Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

[Sunsilver]

I definitely feel sorry for the man, having to cope with this at his age.

Yes, some of the eastern European countries were in a difficult spot during WWII. I remember my modern history teacher saying this about Poland: Poland has a nice choice: Nazi Germany or Communist Russia. It's like saying "Who would you rather have as a playmate: Jack the Ripper or Atilla the Hun?"

[Frelga]

There is an occasional discussion on whether Hitler or Stalin were "more evil." And the answer is found in the fact that, after everything Ukraine suffered under Stalin, Ukrainian people still overwhelmingly fought against Hitler.

I'm curious, though. In the last week, there have been news of more children dying under Russian bombs. UN officially uncovering evidence of torture, rape, and massacres of civilians in the territories occupied by Russians. Ukraine causing enough damage to Russian Black Sea Fleet to break open the blockade of Ukrainian ports. Tensions between Ukraine and Poland over the grain exports. Ukraine, or possibly Russian supporters, damaging airfields, government buildings, and weapons facilities deep inside Russia, and forcing Russia to close Moscow airports for days at a time.

And all this board seems interested in discussing is the possible inconvenience to one old Nazi. Makes me wonder, it really does.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I don't think that the fact that people have been discussing the situation with Mr. Hunka is an indication that we do not care what is happening in Ukraine right now. Certainly, it is not the case for me.

[Sunsilver]

Rebuke accepted, Frelga.

The local news media has been focusing on the things that are happening close to home. And when such an embarrassing thing happens right in your own country, it get a lot of press.

I was unaware the blockade had been broken, and also had not seen the most recent reports about rape and torture. I had heard about the shelling and sabotage happening inside Russia, causing airports to be closed.

[RoseMorninStar]

Yes, some of the eastern European countries were in a difficult spot during WWII. I remember my modern history teacher saying this about Poland: Poland has a nice choice: Nazi Germany or Communist Russia. It's like saying "Who would you rather have as a playmate: Jack the Ripper or Atilla the Hun?"

Unfortunately there is a long list of cruel despots & dictators. To name just a few from fairly recent history (in addition to Stalin/Hitler/Putin alluded to above); Mao Zedong, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Nicolae Ceaușescu, Augusto Pinochet, Mobuto Seko, Ismail Pasha, Vladmir Lenin, Khorloogiin Choibalsan, Benito Mussolini, Francisco Franco, Hideki Tojo. How these hateful people are able to come to power to create the suffering of so many is a great failing and a trial for humanity.

[Frelga]

This article is interesting; though of course I do not how accurate the claims are.

Fighting against the USSR didn’t necessarily make you a Nazi

This is a good response.

this author fundamentally misunderstands the SS. it is true that many members never directly shot or otherwise killed anyone. but the entire purpose of the organization was genocide, the enforcement of a racial hierarchy and eliminationism. every member worked towards that goal

the fact that relatively few of them shot people directly means nothing. you always need fewer people pulling triggers than you need people handling logistics, supply, the bureaucratic infighting for equipment. the folks who did that work are not less culpable.

Regarding things that actually matter: Yaroslav Trofimov of WSJ reports.

Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska boasts that he helped take 350 Ukrainian children from Bakhmut, some of whom “are afraid to speak Russian,” in cooperation with Lvova-Belova (indicted by the ICC for war crimes.) The webpage disappeared once it was noticed.

Children are to be moved to the Krasnodardky region of Russia and placed with Russian families. No attempt, and every obstacle, is made to locate their families in Ukraine.

In April, the Council of Europe said that this forcible transfer and russification of Ukrainian children is evidence of genocide.

[N.E. Brigand]

A missile strike (apparently Russian) in Hroza, a village about 50 miles southeast of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, killed at least 50 civilians today.

[Frelga]

Apparently Russian? Who are the other suspects?

The strike killed 51 people in the village of 300. Most of the victims were gathered in a cafe for a wake.

Yesterday, Russia also targeted a hospital, filming the strike to the moment of impact.

