Russian invasion of Ukraine thread.

I'll post what's happening as it comes through for purposes of posterity. Doubt the veracity of what is posted here. Having lived through the Iraq war, I am sure that the vast majority of what gets reported will turn out to be either misinformation or outright ********. Posting because a lot of non-Australia members will be asleep, now. I'll report as much as I can.

So far the g****vine is:

Russia has indeed embarked on a full scale invasion of Ukraine. Air attacks, and ground forces. There has been at least one missile strike, there have been front-line Ukranian casualities ( have seen video, cannot post it here, too graphic).

Footage of an airstrike hitting Lutsk:

https://twitter.com/Conflicts/status/1496721271907889155?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1496721271907889155%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpatriots.win%2Fnew


Belarus has thrown in with Russia/is issuing support.
Reports of Ukrainian air defence having shot down multiple Russian planes, either drones or fighters. 


Some other info:

* Edited at 02.24.2022, 1:29 AM ET *

Putin is not in cognitive decline. That is more propaganda which again, as a stupid American, you have predictably fallen for.

The leader in cognitive decline is  Joe Biden.

New rule: I am no longer engaging with stupid Americans.

****, thats most of Tapology. Gonna be you and Mikey talking about Boxing lol

Good point on Putin's term. I just looked up his dates - I didn't realize that he assumed power right at the Turn of the Millennium. Twenty-two years as a chief autocrat does not make for a balanced perspective.

Panic starting to set in. People trying to flee.

https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1498756866310086656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1498756866310086656%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpatriots.win%2Frising

@Stu. Correct. You look at these leaders that are in office for that long and they start to have all kinds of irrational.

Muammar Gaddafi,

Saddam Hussein

Robert Mugabe


They believe they are god, will never be taken out of power.


Also that guys not my neighbor! Hes my tenants neighbor. I just get to read and talk about him in the quarterly meetings. I spoke to him a few times. Looks like a normal guy, school teacher, very articulate and well spoken. But then the bat**** crazy comes out and he starts trying to get you to believe the 5G radiation waves are killing him.

* Edited at 03.01.2022, 5:08 PM ET *

The paranoia starts to creep in

Reminder: Don't use Robinhood.

Very true. Gaddafi was arguably a loose cannon from the beginning, but Mugabe is a great example. Mubarak as well. Oligarchs like these leave their countries stunted and broken. Tough to recover from a shattered civil society.

@Baldric Eggling

You'll still engage with a stupid Brit though right?

Of course. Brits have humility. A stupid Brit is willing to concede that they are in fact stupid, or at the very least, that they might not be in full possession of the facts. The stupid American is incapable of any degree of introspection whatsoever.

Thanks @Baldric Eggling! 

I may not have all the facts but I think that the Russian Rouble dropping by 30% isn't a big deal and won't have any real impact on the Russian economy. I also believe that Joe Biden is a very fine young man and the US will greatly benefit from his youthful energy. I could be wrong though. 

America summed up in a single meme:

you can make whatever memes you want, I'm not going to side with Vladimir Putin and his army, sorry bro. Innocent people are being shot at and shelled while you make memes attacking Americans because they don't agree with you. Truly got your priorities in order.

This war isn't going to fix Russias issues though. Mainly their ******* atrocious birth-rate, especially in comparison to the ridiculous birth-rate of muslim populations, and the lack of a plan for life after putin. The countries ****** if they win this war or not. If they lose it just ends quicker, while they may spin a victory as some great patriotic hurrah that will please the masses. But either way, by the end of the century i don't expect Russia to exist and if it does it won't be anywhere nearly as a threat. Plus their economy is in a position where i don't see it making a substantial recovery anytime soon. Russians aren't particularly a people who express beliefs through protest or dissent (a good example of one that does is the french as they march about everything and nothing) but every people has it's breaking point and there's three pillars of putins reign that make people accepting of him as despot. The first is the fact that he isn't completely incompetent. Like if they had Tsar Nicholas the second i'm sure they would've shot him by now but Putin especially compared to his predecessor Yeltsin is somewhat competent so the people are willing to ignore breaches in freedom if they live a nice life. The second is the hopelessness. Most russians have relegated themselves to not giving a **** about politics because they know Putin will always win due to corruption. however if a drastic movement comes against him more people will find it easy to throw themselves behind it and it can only grow. And the third is western resentment. A great example of such is China who's people are accepting of the CCP due to beliefs that the united states are out to get them and that Xi and his cronies are the only way to prevent that. Russias fearmongering of the west has long been disproven and it's probably the pillar that is the most ******. All three will crumble soon and the war in ukraine just decides how long russia will take to fall

Apologies for this massive take but i felt like i should express my views. Mostly **** views tbf, but still my views 

A couple more for the stupid American ignore pile.

@ Hadrian birth rates are in decline everywhere throughout the western world. Personally I think it's down to resource availability. Life is just generally more expensive now, and people are far more time-poor than they used to be. In order to maintain a certain standard of living, people are choosing to have less kids. Although sub-saharan Africa is kind of the antithesis of that theory, because they breed like Rabbits despite not having the resources to support large families. That's probably down to survival I suppose, if you have more kids, there is a greater possibility some will survive. 

Russias is especially ******. The country hasn't recovered from the second world war in demographics and the hopelessness greatly contributes as people are less willing to have children if they know the children will grow up in a ****** future. I also should've focused more on the muslim birth-rates. These are ******* massive right now and the likelihood is that when they establish themselves s a majority in some places they won't be content being dictated by Russian oligarchs. I'd expect future jihads or conflicts similar to the chechen war as the muslims outgrow the orthodox's. 
Preface: not Islamophobic, just an observation. 

I am Islamophobic. Islam is objectively the worst Religion currently in existence. It's a bit like diseases; they're all bad, but the flue isn't as bad as Ebola.

It's definitely a concern because the problem is the moderate Muslims never win. Wherever you find a majority Islamic population, you find the worst variations of the faith in total control, and you find shariah law. The benign Muslims always end up towing the line. The other issue is that Wahabists have all the money, and that is literally the worst version of Islam.

* Edited at 03.01.2022, 6:56 PM ET *

Baldric really trying to get himself banned ha. I have my own gripes, mainly the fact that i'd be thrown of a building or stoned to death if i lived in a gulf state, but most i've met have been pretty chill. 

I get what you've been saying with understanding Russias side tbf. It matches with my own beliefs that Russian interest in the east has a lot to do with putting as much distance between their enemies and moscow as possible. The threat of Ukraine joining NATO or the EU would be disastrous for Russia and Putin needed to act or risk being cornered. Still no true justification and he's a ****, but you can understand why he did it. 

It's just geopolitics. Russia is defending its interests. No different that to how the US does and has done, most notable the bay of pigs fiasco.

The stupid Americans on these boards act as though it isn't the fault of the US when it objectively is. They also act as though America hasn't invaded and meddled in the affairs of other Nations in the last 100 years  more than any other civilisation in History, and it has. Ukraine was part of Russia as little ago as the 90's. A large portion of the population is culturally Russian and wants to join Russia. America DID help install a puppet regime in Ukraine the same way they have done everywhere else.

I'm an atheist. I don't have to like Islam, I don't have to pretend it isn't cancer.

* Edited at 03.01.2022, 7:01 PM ET *