Two Years of This · 2:46pm February 25th
On February 24, 2022, eight years after they launched a limited invasion and occupation of border regions, the regime of Russia attacked Ukraine from multiple sides with the intent of fully conquering the nation, thence to dismember choice territories and install a puppet regime over whatever remained. Their justifications - imperial revaunchism, nationalist lies, and contempt for what they view as an inferior people - are familiar to those educated on Nazi Germany. As is their actions on conquered territory - forced deportations (an estimated two million, including deliberate separation of children from families), massed executions, and efforts to delete Ukrainian language and culture. In short, genocide.
Russia was repulsed in its efforts to inflict these on the entire nation, however early enthusiasm that their war would collapse proved ill-founded. Territorial change in the last year has been minimal for both sides. Both sides are growing wiser, but weaker. Russia pays in gold for overpriced Iranian drones and ancient NK shells, while Ukraine's calls for aid are sabotaged by pro-fascist politicians and the indifference of alleged friends.
There is no easy way out. I see no reason to expect either could launch some decisive blow in the coming year. Generic calls for them to 'negotiate' ignore the reality that Russia has broken all deals and will do so again. Ukraine knows this.
It will go on. See you next year.
I again call on people to write and call their politicians to support Ukraine in its defense against its would-be colonizer. And for those with means, to donate to worthy causes to alleviate suffering of the Ukrainian people. Thank you.
This is the kind of conflict that the TF2 Sniper was talking about when he mentioned how lucrative his job as an assassin is. Russia's not going to stop trying to take over the world until the logistics kill them (actual success is several layers of impossible, fortunately).
I hope that people will get to the bottom of whatever is behind all that war.
Conquering is bound to fail because the world is more connected than ever. There are tons of bronies on both sides of the border for one, and there are more countries doing their best to support justice and such about this issue.
And aside from that, there's another war going on. The world is such a mess these days... Like, what do they even want?
The reasons for this conflict can be attributed to the group of senior imperialists who developed long ago a plan of annexation of neighboring slavic territories and tried to see through its accomplishment despite the realities of the ever-changing world. Another decade will pass, Ukraine will be free, and those men with their dreams of power, limitless resources that they use for pursuing their ill agenda, and their fears, and pride, and prejudice, will finally be left on the pages of history like a morose, dark stain of an afterthought. They bleed the nations and try to take as many people in the ground with them as they can, but they will never stop the progress and brighter future. The period of peace will come yet. It always does.
I still have hope that China will intervene as a mediator and achieve the negotiation of a peace between both nations, because if China could manage peace between Arabia and Iran, I think it can also achieve an armistice between Russia and Ukraine. But then, as you say, Russia can break any reached agreement at any time, and Ukraine knows it. It seems like this is going to be one of those wars that lasts for years and years and ends only when the two sides, bogged down, can no longer take it anymore. This is awful. 😩
Ukraine went through a lot to gain independence i don't blame the Ukrainians for joining the Waffen ss the way Stalin treated them and starvation in Ukraine was the straw that broke the camel back
5769877
Unfortunately, experience on this site has been a firm lesson that being 'bronies' is no measure of morality or compassion. Plenty of Russians here are going 'yep we're killing the hohols and that's good because they should belong to us.' Aragon put it very well in one of his comics:
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5769875
It is a bitter comfort to Ukrainians, but in terms of long-term effects Russia has already lost the war. The reputation of their military is in shambles, which will affect arms sales and soft power. 400k young men are dead and twice that have left the country, exacerbating a population already in demographic free-fall. Their small orbit of control is shrinking as Kazakhstan asserts itself and Armenia showcased their promise of protection for small allies was a lie. Their one claim to military excellence - massive Cold War stockpiles - is being depleted, reducing their threat to others. It will take them a generation or more to recover militarily from this long, slow disaster.
5769879
I really hope so.
5769894
That's exactly what I mean. Even if Ukraine falls, the Russians will never have a fraction of what they actually want (which is to do to the rest of the world what they are currently trying to do to Ukraine).
5769891
About half of the German collaborators across the entire Soviet Union were ethnic Russians. Meanwhile, about 7 million Ukrainians served in the Red Army in that time.
The "Ukrainians are Nazis" trope is a desperate lie only repeated by idiots.
It's unbelievable that the entire world that claims to support Ukraine can't ramp up 155mm production enough to outfire russia. Getting back to shell parity or 2:1 would negate most of their advantage. I'm really not sure if Russia can keep their current offensive pace for too long for attrition of equipment if nothing else. I'm hoping that they're going all out before the November election to try and show Biden's support was ineffective but the nature of a war economy is that it's impossible to judge how strong it is because it will appear to work perfectly until the second it doesn't.
