The War in Ukraine

[KevinB]

You could ask the folks who invaded - twice - but we already know their narrative. Others' mileage may vary ...

If someone buys into @CBH99 ’s narrative at this point, I’m not sure it’s worth talking to them. They are 1) willfully ignorant 2) a Russian sympathizer, or 3) a bot.

 

[Halifax Tar]

Except that article flies in the face of what issues the RuAF are actually having getting contract soldiers, and glosses over the fact that the conscripts are fighting in Ukraine due to Putin changing the rules on what ‘Russia’ is considered.

Not to mention RuAF losses haven’t really decreased in any significant amount, equipment losses have, but RuAF casualties are still running at an average of 1k a day, or 30k a month.

Outside of St Petersburg and Moscow, Russians are being mass conscripted and mobilized by Press Gangs. Putin’s method of whitening Russia by getting rid of fight age males from ‘less desirable’ ethnic groups.

Russia is bleeding their future to try to create Putin’s legacy, eventually the bleeding will stop, as they will have run out of able bodied men. When you see some of the mobilized personnel, one wonders how deep the pool is, as while it’s not yet Germany 1945, it’s a lot closer than any other example i can think of. .

Linked in your article:

Ukraine’s conscription crisis: Alleged abuse leads to protests, emigration

Officials tasked with boosting army are accused of harshly cracking down on unwilling men, prompting some to flee.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[daftandbarmy]

Except that article flies in the face of what issues the RuAF are actually having getting contract soldiers, and glosses over the fact that the conscripts are fighting in Ukraine due to Putin changing the rules on what ‘Russia’ is considered.

Not to mention RuAF losses haven’t really decreased in any significant amount, equipment losses have, but RuAF casualties are still running at an average of 1k a day, or 30k a month.

Outside of St Petersburg and Moscow, Russians are being mass conscripted and mobilized by Press Gangs. Putin’s method of whitening Russia by getting rid of fight age males from ‘less desirable’ ethnic groups.

Russia is bleeding their future to try to create Putin’s legacy, eventually the bleeding will stop, as they will have run out of able bodied men. When you see some of the mobilized personnel, one wonders how deep the pool is, as while it’s not yet Germany 1945, it’s a lot closer than any other example i can think of. .

“Death is the solution to all problems. No man - no problem.”
― Joseph Stalin

 

[The Bread Guy]

Point by point, BTW ...

To be fair though, Ukraine does have a neo-nazi problem.

Define "neo-nazi problem." I stand to be corrected, but out of 450 seats in the UKR parliament, I think a grand total, round numbers, of hard-hard-right parties is zero. Are there neo-nazi groups in UKR? Yup. Are they huge? I don't think so.

Every so often, hard-hard-right folks in the CAF step on their dicks publicly and are outed - does the CAF have a "neo-nazi problem"?

As for UKR's history with Nazi Germany, all I can say is it's complicated.

Over time, I've seen:

• People defend the Ukrainians having fought the REAL bad guys, the Commies;
• People attack the Ukrainians because they fought on the same side as the Nazis;
• People say the Commies, really, were/are worse than the Nazis.

Like I said, it's complicated.

And a corruption problem.

Yeah, UKR continues to work through its history as a former Soviet Republic (with no shortage of corruption) through post-Soviet times (bit of wild-wild-west style "frontier capitalism" led to issues, like in a number of other post-Soviet spaces) into working at getting better. Overall, still not great (rating of 105 here, compared to Russia's 154), but then again, if you believe the memes out there, Canada should be WAY lower than the 15th place it is on the same scale, so it's all relative.

And 2014 did see a coup overthrow a democratically elected government that was a little too 'Russia friendly' for the likings of the EU & the USA...

Others have shared info about how UKR went from a pro-RUS leader through a grassroots movement to an anti-RUS leader, one "a little too 'Europe friendly' for the likings of USSR 2.0"

And seeing how this happened right on Russia's doorstep, I can understand why they would at least be 'concerned'

Good point, which is the same reason a lot of people think NATO would be at least concerned about what's been happening there since 2014.

If I had any say in this at all, both sides would cease fighting this instant & both sides would bring their forces back within their own borders.

Optimistic, but that would be cool, for sure.

This is a pointless war being fought for...what exactly?)

Depends on who one believes more.

The fight, for the Russians (as alleged) is about "de-nazify-ing" Ukraine, protecting Russian speakers, preventing "encirclement" by NATO, and the "historical unity" of UKR & RUS.

For the Ukrainians, it's about being independent, wanting to orient west instead of east, and being invaded by what they consider a former colonizer.

One old fart's take - YMMV.