the de-nazification is a putin talking point and one of the justifications he gave for acting on the UN resolution to “free” the two eastern regions of Ukraine
Congrats on sharing more Russian disinformation. Russia's Gorbachev even confirmed that this alleged NATO promise of no expansion never happened. But Putin has simply rewritten history in claiming that it did.
i’ll play
I think the fears about Chernobyl are a bit off the mark. I think Russia wanted the area for its logistical importance, but that it really had nothing to do with the nuclear plant/material.twocoach wrote: ↑Fri Feb 25, 2022 10:22 amMy fear is that Russia makes a bunch of dirty bombs out of the Chernobyl site that they just captured.sdoyel wrote: ↑Fri Feb 25, 2022 9:55 amMy fear is Putin gets frustrated and decides to nuke them...jfish26 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 25, 2022 9:18 am
It's really hard to ascertain the bottom line here, as sources are unreliable.
Russia has no incentive to broadcast wins (which necessarily will involve dead and maimed non-combatants) and active incentive to mask losses (see, for example, the (to-me) extraordinary step of bringing mobile crematoriums to the proceedings).
Ukraine has every incentive to broadcast wins, and also no incentive to mask losses (although it very much has an incentive to broadcast civilian casualties and other things in the nature of war crimes).
I do think - and absolutely I do hope - that Putin bit off way more than he could chew.
I would love it to be true that (1) the geography makes this a taller task than the Russian forces can handle, (2) the Russian forces are indeed poorly-trained and unmotivated and (3) Ukraine's will can make up, at least for a time, for the vast qualitative and quantitative advantages of the Russians.
What logistical importance is gained by controlling a dead zone of more than 1000 square miles?
This site does nothing but cost the admin time and money. There aren't any ads on it so there is no benefit of clicks or followers. But cool story.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politi ... -rcna17615twocoach wrote: ↑Fri Feb 25, 2022 10:36 amWhat logistical importance is gained by controlling a dead zone of more than 1000 square miles?
While the full answer may be known only to top officials in Moscow, the site happens to lie along one of the most direct paths to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.
“The location is important because of where it sits,” retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, former commanding general of U.S. Army Europe, said in an interview. "If Russian forces were attacking Kyiv from the north, Chernobyl is right there on the way, almost in the way."
Chernobyl is less than 10 miles from Ukraine's border with Belarus, a Russian ally where Moscow has been massing troops in preparation for its attack. From there, it's a relatively straight shot of about 80 miles south to Kyiv.
The route from Belarus to Kyiv through Chernobyl might be particularly appealing to Russian military planners because it would allow them to cross the Dnieper River in Belarus, avoiding a potentially hazardous crossing of the major river, which bisects Ukraine, behind enemy lines.
"They want it because they want to take control of the whole effing country," said Evelyn Farkas, who was deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia in the Obama administration. "They want to surround the capital."
Why do you believe that NATO "propped up" that group? Please tell me it's not "because I read it on twitter". In the wiki page you provided, it states this: "It is against Ukraine joining the European Union and against Ukraine joining NATO."Qusdahl wrote: ↑Fri Feb 25, 2022 10:43 am Putin’s a shithead. The only person here who likes him is Michhawk.
I just think both of these things can be true:
- Putin is a shithead
- NATO and the azov battalion they propped up are not exactly angels either.
Maybe there’s more to it than just some sudden unprompted unilateral military move by some shithead. Not it’s NOT that. It’s just that there may be more to it than JUST that.
But I admit I haven’t vetted the provolone chick.
Can we at least discuss the Azov battalion?
Among other headlines, I saw Facebook is temporarily allowing praise for them on Zuck’s platforms.
These guys here:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azov_Battalion
This feels like the most important point: "They want it because they want to take control of the whole effing country" but yeah, I see that if you simply need the road then it is good to have. Still, the Russians think it is foolish to not take advantage of every opportunity. I don't see them just driving past that site without trying to figure out what they can do with it now that it is theirs. And I freely admit that I have an irrational hatred of the Russians and think they are fucking repulsive scum bags which may cloud my ability to think when it involves them.jfish26 wrote: ↑Fri Feb 25, 2022 10:49 amhttps://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politi ... -rcna17615
While the full answer may be known only to top officials in Moscow, the site happens to lie along one of the most direct paths to Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital.
“The location is important because of where it sits,” retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, former commanding general of U.S. Army Europe, said in an interview. "If Russian forces were attacking Kyiv from the north, Chernobyl is right there on the way, almost in the way."
Chernobyl is less than 10 miles from Ukraine's border with Belarus, a Russian ally where Moscow has been massing troops in preparation for its attack. From there, it's a relatively straight shot of about 80 miles south to Kyiv.
The route from Belarus to Kyiv through Chernobyl might be particularly appealing to Russian military planners because it would allow them to cross the Dnieper River in Belarus, avoiding a potentially hazardous crossing of the major river, which bisects Ukraine, behind enemy lines.
"They want it because they want to take control of the whole effing country," said Evelyn Farkas, who was deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia in the Obama administration. "They want to surround the capital."
It's more of an "I keep seeing anti-Ukrainian tweets and I need to know if I should get outraged over them or not" shtick than an actual pro-Putin approach if we're trying to be accurate.
being an adult i can easily sort through the bull$#!t. it's one of the perks of being a cagey veteran. and not a puke that grew up thinking everything i see on the social medias is the last word.
Not very effectively, if your posts here (and, particularly, in the Covid threads) are any indication.
