Ukraine reacts to fears of Russian invasion as troops build up at the border

[Ralin]

Russia can, and likely will, mobilize reservists to fight the fires if they get severe enough and the usual units tasked with that can't deal with them.

Or convicts, like we do in the US. Or even civilian volunteers.

[wautd]

Apart from advocating genocide during prime time, pundits on Russian State news are now talking about WW3 and a nuclear apocalypse. But hey, it would actually be a good thing, and anyone dying for the Motherland go to heaven.

Is it me or has Putin's regime become a full blown neo-nazi death cult?

[Solauren]

Seriously Solauren, how are you picturing this accomplishing anything?

I'm not.

However, I can easily believe someone in Russia thinking it could, and trying it.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Russia can, and likely will, mobilize reservists to fight the fires if they get severe enough and the usual units tasked with that can't deal with them.

Or convicts, like we do in the US. Or even civilian volunteers.

Well with the new criminalising anyone who disagrees with Putin I can see why Russia would send people they don't like to risk their lives like that, assuming they're motivated to help those efforts instead of sabotaging them.

[Ralin]

Apart from advocating genocide during prime time, pundits on Russian State news are now talking about WW3 and a nuclear apocalypse. But hey, it would actually be a good thing, and anyone dying for the Motherland go to heaven.

Is it me or has Putin's regime become a full blown neo-nazi death cult?

They're just trying to offer reassurance. After all, we all die someday.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Apart from advocating genocide during prime time, pundits on Russian State news are now talking about WW3 and a nuclear apocalypse. But hey, it would actually be a good thing, and anyone dying for the Motherland go to heaven.

Is it me or has Putin's regime become a full blown neo-nazi death cult?

They're just trying to offer reassurance. After all, we all die someday.

Just not today!

[Tribble]

Apart from advocating genocide during prime time, pundits on Russian State news are now talking about WW3 and a nuclear apocalypse. But hey, it would actually be a good thing, and anyone dying for the Motherland go to heaven.

Is it me or has Putin's regime become a full blown neo-nazi death cult?

They're just trying to offer reassurance. After all, we all die someday.

Just not today!

Kinda makes sense.

Putin is nearing the end of his life, and it’s quite possible that at this stage he is increasingly comfortable with the idea of burning the world on his way out.

It may ultimately boil down to what the rest of his cronies think.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

They're just trying to offer reassurance. After all, we all die someday.

Just not today!

Kinda makes sense.

Putin is nearing the end of his life, and it’s quite possible that at this stage he is increasingly comfortable with the idea of burning the world on his way out.

It may ultimately boil down to what the rest of his cronies think.

There's been plenty of speculation that he's secretly dying but unless he drops dead in front of the world's media it won't make much difference.

[Lord Revan]

Well Putin's a young man anymore though granted he's not that old either.

That said Putin does strike me the kind of person who might try to hide any health issues he has from even those close to him and thus not get those treated until it's too late.

Should Putin die whether it's a good thing or a bad thing depends heavily on who will be the leader of Russia after him. Though I suspect that his cronies are not willing to go along turning the world into Putin's funeral pyre (as far as I know they're working with Putin less due to religious fevor and more due to personal gain and intentionally destroying the world isn't really in accordance to anyone's gain).

[wautd]

Putin's vile and criminal regime, dead bent in showing the world that Russia is a pariah that doesn't care about international law, bombs an apartment building in Kyiv, close where the UN secretary general is residing during his visit.

link

[LadyTevar]

Russia is capturing, torturing, and kidnapping civilians, then leaving their wounds untreated. Clear violations of the Geneva Convention.

I am posting just the opening paragraphs. Read the rest at the link below.

Ukrainian Father's Terrifying Journey

Nikita Horban was sitting cross-legged on an old-fashioned steel hospital bed, running his fingers over the flat part of the bandage where his toes used to be.

He was still wearing the clothes the Russians sent him home in - a military green t-shirt and tracksuit bottoms. He looked pale and gaunt, older than 31.

"I have lost a lot of weight," he said, looking down. "I don't look good."

He shifted position on the bed. It had been about two weeks since he'd been able to stand, and he had to move his legs regularly to stop them aching. It was a bright spring day in Zaporizhzhia, in the south of Ukraine, but the Russians were running bombing raids in the region and the windows in the hospital were blacked out. The air on the ward was hot and stale.

Nikita had been handed back to Ukraine just three days earlier, as part of a prisoner exchange, and brought to this hospital with another man. They had spent three grim weeks in a prison in Russia. The other man, Serhiy Vasylyha, 28, was returned with both feet amputated. "He was not as lucky as me," Nikita said.
The prisoner swaps are being negotiated by Ukraine's deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, who confirmed that Nikita had been sent back from Russia. "There were badly injured people in this exchange - amputated limbs, sepsis, other severe injuries," Vereshchuk told me.

"There were clear signs of torture," she said. "The stories they told us are terrible."

