The *OFFICIAL* Russia Is About To Invade Ukraine Thread

[Avery]

Unfortunately I doubt it. This invasion has cost Russia dearly. Any money made by the spike in oil prices has been consumed hundreds of times over with the collapse of the Ruble and divestment by nearly everyone on the globe. Their standing in the world has cratered as even formerly staunch Russian allies are now turning their backs. Their feared military has been exposed as they seem to have no answer for the Bayraktar TB2 drones which are too slow to be engaged by the Russian air superiority jets.

For all that cost in money, standing, and prestige, Russia has nothing to show for it. If Russia withdraws now it will cement that into history. I really want to be wrong. I really, REALLY want to be wrong but I fear things are about to get very ugly and I do not entirely discount the idea of a nuke being used before this is over.

A nuke is unimaginable, but impossible and improbable are two different things and you just never know with Putin.

I don't think he'll resort to a nuke as they'll just continue to firebomb and shell everything they can as 'everyday business' - dropping a nuke would signal the complete destruction of Russia and I think Putin is probably smart enough to know that.

I'm empathetic to the citizens of Russia who have no choice but to embroiled in the complete forthcoming collapse of their economy - every sanction, failed bank transaction and rubles being rendered moot will likely end more lives than the war before our eyes. Thanks Vlad.

 

[Deleted member 365]

A nuke is unimaginable, but impossible and improbable are two different things and you just never know with Putin.

I don't think he'll resort to a nuke as they'll just continue to firebomb and shell everything they can as 'everyday business' - dropping a nuke would signal the complete destruction of Russia and I think Putin is probably smart enough to know that.

I'm empathetic to the citizens of Russia who have no choice but to embroiled in the complete forthcoming collapse of their economy - every sanction, failed bank transaction and rubles being rendered moot will likely end more lives than the war before our eyes. Thanks Vlad.

I don’t have much sympathy for the Russian citizenry. They should be protesting in the 100s of thousands right now. The state cannot arrest that many people and it’ll probably push the oligarchs into replacing Putin. Sadly, I think there are only two realistic options:

1. Putin turns Kyiv into Aleppo and slaughters Ukrainian democracy. Zelensky probably won’t be alive much longer. Putin can’t afford to have him stay alive.
2. The Russian people hurt so bad that they’re compelled to riot ending with Putin’s head on a stick.

I’d prefer option 2. But unfortunately I think option 1 is going to take place.

The best time to have prevented this was probably in the late 90s and early 2000s. Yeltsin shouldn’t have promoted him. And the west Allowing Russia to empower a former KGB and tripping over themselves to do business in Russia no matter their stance on human rights was, was probably a bad idea. Unfortunate.

 

[Deleted member 365]

Ironic given that putin claimed this was a special operation to de-natzify Ukraine.



Over 30,000 Ukrainian Jews were slaughtered here in two days.

 

[Avery]

I don’t have much sympathy for the Russian citizenry. They should be protesting in the 100s of thousands right now. The state cannot arrest that many people and it’ll probably push the oligarchs into replacing Putin. Sadly, I think there are only two realistic options:

1. Putin turns Kyiv into Aleppo and slaughters Ukrainian democracy. Zelensky probably won’t be alive much longer. Putin can’t afford to have him stay alive.
2. The Russian people hurt so bad that they’re compelled to riot ending with Putin’s head on a stick.

I’d prefer option 2. But unfortunately I think option 1 is going to take place.

The best time to have prevented this was probably in the late 90s and early 2000s. Yeltsin shouldn’t have promoted him. And the west Allowing Russia to empower a former KGB and tripping over themselves to do business in Russia no matter their stance on human rights was, was probably a bad idea. Unfortunate.

Definitely get your points, I fear their citizens fear Putin and his regime too much. You can't even protest basically without fear of being erased.

You are right though that if they full on revolted, they'd overthrow Putin and his government in a week - and I couldn't think of a sweeter end to Putin's life and career then his own eating him up.

 

[str8line]

It's really weird to think this but I could see Putin taking all of his anger out at the USA with nukes launched toward NYC. He's 69 years old and had a good run and all that. I wonder if there is anyone who could stop his order were he to give it.

 

[Deleted member 365]

It's really weird to think this but I could see Putin taking all of his anger out at the USA with nukes launched toward NYC. He's 69 years old and had a good run and all that. I wonder if there is anyone who could stop his order were he to give it.

