and foreign policy subject to Russian military intimidation.

I could throw in a bunch of caveats about how all of this is subject to change and we have to wait and see, but if I'm wrong then I'm wrong.

Mr Hootington posted:

This is why you don't trust fake friends.

Morbus posted:

Yeah I think this makes the most sense

shirts and skins posted:

https://twitter.com/ragipsoylu/status/1497266678601859081?t=1vaoXtchakggj-8fCIcBvg&s=19

Xeom posted:

All the Ukrainian blood being spilled is washing the hands of "the west" clean. Liberals are already going back to old talking point about "the west" spreading democracy. The blood craze is already returning to their eyes. We will invade someone now no questions asked and liberals will just look at you and say the word Russia. "The left" and anti war movement in America is already dead or on life support. With this, what little tattered remnants remained will be dissolved into nothing.

I hate this stupid gay loving world. Americans and liberals the dumbest and most servile group of people. Please just launch the loving nukes already.

Morbus posted:

Listen, jack

How do i shot javelin

Grapplejack posted:

Why did Biden think china would help the us after the last three years

Tulip posted:

the reasons countries go to war and the reasons people fight are pretty loving different and this post feels wildly out of place with your posturing as somebody with an education on history

like do you think that if you asked a bunch of americans in ww1 why they were fighting they'd say "because the war is negatively affecting American commercial and diplomatic interests" or do you think they'd say "remember the lusitania!"

p sure that if you're in kyiv the weird questions of why there are russians shelling your neighborhood are a low priority, people are gonna be thinking "will I look like a coward" and "will my chances of survival be better armed or unarmed" and "do I hate these other people enough to risk my life to hurt them" and of course "can I personally profit from taking some violent risks"

Lostconfused posted:

https://twitter.com/salahzhang/status/1496930402497347585

lol, it's really that bad?

Blarghalt posted:

With Russia specifically I think the deal is that a lot of liberals really hold onto the belief that Russia got Trump elected and 2016 broke their brains so badly that they'll never, ever forgive them for this.

i say swears online posted:

smdh people, the best US zelensky analogue is julia louis dreyfus

SexyBlindfold posted:

I feel like there's a kernel of an idea in there, like it would genuinely go against PRC interests to set an international precedent that it's okay for major powers to unilaterally recognize separatist regions and use their human rights records as pretext for military action while the international community just sorta ho-hums and does nothing, but since the general rule at the White House is No Brains Allowed, it mostly boiled down to "c'moooon, you gotta, c'mooooon"

spacemang_spliff posted:

that's incredibly stupid so it's very likely to be true

gradenko_2000 posted:

https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1497230379807383553

hahahahahahahahha

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

shirts and skins posted:

https://twitter.com/ragipsoylu/status/1497266678601859081?t=1vaoXtchakggj-8fCIcBvg&s=19

Frosted Flake posted:

I mean, I’m on the other side of being disillusioned from being the best trained, best equipped, best educated whatever and getting rolled by a Pashtun farmer and some RDX, so my heart’s not in it anymore.

It sounds great to bleed for your country until you do.

gradenko_2000 posted:

https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1497230379807383553

hahahahahahahahha

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

gradenko_2000 posted:

https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1497230379807383553

hahahahahahahahha

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA

Frosted Flake posted:

I mean, I’m on the other side of being disillusioned from being the best trained, best equipped, best educated whatever and getting rolled by a Pashtun farmer and some RDX, so my heart’s not in it anymore.

It sounds great to bleed for your country until you do.

WrasslorMonkey posted:

slave to my cravings posted:

I’m sure this will go over well

shirts and skins posted:

https://twitter.com/ragipsoylu/status/1497266678601859081?t=1vaoXtchakggj-8fCIcBvg&s=19

Justin Tyme posted:

like, i am not advocating the US go to war or anything, but it doesnt feel good to have such a loving world-class idiot in charge right now, even trump would be better

Lostconfused posted:

https://twitter.com/salahzhang/status/1496930402497347585

lol, it's really that bad?

SexyBlindfold posted:

I feel like there's a kernel of an idea in there, like it would genuinely go against PRC interests to set an international precedent that it's okay for major powers to unilaterally recognize separatist regions and use their human rights records as pretext for military action while the international community just sorta ho-hums and does nothing, but since the general rule at the White House is No Brains Allowed, it mostly boiled down to "c'moooon, you gotta, c'mooooon"

Chamale posted:

The fact that Biden couldn't schedule a speech until noon, and then delayed it to 1:30, makes me wonder just how bad his mental capacity has gotten

Gresh posted:

okay people really are starting to lose their loving minds

im genuinely getting worried about a wider conflict now

Chamale posted:

The fact that Biden couldn't schedule a speech until noon, and then delayed it to 1:30, makes me wonder just how bad his mental capacity has gotten

Archduke Frantz Fanon posted:

no its the jon stewart that got red faced yelling at wyatt cenac for telling him his minstrel voice michael steele impressions were kinda racist

fanfic insert posted:

they are the good guys tho

Xeom posted:

All the Ukrainian blood being spilled is washing the hands of "the west" clean. Liberals are already going back to old talking point about "the west" spreading democracy. The blood craze is already returning to their eyes. We will invade someone now no questions asked and liberals will just look at you and say the word Russia. "The left" and anti war movement in America is already dead or on life support. With this, what little tattered remnants remained will be dissolved into nothing.

I hate this stupid gay loving world. Americans and liberals the dumbest and most servile group of people. Please just launch the loving nukes already.

gradenko_2000 posted:

Gresh posted:

LMFAO

Archduke Frantz Fanon posted:

no its the jon stewart that got red faced yelling at wyatt cenac for telling him his minstrel voice michael steele impressions were kinda racist

R. Guyovich posted:

https://twitter.com/SputnikInt/status/1497254958479065095

shirts and skins posted:

https://twitter.com/ragipsoylu/status/1497266678601859081?t=1vaoXtchakggj-8fCIcBvg&s=19