Russia and Ukraine

[Leonardo17]

BrianSoddingBoru4:
 
- This isn’t the late 19th early 20th century anymore. “Empires” have all disintegrated. India and Pakistan left the British Empire in 1947. Between 1954 and 1962 France did everything it could to stick to just one piece of its colonial empire and it lost. In 1954 France lost its presence in what used to be known as “Indochina”. The US wanted to prevent the North Vietnamese Russia and China backed communist from taking power in the region. But this effort was also proven to be in vain. If anything was left of the colonialist empires ideology it ended in 1975 with the fall of Saigon. Even the Soviet incursion into Afghanistan was perceived as a form of imperialism of some sort and led to serious resistance from all parts of the Afghan population.
 
   So those days are gone. In fact Russia is lucky to have all of eastern Russia that are basically empty lands that were colonized by Russia starting from the 18th century.
 
   Russia has enough oil and gas to keep its economy running even if it produces nothing else. There is nothing for them in Ukraine.
 
   Back to 1962: The French President then has declared that “Frances power now lies within its borders”.
That is: It doesn’t really matter to militarily control a region anymore. Today China is building ports and other infrastructures in the regions it wishes to colonize. Then it sends its companies to exploit mineral or other resources to increase its presence in those regions. (And it uses countries like North Korea and Russia to distract Western powers in its bid to take back regions like Taiwan for instance)  
 
   Without Vladimir Putin, Russia was on a very good path. Yes there was the Mafia and there was a very corrupts state. But they had secured energy deals with Europe. Many companies from my country went to invest in Russia because there were many good business opportunities. Russia had become had become an important economic pole on its own. That’s why D. Trump wants to end the war and take back everything to where it was before 2014.
 
   Since February 2022 some 650,000 Russians have just left the country. Many people say hat Putin needs this war just to stay in power. And there is also the Russian media or state propaganda. It forces Russians to live in this alternate version of reality or face the consequences. And this is pure madness.
 
   I’ve just finished a book from Neil deGrasse Tyson in which he talks about an utopic society called “rationalia”. In Rationalia “all policies should be based on the weight of evidence”.

   https://neildegrassetyson.com/commentary...ationalia/

    Putin’s regime is the opposite of rationalia: Everyone has to believe whatever is the opposite of observation, rational thinking and common sense.
 
    So it’s the empire of the irrational and in my book that is pure madness
 
Meanwhile, Ukrainians are now using training aircrafts (YAK-52’s) from the 1980’s from which they are shooting Russian drones with ordinary shotguns and rifles:
 
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/ukra...01194.html
 
In terms of military history this is set to be one of the conflicts that reshaped the methods and tactics of modern warfare.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

BrianSoddingBoru4:
 
- This isn’t the late 19th early 20th century anymore. “Empires” have all disintegrated. India and Pakistan left the British Empire in 1947. Between 1954 and 1962 France did everything it could to stick to just one piece of its colonial empire and it lost. In 1954 France lost its presence in what used to be known as “Indochina”. The US wanted to prevent the North Vietnamese Russia and China backed communist from taking power in the region. But this effort was also proven to be in vain. If anything was left of the colonialist empires ideology it ended in 1975 with the fall of Saigon. Even the Soviet incursion into Afghanistan was perceived as a form of imperialism of some sort and led to serious resistance from all parts of the Afghan population.
 
   So those days are gone. In fact Russia is lucky to have all of eastern Russia that are basically empty lands that were colonized by Russia starting from the 18th century.
 
   Russia has enough oil and gas to keep its economy running even if it produces nothing else. There is nothing for them in Ukraine.
 
   Back to 1962: The French President then has declared that “Frances power now lies within its borders”.
That is: It doesn’t really matter to militarily control a region anymore. Today China is building ports and other infrastructures in the regions it wishes to colonize. Then it sends its companies to exploit mineral or other resources to increase its presence in those regions. (And it uses countries like North Korea and Russia to distract Western powers in its bid to take back regions like Taiwan for instance)  
 
   Without Vladimir Putin, Russia was on a very good path. Yes there was the Mafia and there was a very corrupts state. But they had secured energy deals with Europe. Many companies from my country went to invest in Russia because there were many good business opportunities. Russia had become had become an important economic pole on its own. That’s why D. Trump wants to end the war and take back everything to where it was before 2014.
 
   Since February 2022 some 650,000 Russians have just left the country. Many people say hat Putin needs this war just to stay in power. And there is also the Russian media or state propaganda. It forces Russians to live in this alternate version of reality or face the consequences. And this is pure madness.
 
   I’ve just finished a book from Neil deGrasse Tyson in which he talks about an utopic society called “rationalia”. In Rationalia “all policies should be based on the weight of evidence”.

   https://neildegrassetyson.com/commentary...ationalia/

    Putin’s regime is the opposite of rationalia: Everyone has to believe whatever is the opposite of observation, rational thinking and common sense.
 
    So it’s the empire of the irrational and in my book that is pure madness
 
Meanwhile, Ukrainians are now using training aircrafts (YAK-52’s) from the 1980’s from which they are shooting Russian drones with ordinary shotguns and rifles:
 
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/ukra...01194.html
 
In terms of military history this is set to be one of the conflicts that reshaped the methods and tactics of modern warfare.