[GrosseAdmiralFox]

... looks like Putin is really trying to turn Russia into the next Carthage... with all that it entails.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Putin on brink as Russian army 'may not survive in Donbas' amid struggling invasion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in his nightly address last night that Russia is attempting to "empty" the Donbas of people. He accused Putin's troops of carrying out "constant brutal bombardments" on buildings and residential areas in the eastern Ukrainian region. Likening the situation to Mariupol, Mr Zelensky said: "If the Russian invaders are able to realise their plans even partially, then they have enough artillery and aircraft to turn the entire Donbas into stones." Despite the firepower at Russia's disposal, the operation in the Donbas is by no means going to plan.

Russian troops are finding themselves getting stuck in the Ukrainian mud, so have been forced to travel in single-file convoys on paved roads, making them easy pickings for resistance forces.

Coupled with the dangerously low morale of Putin's troops, serious doubts are emerging as to whether the Russians can actually maintain the Donbas offensive.

Speaking on The Telegraph's 'Ukraine: The Latest' podcast, journalist Mutaz Ahmed said it is "becoming clear that Russia can't defend itself from a medium to small-sized country".

He said: "That's very embarrassing, and it adds to this sense that the Russian military is a paper tiger.

"In the first stage of the war, we saw that the Russian army had deep logistical problems, but there was this sense when they withdrew from the areas surrounding Kyiv that we would see, finally, this Russian might.

"This great lion that we've been imagining would come back."

Instead, the world is seeing first-hand the "very deep" problem in the Russian forces as they experience much of the same issues they experienced in Kyiv and the surrounding regions.

Citing Professor Phillips O'Brien, one of the UK's leading strategic thinkers, he said: "The Russian army may not be able to survive in Donbas.

"Soon they'll be reliant on conscripts, their morale is even lower there in Donbas than it was in the first stage of the war, because you're sending the same troops who have just suffered defeat.

"They've just had to conduct war crimes and you're sending them back into battle without much time to rest."

He added: "The Donbas question is still very open, and we're seeing a military incapable of conducting any sort of war or conquest.

"It's very embarrassing for Russia."

Dr Mike Martin, military expert and war studies visiting fellow at King's College London, offered an insight into the ground developments in Ukraine and what they could mean going forward.

He tweeted that the Russians have "fizzled" as the units pulled out of Kyiv were thrown straight back into Battle.

He said: "This is pretty hard and these new units would have been bruised and damaged from the Battle for Kyiv.

"The Russians really had one chance - to build these units up - to build up a reserve, and then try to do some bold manoeuvre - and surround the Ukrainians in the East.

"The reason that was their one chance is they didn't have anywhere near the 3:1 attackers to defenders ratio that you need, and so clever manoeuvring was the only option they had.

"The Russians needed to clout, not dribble. Unfortunately they dribbled."

Dr Martin suggested the Battle for Donbas will end within the next two to four weeks.

He said: "Basically, the Russians are gonna run out of troops, and the Ukrainians are going to counter attack."

The toll of 66 days of war has caught up with much of the world, demonstrated clearly by Pentagon spokesman John Kirby in a speech on Friday.

Mr Kirby said: "It's hard to look at what [Putin is] doing in Ukraine, what his forces are doing in Ukraine and think that any ethical, moral individual could justify that. It's difficult to look at the..."

Mr Kirby appeared to choke up and had to regain his composure before continuing.

He said: "'It's difficult to look at some of the images and imagine that any well-thinking, serious mature leader would do that.

"So I can't talk to his psychology. But I think we can all speak to his depravity."

And I thought the Russians would be used to Rasputitsa.

[Broomstick]

Is Gazprom insane or just stupid? Or are the banks over there that stupid?

Apparently, there has been an epidemic of murder-suicide among Gazprom executives and their families of late. Could be catching. Could also explain Insane Corporate Maneuvers.

Apart from advocating genocide during prime time, pundits on Russian State news are now talking about WW3 and a nuclear apocalypse. But hey, it would actually be a good thing, and anyone dying for the Motherland go to heaven.

Is it me or has Putin's regime become a full blown neo-nazi death cult?

My vote is that they're pushing through"Nazi" into just "death cult".

There's been plenty of speculation that he's secretly dying but unless he drops dead in front of the world's media it won't make much difference.

British media are reporting that Putin will soon undergo cancer surgery. Hmmm..... any surgery carries risks....

Risky indeed in a time and place with rampant rumors of engineered suicides and murders.

[wautd]

"So I can't talk to his psychology. But I think we can all speak to his depravity."

The other day I've binge-watched "How to become a tyrant" on Netflix. It was rather uncanny comparing it with Putin's rise to power the last 2 decades. You really see him become the dictator with absolute power. Using all the old tricks (controlling the media, self glorification, taking out opposition, seeking internal and external scapegoats/enemies, start a war now and then, etc...)