This morning, they hit Kharkiv with Islander missiles, killing a 10 year old boy.

[N.E. Brigand]

A number of conservative Americans follow social media accounts that support Russia's invasion of Ukraine also support Hezbollah and Hamas.

Today Elon Musk recommended one of those accounts for reporting on events in Israel and Gaza.

[Frelga]

A new Ukraunian meme, “Biden Delivery, delivering ballistic missiles"

20231017_073341.jpg (208.99 KiB) Viewed 3388 times

This is a riff on the old Yarosh’s business card meme. From wiki.

"Yarosh's business card" is an Internet meme that originated April 20, 2014, as a mockery of the propaganda of the Russian mass media and separatists, who presented a business card allegedly found in a burnt-out car as evidence of Right Sector's involvement in the shootout in Slovyansk. In this connection, memes arose about the indestructibility and supernatural power of the business card

[N.E. Brigand]

Is ATACMS pronounced "attackums"?

[N.E. Brigand]

Happy Tanksgiving!

Abrams won't be delivered until fall, last I heard. Previously, US has said that these tanks don't make sense in the context of Ukrainian inventory, as they require jet fuel rather than diesel and are finicky to maintain. The optimistic interpretation is that this decision shows confidence in Ukrainian victory, since the US really doesn't want these tanks captured.

It is now fall, and the U.S. Abrams tanks now have been delivered to Ukraine.

[Frelga]

Is ATACMS pronounced "attackums"?

It's pronounced "they just got to Ukraine and Russia already had the worst day of aircraft losses since the start of the war."

Would've been really nice to have them in the spring, when they would have made a lot of difference to the counteroffensive. Now everything's going to turn to a stalemate again due to first mud then snow.

But, better late than never.

Ukraine made a little thank you video for the ATACMS.

[N.E. Brigand]

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is always thinking of himself first, but that doesn't mean he's wrong to say this:

"No Americans are getting killed in Ukraine. We're rebuilding our industrial base. The Ukrainians are destroying the army of one of our biggest rivals. I have a hard time finding anything wrong with that. I think it's wonderful that they're defending themselves. And also, the notion that the Europeans are not doing enough? They've done almost 90 billion dollars, they're housing a bunch of refugees who escaped. I think that our NATO allies in Europe have done quite a lot."

[N.E. Brigand]

And Turkey is finally in the process of approving Sweden's NATO membership (which came about as a result of Russian's invasion).

[N.E. Brigand]

Rolling Stone reports that Donald Trump and his advisors "are actively planning to pull the United States out of NATO — or, barring that, kneecap the collective defense provisions at the heart of the alliance" if he should return to the White House.

[RoseMorninStar]

N.E., looking collectively at your last 3 posts (in particular the one about McConnell, and the last one about Trump wishing to pull the US out of NATO) I cannot help but be reminded that we're likely in the situation we are in because McConnell was a power-hungry enabler who didn't do his job protecting the country from Trump's actions as he should have in the first place.

[River]

And Turkey is finally in the process of approving Sweden's NATO membership (which came about as a result of Russian's invasion).

Seeing as invading Ukraine utterly failed to stop NATO expansion, maybe Russia can just stop already?

NATO controls the Adriatic, Aegean, Ionian, and North Sea. NATO also holds the Bosporus. And Russia has no allies with access to the Baltic. It seems playing the bully has not served Russia well.

[N.E. Brigand]

President Biden today announced a $100 million military aid package for Ukraine, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited Kyiv today.

[Frelga]

Can they just leave them fueled and unattended for a few minutes?

I TOLD YOU I WASN'T JOKING!

The Polish military dismantled about 10 MiG-29 fighters and left them in parts in a forest near the border with Ukraine. Kyiv was informed about "lost" parts, which were then picked up and quickly collected on the Ukrainian side of the border, - Polish journalist Parafianowicz in his book "Poland at War"

This happened in May 2022, a few months before the official transfer of aircraft to a larger international coalition