Russia-Ukraine War

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

I still believe he was bluffing at one time. I believe his strategy has been dynamic from the start, and not in a good way. This is evidenced by his half-measure attacks. As I've already stated: Russia has enough firepower to turn the entire country of Ukraine into a parking lot by lunchtime. Instead, they drive their tanks until they're all stuck in the mud. A Russian getting stuck in the mud is like a New Yorker not knowing how to navigate the subway system.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/21/how-...st-russia.html

How Ukraine’s mud became a secret weapon in its defense against Russia



I believe that the United States and Russia were in heated negotiations behind the scenes on Crimea, NATO, current sanctions, etc. I believe eventually the U.S. told Russia to go **** themselves (perhaps around the time the Biden administration entered office) and we have what we have today. Like I said earlier, I think we would be best served to find common ground with Russia, instead of focus on our differences. With the right president, Russia could even be called an ally. It just takes one.

I can't believe in a hundred years that Pootin' has been planning to overthrow Ukraine. Yes, I read his manifesto. I think he wanted a neutral-to-friendly Ukraine, that is all. When the murmurings of Ukraine joining NATO became louder, he decided to preempt the situation. He knew it was now or never. I believe he also expected Ukraine to capitulate with 100,000 troops lining the border. Plan B was a half-assed invasion against what is essentially their own people. Cluster**** born.

So sad.

[C0|dB|00ded]

I still believe he was bluffing at one time. I believe his strategy has been dynamic from the start, and not in a good way. This is evidenced by his half-measure attacks. As I've already stated: Russia has enough firepower to turn the entire country of Ukraine into a parking lot by lunchtime. Instead, they drive their tanks until they're all stuck in the mud. A Russian getting stuck in the mud is like a New Yorker not knowing how to navigate the subway system.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/21/how-...st-russia.html

How Ukraine’s mud became a secret weapon in its defense against Russia

It’s a phenomenon familiar in the history books: Napoleon Bonaparte’s invasion of Russia in 1812 was famously slowed by the mud, as were Hitler’s armies, which invaded the then-Soviet Union in 1941 and encountered the same logistical problems posed by the mud and inhospitable terrain that Russian troops have faced in the last few weeks.

“It raises real questions for me ... the Russians have been doing these [military] drills and practicing this foreign invasion for almost a decade now and they still didn’t think, or didn’t have enough coordination, to put the right units in the right places, and to move in the right way to best deal with something [the mud] that has literally been known to be a problem for 300 years.”

I believe that the United States and Russia were in heated negotiations behind the scenes on Crimea, NATO, current sanctions, etc. I believe eventually the U.S. told Russia to go **** themselves (perhaps around the time the Biden administration entered office) and we have what we have today. Like I said earlier, I think we would be best served to find common ground with Russia, instead of focus on our differences. With the right president, Russia could even be called an ally. It just takes one.

I can't believe in a hundred years that Pootin' has been planning to overthrow Ukraine. Yes, I read his manifesto. I think he wanted a neutral-to-friendly Ukraine, that is all. When the murmurings of Ukraine joining NATO became louder, he decided to preempt the situation. He knew it was now or never. I believe he also expected Ukraine to capitulate with 100,000 troops lining the border. Plan B was a half-assed invasion against what is essentially their own people. Cluster**** born.

[Kung Wu]

Don't worry about it, he's just bluffing.

[wufan]

NATO adding members may have antagonized Russia, but it doesn’t even come close to justifying Purim’s invasion.

[C0|dB|00ded]

I'm starting to think that NATO, particularly the addition of the Eastern European nations over the last 20 years or so has been an unnecessary slap in the face of the Russians. It wasn't enough that we defeated them in the cold war, but we start snapping up former Soviet members and adding them to an alliance whose tacit goal was to oppose their former ruler. Why step on the neck of Moscow after all the friendly relations built up with Gorbachev and Yeltsin.

Putin selling the Russian people on the threat of "Imperialist" America striving to systematically dismantle their country and culture would be a fairly easy task compared to say... convincing half of America to stop believing in medicine and science when they needed it most...

Our treatment of Russia by way of encroaching on their borders with a unified military alliance via their former territories needs to be rethought. Maybe NATO should be dissolved. Clearly the free countries can band together informally in the face of a new threat, but Russia... as corrupt as it is, was kind of minding its own business until we started sprinkling NATO "holy water" all around them for decades.