If you think empires are a thing of the past, you’re very much mistaken. Even if you weren’t, it wouldn’t alter the fact that Putin thinks of himself as an empire builder.

Boru

[The Grand Nudger]

The russian people were told it was going to be a smash and grab they'd personally benefit from. It's not irrational, they just failed is all.

[Fake Messiah]

Russian media says NATO already fighting in Ukraine as hospitals 'full of French'

Pro-Kremlin outlets have alleged that some troops from the West have already begun to fight in Ukraine, suggesting that NATO has already gotten involved in the conflict. However, these claims have been dismissed by Ukraine, as it continues to fight back against horrific Russian aggression.

According to local media, hospitals in Kharkiv – Ukraine 's second largest city, located close to the Russian border – have been "full of French people". The claims came from sources from within the Kremlin, who have also noted other European nationalities fighting alongside Ukrainians.

Former military officer Stanislav Krapivnik told Russian newspaper MK that not only French nationals have been spotted, but also Germans and people from the Scandinavian countries. He also alleged that local hospitals are hiring specialists from abroad to specifically treat those from other countries.

Krapivnik added that he believed that NATO is currently helping Ukraine take on Russian soldiers as the war between the two nations continues to grind on. He went on to say that many of the soldiers NATO is claiming to give Ukraine are reserves, but behind the scenes NATO is getting ready for an all-out war against Russia.

Writing on his Telegram channel, he wrote that the French soldiers fighting on the frontline are the worst hit by Russian attacks, followed by the Scandinavians. Other contingents are also seemingly accounted for, including American, British and Czech soldiers.

He fumed: "There are many NATO doctors serving in hospitals. The task is to stabilize the Nazis and send them to the West by train."

Moscow continues to maintain that Ukraine and the West are full of Nazi ideology that Russia is attempting to defeat through its war in Ukraine. NATO has officially ruled out putting troops on the ground to help Kyiv in its war, but many NATO nations are helping to supply weapons for Ukraine to defend itself.

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-n...y-35821635

[Thumpalumpacus]

I'd love for NATO to go balls-deep and root this weed out, but no, this is Russian bullshit, unfortunately. They'd best hope NATO never gets involved.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

I'd love for NATO to go balls-deep and root this weed out, but no, this is Russian bullshit, unfortunately. They'd best hope NATO never gets involved.

I've no doubt that there are some individuals from NATO countries fighting in Ukraine, but - sorry, Russia! - that's not the same thing as NATO fighting in Ukraine. As for hospitals being 'full of French', well that's just plain dumb and stupid.

I agree that it would be disastrous for Russia if NATO ever got involved. Russia has spent three and a half years and countless lives and treasure  trying to take over just Ukraine. Imagine them having to deal with the combined might of the 32 NATO countries.

Boru

[Paleophyte]

I'd love for NATO to go balls-deep and root this weed out, but no, this is Russian bullshit, unfortunately. They'd best hope NATO never gets involved.

I've no doubt that there are some individuals from NATO countries fighting in Ukraine, but - sorry, Russia! - that's not the same thing as NATO fighting in Ukraine. As for hospitals being 'full of French', well that's just plain dumb and stupid.

I agree that it would be disastrous for Russia if NATO ever got involved. Russia has spent three and a half years and countless lives and treasure  trying to take over just Ukraine. Imagine them having to deal with the combined might of the 32 NATO countries.

Boru

If there were any NATO troops in Ukraine the message from NATO would be 'Here we are. I double dog dare you to even think nasty thoughts too loudly.'

[Fake Messiah]

Bald Russian midget attacks Poland and then denies it.

Poland downs drones, the first NATO member to open fire during Ukraine war

Poland shot down drones in its airspace on Wednesday with the backing of military aircraft from its NATO allies, the first time a member of the Western military alliance is known to have fired shots during Russia's war in Ukraine.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament it was "the closest we have been to open conflict since World War Two", although he also said he had "no reason to believe we're on the brink of war".

Moscow denied responsibility for the incident, with a senior diplomat in Poland saying the drones had come from the direction of Ukraine.

European leaders, who have lately been trying to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to join them in tightening sanctions on Russia and boosting support for Kyiv, said it justified a collective response. There was no immediate response from Washington.

Poland said 19 objects had entered its airspace during a large Russian air attack on Ukraine, and that it had shot down those that posed a threat. Tusk called the incident a "large-scale provocation" and said he had activated Article Four of NATO's treaty, under which alliance members can demand consultations with their allies.

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospa...025-09-10/

[The Grand Nudger]

Having solved their food crisis by declaring a moratorium on farm bankruptcy, russia now turns to it's attention to their ailing metallurgical industry. Perhaps a moratorium on bankruptcies there would do the trick as well.

https://www.moscowtimes.ru/2025/09/10/vl...ov-a174065

[The Grand Nudger]

Fast turnaround. Russia is officially in a recession according to the heavily finessed numbers they release, and the central bank just lowered the interest rates.