Amen. It's good that you keep reminding people of this.
5769900
Two god damn years later we've learned the sympathy was nine parts talk to one part aid. I hope there's some big-brain plan in place between Kyiv and Washington, because it really seems like the latter has no actual interest or urgency whatsoever.
Ultimately it might fall to the US to make it clear Russia can't do this crap, but it's simply a question of whose administration wants to be remembered for starting World War III, as Putin will declare it if he's still in power when it finally happens.
I've written my senator an angry letter before that I know he both read and ignored, but I'll try writing him again. It's too bad he has no spine, but the least Ukraine deserves is to try...
5769892
I think what Turbotune is saying is that art and ICT combined unite us, make us appreciate cultures other than our own, and this makes wars even more unpopular. The more things we like about each other, the better. Not that this is a perfect antidote to conflict, but it can help.
5769875
Just to clarify, you are saying "fortunately, Russian victory is almost impossible", right? I'm asking because I don't get why you've received so many downvotes.
5769987
Yes, but I deliberately omitted the "almost" because their goal is fundamentally untenable on a scale that warrants the omission. Every time someone tries to take over the world, it ends up collapsing under the weight of bureaucracy involved with actually running the world.
5770009
Oh!, understood. I think you are right. A pattern that can be seen in the history of all empires is that colonies are a burden. Let's hope Putin realizes this soon and retreats, instead of waiting until the war comes to a stalemate or one of the two sides makes a radical move.
5769892
Heard that.
But when we negotiate (my country has been trying to push the way to peaceful negotiation for quite some time) we all start with common ground.
I'm just saying that the more common we have the more likely it is to find peace. And there's the fact that we can hear voices from different sides through this community because there are factions all over the world. (and those two were once one country
And there are other war businesses as well. Aside from Ukraine and Russia, there are also Israel, Palestine, Iraq and stuff.
I'm just trying to figure it all out before passing any judgements.
5770016
I have no common ground with Fascist invaders, sorry.
I'm not going to stop contacting my representative and senators.
5769882
Eventually the war will end in negotiation, but I don't see China making a miracle breakthrough. There are massive, incompatible obstacles in the path. Namely:
-Russia has 'annexed' territory they do not occupy, and for them to concede these losses technically means yielding parts of "Russia."
-Russia wants a future invasion to conquer more of Ukraine and will demand Ukrainian neutrality and disarmament. Ukraine is fully in the opposite direction, knowing that past 'guarantees' were worthless and needing foreign alliance for existential defense.
-Russia actually occupies Ukrainian territory and has engaged in broad ethnic cleansing and kidnapping of children, hardening Ukrainians against a 'white peace'. The Ukrainian government is a democracy ultimately answerable to the will of its people, who poll consistently and decisively to continue the fight.
China is, bluntly, trusted by neither. Turkey is a much more likely candidate having extended favors to both while China has acted with relentless self-interested cynicism. The Iran/Saudi deal is much different - no concessions or change in behavior, just all three sitting around the table for a nice photo. I can't imagine China being a credible broker able to resolve the above walls to engineer a lasting peace under present circumstances.
5770982
Damn... After the first months of the invasion, I was almost sure that the war would end within a few months with the victory of Ukraine, seeing the very optimistic outlook that the media described, believing that they had no reason to lie about something like that ("their goal is to publish interesting news, and both Ukrainian and Russian victories are interesting news," I thought), but the reality has ended up being very different. If in two years of massacres the West has not intervened to defend Ukraine with its own troops, I don't see why it would do so in the near future. And if some third party does not intervene, whether to defend Ukraine militarily or to mediate a negotiation, I do not know how else this conflict can end in the short term (that's the point now, right? Not who will win the war, but when it will end; the sooner, the better). Well, time will tell what happens next.
What is there to negotiate? Russia buggers off from Ukraine, stops threatening its neighbors and respects borders. The end. It's clear as day that they want the Baltics next, then Poland, Finland (my homeland), rebuilding the Russian empire. Sorry to say to Putin and his ilk, but we Finns for one have not forgotten, nor forgiven, the Winter War.
This whole renewed aggression by Putin is why his purported threat of NATO expansion came to pass; Finland is now in NATO, Sweden after some 200 years of neutrality is now NATO, and Ukraine once it's been liberated will be NATO.
5771104
Yeah, that's a real good example of how Russia is losing the war, even if that doesn't mean Ukraine is 'winning.'