Putin is no Communist. He's certainly now (and always has been a murderer), but the invasion into Ukraine may be the result of pent up frustration that we alone have fomented with our forced idealism. The Russian/Slavic culture is VERY different than American/Western. Russians are a tough people. They are also quite sad in a way. Lots of struggles. But I've always respected them for their intelligence and how they stomped on Hitler's dick.

They were the ultimate antagonist of the 20th century. But what's going on right now in Ukraine... just doesn't seem "Russian".

[Kung Wu]

They probably talked about using guns or needing guns or blowing up something or something like that. People shouldn't be exposed to seeing things like that in print or it could cause undue stress and harm to the readers, or cause copy cats that go out and shoot invaders.

[SubGod22]

Of course they have

[wichshock65]

Twitter has suspended the account of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

[pinstripers]

They are attempting to land-lock Ukraine, keeping them from their ports. No ports, no exports.

exactly, and they want the southern port for themselves

[C0|dB|00ded]

https://www.businessinsider.com/f35-designed-for-war-like-russia-ukraine-test-pilot-says-2022-4

The F-35 was 'designed precisely' to fight and win in the kind of war happening in Ukraine, former test pilot says

F-35s have been flying missions in stealth mode near Ukraine's borders, though it's not clear if they were conducting regular patrols to deter Russia or using their electronic capabilities to monitor forces in and around Ukraine.

Nevertheless, their presence so close to the conflict zone has had an impact, according to Flynn.

Having that jet flying along NATO's eastern flank "is a significant deterrent" against Russian forces "continuing their ambitions to push further eastward. Because the F-35 represent an extraordinary lethal threat," Flynn said.

The F-35's "capacity to neutralize the enemy cannot be matched by any other airplane that flies in anybody else's air force," Flynn said. "So just the fact that the F-35s are there scares everybody on the other side."

The F35 has a radar cross section the size of a bumblebee.

[C0|dB|00ded]

They are attempting to land-lock Ukraine, keeping them from their ports. No ports, no exports.

All of west Ukraine is wide open to neighboring countries and will remain that way unless there is WWIII.

[wichshock65]

Allies should patrol any international waters to make sure lanes remain open. I do not know if the Black Sea qualifies.

https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2021/06/black-sea-incident-shows-russias-determination-claim-waters-illegally/174959/

*edit* Definitely need to be cruisin' our ships through the area (in 3 wk intervals).

They are attempting to land-lock Ukraine, keeping them from their ports. No ports, no exports.

[C0|dB|00ded]

I see defense as being pushing Russia out of Ukraine if possible, not just stopping an advance and occupation of a chunk of the country. If access to the Black Sea is cut off, serious issues arise for not only Ukraine, but the world's food supply.

Allies should patrol any international waters to make sure lanes remain open. I do not know if the Black Sea qualifies.

https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2021/06/black-sea-incident-shows-russias-determination-claim-waters-illegally/174959/

*edit* Definitely need to be cruisin' our ships through the area (in 3 wk intervals).

[wichshock65]

Not exactly. But all could be used that way. Would the Ukrainians stop at the end of their borders? I doubt all would at this point. If I thought supplying jets, tanks, and ships wouldn't almost immediately escalate the war to one of the allied neighbors, I'd be all for it. Like I said, a stifling "defensive" posture from Ukraine is the smart move at this juncture IMO.

If Pootin' really has lost his mind, we need to stall WWIII for as long as we can (or until we can properly move our troops into surrounding allied nations - which we currently are). And yes, that means Ukraine must suffer some if Russia plans on staying the course.

The Allied countries' main focus (besides resupplying Ukraine) MUST be to try and prevent Pootin' from uniting and energizing the citizenry a la Hitler. We've got to successfully run interference on his propaganda efforts.

I see defense as being pushing Russia out of Ukraine if possible, not just stopping an advance and occupation of a chunk of the country. If access to the Black Sea is cut off, serious issues arise for not only Ukraine, but the world's food supply.

[Kung Wu]

I have no clue what Biden's strategy is. This is my strategy. A stifling defensive posture is the best game theory move here (all things considered) I believe. And a defensive posture would include keeping supply/humanitarian paths open.

Sure, if you want to starve your troops and civilians to death.