miamizsun wrote:

Although USA does identical in many countries, such as Yemen, Syria... 
Palestine. 

 Red_Dragon wrote:
really nasty videos online
it's f'n awful
putin is a monster...

Putin calls sanctions a declaration of war as Zelenskyy pleads for more aid

Good thing invading another country isn't a declaration of war but if he thinks this is war, probably fair for the west to impose a no-fly zone

From NATO-think-tank-land (via WSJ Op-ed):
The Strategic Case for Risking War in Ukraine *
Dec. 22, 2021

Redemption.

U.S. Working to Fulfill Zelensky Request, Transfer Jets from Poland

Fact and Mythmaking Blend in Ukraine’s Information War
Experts say stories like the Ghost of Kyiv and Snake Island, both of questionable veracity, are propaganda or morale boosters, or perhaps both.

Just days into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a pilot with a mysterious nickname was quickly becoming the conflict’s first wartime hero. Named the Ghost of Kyiv, the ace fighter had apparently single-handedly shot down several Russian fighter jets.

The story was shared by the official Ukraine Twitter account on Sunday in a thrilling montage video set to thumping music, showing the fighter swooping through the Ukrainian skies as enemy planes exploded around him. The Security Service of Ukraine, the country’s main security agency, also relayed the tale on its official Telegram channel, which has over 700,000 subscribers.

The story of a single pilot’s beating the superior Russian air force found wide appeal online, thanks to the official Ukraine accounts and many others. Videos of the so-called Ghost of Kyiv had more than 9.3 million views on Twitter, and the flier was mentioned in thousands of Facebook groups reaching up to 717 million followers. On YouTube, videos promoting the Ukrainian fighter collected 6.5 million views, while TikTok videos with the hashtag #ghostofkyiv reached 200 million views. (...)

Under rules for the treatment of prisoners of war in the Geneva
Conventions — which also proscribe a host of other activities that have
arisen in this conflict, including targeting civilians — militaries are
not to “parade” prisoners, a concept that is sometimes interpreted as
not presenting them in any public setting.

even if this tyrant should somehow stop the slaughter and destruction today, the damage he has done will take a decade or two to repair

 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote:

100% agree. Thanks for typing my thoughts for me. You don't see Putin attacking any NATO countries. Maybe they should have expanded more when they had a chance.

I am German myself, 1st born in the US of my family. Both my parents escaped Russian communism (met on the boat immigrating to Canada after war. My father came from a German enclave in what was part of Romania at the time (Bessarabia) and had been part of Ukraine and Russia in the past. Now part of Moldovia, I think. He escaped with his family when the Russians announced they were taking over. Mother escaped East Germany when she was 15. So, yeah, no love of Russia in our family.

Who is to say if Russia would have been lead by someone different from Putin. Maybe they could have joined the EU. Things would have and could have been different for them. Blaming US and NATO is pure BS. It's all on Putin's head.

Maybe it is time for another Russian revolution. Been listening to the Revolutions Podcast, which is at episode 88 of the Russian revolution. Currently the Blacks, whites and reds are skirmishing in the Ukraine. Still waiting to see how it works out for the Bolshevik rabble. Point is, it's been done before, it can happen again, however painful it is. You just need to piss of the right number of people, which they seem to be on their way to doing.

 Ivanhoe wrote:

 steeler wrote: 
Agree with pretty much all of that, sadly.

 Ivanhoe wrote: 
Oh, Ohmsen, to be clear, I am not calling you a fascist. I am calling you out for posting an incessant row of arguments all of which support the perspective of a man (Putin) who meets just about every definition of fascist that I can think of. Whether you want to associate yourself with his cause is your free right.
Absolutely. 

 Ivanhoe wrote: 
Why TF should it? NATO is a defensive pact. It wasn't threatening Russia. It had no plans to attack Russia. All NATO nations would have welcomed open relations with Russia and were happy to do business with it. And I bet most Russians were very happy with this arrangement. Not a single NATO nation has made any hostile attack on Russia since 1989, and why should they?

No, the only person threatened by Ukraine was Putin, not Russia the country, and not because of NATO but because Ukraine dared to have free elections. This narrative that it is all the US's fault for extending its hegemony under the guise of NATO is pure bullshit, a handy way to whitewash Putin's true motives, which is simply to silence any opposition and stamp out free democracy.

But good to see you are not on the side of democracy, peace and free speech by still willing to tout all the arguments put forward by your fascist paymaster despite almost unanimous international consensus to the contrary.  Glad we have you on board to put us right and correct the narrative.

And you, as a German, with the heavy weight of German history behind you, how do you manage to sleep at night, supporting this murderous regime, that is doing exactly the same thing the Nazis did in 1939?

 NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote:

I think it will be mostly scenario 3, with a bit of scenario one. Putin will not stop until he achieves his ‘decapitation” of Ukraine government, installing — for the moment — a pro-Russia puppet government. He also will have secured much of eastern Ukraine, roughly on a line drawn from Odessa to Kharkiv. This will be annexed, effectively if not officially. This gives Russia control of access to the Black Sea and Sea of Azov. Ukraine becomes a landlocked country with a badly damaged economy, possibly making dependence on Russia more difficult to avoid.

I do not see how Putin can continue on to capture Lviv and western Ukraine. Seems Russia’s forces are overextended already, with supply line and other logistical troubles. It would not be necessary for this advancement under this scenario unless Zelensky decamps to Lviv. (I think at some point very soon Zelensky and his top aides should do so. His presence in Kyiv has been inspiring for his people and his country’s defense, but that also is why it is imperative that he remain alive and free — even if that means leaving the country.)

I think Putin believes the focus of the allies will lessen over time, as will the unity over the sanctions. There probably will be some break in the ranks, but I think Putin is overestimating that. It is not only the economics, though. For much of the world, Russia has become a pariah country, along the lines of North Korea. That stain may endure longer than Putin believes.

 Ivanhoe wrote: 
Russian apologist.  Fits.

 Ivanhoe wrote: 
While, it is almost certainly true that Zelenskiy tried to leverage the incident for what it is worth, the above bit is pure Russian b/s, and while we are on that subject, remember this?

  Ivanhoe/Ohmsen wrote:
How did that work out for you? Still on the payroll it seems.

 kurtster wrote:
This seems to me to be a non sequitur. I do not believe that “acquiescing” in paying higher prices at the gas pump remotely equates with the bravery being shown by Ukrainians.