[wautd]

In other news, Lavrov claimed that Hitler was actually a Jew, the Bucha massacres was put in scene by Ukraine (despite all the evidence showing otherwise) and that Russia's objectives are peaceful, while Russian state media proudly proclaiming that their nuclear missiles can hit Berlin, London and Paris in 200 seconds or less

[bilateralrope]

while Russian state media proudly proclaiming that their nuclear missiles can hit Berlin, London and Paris in 200 seconds or less

Which, based on how well the rest of Russia's military has operated, makes me wonder if the nuclear missiles are operational.

I don't want things to escalate far enough to answer that question.

[Solauren]

while Russian state media proudly proclaiming that their nuclear missiles can hit Berlin, London and Paris in 200 seconds or less

Which, based on how well the rest of Russia's military has operated, makes me wonder if the nuclear missiles are operational.

I don't want things to escalate far enough to answer that question.

Going by the way the Russian military is functioning, I wouldn't be surprised if the launch doors jammed, the engines failed, but the warheads armed and started to count down anyway.....

[Zaune]

Hah. Remind me again why it's vitally important to remain a member of NATO, and everyone is giving our Green party shit for suggesting they'll campaign to withdraw from it as soon as the war is over? I mean, a trans-Atlantic defensive alliance against this utter shitshow is a bit of a solution looking for a problem, even if one ignores the fact that up until recently there was a legitimate possibility of the Americans joining in on Putin's side.

[Ralin]

even if one ignores the fact that up until recently there was a legitimate possibility of the Americans joining in on Putin's side.

Say what?

[Crazedwraith]

even if one ignores the fact that up until recently there was a legitimate possibility of the Americans joining in on Putin's side.

Say what?

I assume they mean under Trump but I don't think he'd have done more than turn a blind eye to russia's activities.

[Tribble]

Hah. Remind me again why it's vitally important to remain a member of NATO, and everyone is giving our Green party shit for suggesting they'll campaign to withdraw from it as soon as the war is over? I mean, a trans-Atlantic defensive alliance against this utter shitshow is a bit of a solution looking for a problem, even if one ignores the fact that up until recently there was a legitimate possibility of the Americans joining in on Putin's side.

Well in Canada’s case, should anyone actually challenge us and try to take take territory we neither have the means nor (more importantly) the will to resist. Suppose down the road the Northwest passage really opens up to shipping, and some countries feel like taking over some of our northern sparsely occupied islands to use as bases. Or a lot of resources are discovered up there and become easier to exploit. One could argue - why not? We’re not using them and are not willing to defend them ourselves. By definition then, should it really count as Canadian territory? Without American help and desire to keep other countries out of North America, we’d be screwed.

Let’s be honest - NATO / NORAD is basically getting the Americans to defend our territory for us, for the fraction of the cost it would take for us to defend it ourselves. The Greens and NDP believe that all Canada needs to do is completely disarm, withdraw from all alliances, try holding hands with the rest of the world singing Kumbaya and everything will be wonderful … which as recent events have shown, isn’t very realistic.

[Zaune]

I assume they mean under Trump but I don't think he'd have done more than turn a blind eye to russia's activities.

Correct. And you might well be right, but I don't think we could have ruled it out. Especially in light of the fact the Ukrainian government told him to go pound sand when he asked them to help defame Biden's son. And even if Trump wasn't quite willing to go to war to get revenge for a personal slight... Well, at the risk of going off on a bit of a tangent, that leads into the main reason I'm questioning the continued utility of NATO...

Let’s be honest - NATO / NORAD is basically getting the Americans to defend our territory for us, for the fraction of the cost it would take for us to defend it ourselves.

Who have you got in mind for helping you defend yourselves against the Americans? They're about the only credible threat left at this point, and this only stays a hypothetical question if the Republicans don't manage to put someone even worse in the White House next time.

[Crazedwraith]

I assume they mean under Trump but I don't think he'd have done more than turn a blind eye to russia's activities.

Correct. And you might well be right, but I don't think we could have ruled it out. Especially in light of the fact the Ukrainian government told him to go pound sand when he asked them to help defame Biden's son. And even if Trump wasn't quite willing to go to war to get revenge for a personal slight... Well, at the risk of going off on a bit of a tangent, that leads into the main reason I'm questioning the continued utility of NATO...

The continued utility of NATO is why Ukraine got invaded rather than let it become NATO, it's why Ukraine got invaded and not say Poland or any other NATO country. I'm not seeing this situation as undermining the need for NATO at all.

Ukraine is holding them off and massive cost to themselves in military and civilian personnel, that's not the ideal situation for them.

[Zaune]

The continued utility of NATO is why Ukraine got invaded rather than let it become NATO, it's why Ukraine got invaded and not say Poland or any other NATO country. I'm not seeing this situation as undermining the need for NATO at all.

Ukraine is holding them off and massive cost to themselves in military and civilian personnel, that's not the ideal situation for them.

Yeah, that's fair. I'm not saying I'm against the idea of a multi-national collective defence treaty in general, just that I think the one we currently have is no longer fit for purpose and needs to be either heavily revised or completely replaced.