You would hope so. But if he does this then Russia is gone too… and most of the world. I don’t think missile defense systems are set up to accurately stop nuclear ICBMs and Russia has thousands of those. Fortunately, we’ve been in similar tight spots like this before and things have worked out. The problem here is that Putin might be the one Russian leader completely detached from reality. He might not want an off-ramp. Lifting sanctions if he quits? It doesn’t seem like he gives a damn. And if he wants to leave Ukraine as a smoldering crater with Zelensky’s head on a stick, he can do that without even the use of nukes. We all hope that the Russian people stop him before doing that. But my faith in them doing so is pretty minimal. That’s why I’m rooting for these sanctions to hurt like hell and they act quickly to oust him. That would be a perfect end to his miserable life.

Are there any more planned peace or seize fire talks in the works?

 

[str8line]

This is a sobering interview with Fiona Hill about Putin, his mentality/plans, and the situation in Ukraine. Spoiler, don’t read it if you want a good night’s rest. Putin’s going to turn Kyiv into Grozny or Aleppo in the next few days.

‘Yes, He Would’: Fiona Hill on Putin and Nukes

Putin is trying to take down the entire world order, the veteran Russia watcher said in an interview. But there are ways even ordinary Americans can fight back.

www.politico.com

That's a great article. Scary.

 

[LogGrad98]

I don't know what response there would be if Putin launched any nukes. If he launched directly at the US we would retaliate, but I am not sure it would be with Nukes. We still understand the doctrine of mutually assured destruction, and our military is so massively strong that we could mete out nearly the same devastation without bringing on nuclear winter directly, and most of it remotely. But I think if he launched anything at the Ukraine we might see...nothing. Not sure we would intervene militarily in that circumstance either. I am feeling us being much more passive in this conflict. Not sure if that is good or bad.

 

[leftyjace]

Time to bench the morons.

Ukraine presents Republican leaders with a crucial choice | CNN

Charlie Dent writes that while Russian President Valdimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine has unified much of the world, it has further splintered the GOP. Traditional Republicans like Sen. Mitt Romney -- and Dent himself -- view global engagement positively, while Trump and MAGA Republicans take a...

www.cnn.com

 

[babe]

Unfortunately I doubt it. This invasion has cost Russia dearly. Any money made by the spike in oil prices has been consumed hundreds of times over with the collapse of the Ruble and divestment by nearly everyone on the globe. Their standing in the world has cratered as even formerly staunch Russian allies are now turning their backs. Their feared military has been exposed as they seem to have no answer for the Bayraktar TB2 drones which are too slow to be engaged by the Russian air superiority jets.

For all that cost in money, standing, and prestige, Russia has nothing to show for it. If Russia withdraws now it will cement that into history. I really want to be wrong. I really, REALLY want to be wrong but I fear things are about to get very ugly and I do not entirely discount the idea of a nuke being used before this is over.

hmmm. Never heard of these before. Putin, maybe. I don't know what they have done. I have believed things aren't going well for Putin, sonsidering Germany. If so, I think China may be re-thinking some things.

That also increases, if so, nukes.

 

[babe]

Time to bench the morons.

Ukraine presents Republican leaders with a crucial choice | CNN

Charlie Dent writes that while Russian President Valdimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine has unified much of the world, it has further splintered the GOP. Traditional Republicans like Sen. Mitt Romney -- and Dent himself -- view global engagement positively, while Trump and MAGA Republicans take a...

www.cnn.com

There are almost no republicans who ever favored Putin. Most of the stuff I read that explained Putin in any rational manner was from people who have followed US-Russian relations for decades, and most of those were old-line democrats, pre-Clinton lets say.

Trump and his supporters will have no problem laying the war blame on Biden and supporting Ukraine. Levin and Hannity have been doing this all along. Biden jjust still looks bad.

 

[babe]

I don't know what response there would be if Putin launched any nukes. If he launched directly at the US we would retaliate, but I am not sure it would be with Nukes. We still understand the doctrine of mutually assured destruction, and our military is so massively strong that we could mete out nearly the same devastation without bringing on nuclear winter directly, and most of it remotely. But I think if he launched anything at the Ukraine we might see...nothing. Not sure we would intervene militarily in that circumstance either. I am feeling us being much more passive in this conflict. Not sure if that is good or bad.

Obama and Biden, in my opinion, are US deconstructionists more than Ukraine or EU or NATO supporters. Letting Russia and China pick up scraps around their fringes is probably in their play book for us. I am immensely surprised that Ukraine's comedian didn't just negotiate a settlement that partitioned off the Donetsk and Luhansk. And that he has half the spunk he's shown already.

Knowing nothing, really, beyond what I can find on the webz and a little history *(real history), I imagine either we go in and help finish Putin or he lives and remembers a lot of stuff. And recovers and improves his stuff.