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I don't think it was.
If Putin believes that the 2 areas (Donbas and Crimea) belong to Russia because they're largely ethnically Russian. It makes sense to say "Anyone who doesn't want to be Russian needs to get the fuck out." It does not however mean he's trying to wipe the Ukraine off the map and kill all Ukrainian people.
They're already losing troops and equipment hand over fist, at least bombing runs get good ROI. Regarding no nukes because of NATO, the idea that NATO is going to sit by while Russia wipes Ukraine off the map, but would sit up and take notice at a couple tactical nukes doesn't really hold water.
What Russia is doing is absolutely not acceptable, but it isn't the Holocaust either.
M
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just because something isn’t to the scale of the Holocaust doesn’t mean it should be disregarded.
donbas is a secondary goal he has reverted too after trying to topple the Ukrainian state and install a pro-Russian Regime backed by Russian troops allowing them to eliminate the “Ukrainian” element. Even if he wants to expell non Russians from Donbas, that is ethnic cleansing, and when they don’t want to leave you have to kill them.
the plan was to expunge these elements, which they believed to be about 4 percent of the population in relative secrecy.
no tactical nukes was as close to a line in the sand as NATO has drawn, plus all the fallout goes back over Russia so it’s a last case option.
bombing is being done by the safest method they have (fast, agile fighter bombers) and they’re getting a bad ROI already with planes shot down and limited effectiveness. Strategic bombers without stealth capability have been obsolete for years, Russia only uses them to carry nuclear warheads. They were using ones that could launch ballistic missiles early on but they are almost out of those and need to save some for capacity purposes.
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It needs to always be front of mind when we have these discussions. We're not used to seeing it, but what's happening in the Ukraine right now as far as "war crimes" is pretty standard fare during a war.
I don't think it is. I think the goal was to try to attack and seize Kiev in order to force Ukraine to capitulate to their demands.
That's very different from the wholesale Ukrainian genocide currently being sold, but you are correct regarding that one area.
"Red lines" are crossed pretty often.
As if anyone would be able to tell the difference.
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M
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A living gollum!!!
NATO chief: Alliance transforming to reflect ‘long-term consequences’ of Russian invasion
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in a new interview said the military alliance is transforming to reflect the “long-term consequences” of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including a shif…
thehill.com
Russia says it would have to 'rebalance' if Finland and Sweden join NATO
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that if Finland and Sweden joined NATO then Russia would have to "rebalance the situation" with its own measures.
Russia’s First Default in a Century Looks All But Inevitable Now
(Bloomberg) -- Most Read from BloombergUkraine Update: Zelenskiy Sees New War Front; Economy DevastatedCovid Could Be Surging in the U.S. Right Now and We Might Not Even Know ItUkraine Update: Johnson Meets Zelenskiy in Kyiv, Pledges SupportMacron Set to Face Le Pen in Runoff for French...
According to Tim Ash, an emerging-markets strategist at Bluebay Asset Management, there will be no quick fix for Russia because sanctions are set to stay and no one will want to do business there.
“Putin has crossed the rubicon with his actions in Ukraine,” he said. “Russia will be in default for perhaps a decade. That means no access to international capital markets, very high costs of borrowing even from the Chinese, no investment, no growth, low living standards. It’s a terrible outlook for Russia and Russians.”
View: https://twitter.com/carlquintanilla/status/1511507866477338636
wonder if this can be even close to accurate
M
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The best open source Intel guys on Twitter have nowhere near that many loses for Ukraine recorded so I’m not sure what that it based on at all.
However tanks seem to have a high attrition rate in general
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Ukraine’s 'iron general' is a hero, but he's no star
Meet Valeriy Zaluzhnyy, the commander in chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, who's quietly leading the fight against Russia's invaders.
www.politico.com
Hitler: Leave immediately and surrender your belongings to us, or get the camp.
Beard: This makes sense.
would be interesting to know the percentages after the first few days vs today
is it possible that the initial airport bombings destroyed most of the choppers, aeroplanes, and defense systems?
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