Russian Invasion of Ukraine

[Binger]

You're not the only western voter out there who has no understanding of people like Putin, Kim Jong Un, Ayatolla Khomeni, Mao Zadong. In fact I'm not sure western voters could understand people like this even if they wanted to. And yet, our political decisions have created results like this, where an Obama one liner in a debate that was completely false, served to help him win the election of 2012. I hate Mitt Romney, but I have a hard time believing that election wasn't the beginning of the end for the USA.

You hate all people who are good. You love evil people. Romney is a moron at times but he's genuinely a good person with good intentions. He lost that election because he went to a private dinner and told his millionaire donors that half of America doesn't want to better their lives, that they want government to give them everything, and that there is no way to win those people.

But you, K Graham, have no problem sticking up for the Ukranians and the Azov Regiment, right? You have no problem, whatsover, that our president and his son became millionaires taking money/bribes from Ukraine who was hosting a recognized Nazi battalion in their National Guard. This is a Nazi Battalion that was upgraded while Biden was VP, and he and his son were doing business with their oligarchs. That is not a problem for you, is it? Isn't it also true that the Nazi group was funded, at least in part, by one of these oligarchs?

[canpakes]

You hate all people who are good. You love evil people. Romney is a moron at times but he's genuinely a good person with good intentions. He lost that election because he went to a private dinner and told his millionaire donors that half of America doesn't want to better their lives, that they want government to give them everything, and that there is no way to win those people.

But you, K Graham, have no problem sticking up for the Ukranians and the Azov Regiment, right? You have no problem, whatsover, that our president and his son became millionaires taking money/bribes from Ukraine ...

The oft-repeated accusation of bribes for Biden is never substantiated with any references. You've got stronger allegations regarding Trump's dealings in Russia, from the days of his failed real-estate endeavor with the proposed Moscow Hotel, through the Gelendzhik Palace and with the lifting of sanctions during his presidency that benefited Oleg Deripaska, Glencore and VTB Bank - the latter which is claimed to have helped back Trump's loans from Deutsche Bank.

... who was hosting a recognized Nazi battalion in their National Guard.This is a Nazi Battalion that was upgraded while Biden was VP, and he and his son were doing business with their oligarchs. That is not a problem for you, is it? Isn't it also true that the Nazi group was funded, at least in part, by one of these oligarchs?

We can agree that folks claimed to be Nazis are likely bad, whether or not they're in the Батальйон Азов, or elsewhere. Are you sure that you want to excuse Putin's effort at taking over the entire country of Ukraine because of that?

How will you respond when Putin declares a Just War to rid Oregon, Idaho, or any number of states in the American South of alleged Nazis, by invading the US?

[MeDotOrg]

The Disinformation Campaign has already begun. Whataboutism in the form of Nazi regiments. Putin could land troops at the Air Force Academy to stop sexism and some people would nod sagely and say the invasion was feminism at its finest.

[Chap]

Putin says he is fighting a resurgence of Nazism. That's not true.

NBC 24 February

Putin's rationalization for invading Ukraine includes a claim that he is fighting neo-Nazism.

"It is not surprising that Ukrainian society was faced with the rise of far-right nationalism, which rapidly developed into aggressive Russophobia and neo-Nazism," Putin said Monday, suggesting that NATO countries are backing neo-Nazis.

While it's true that the Ukrainian National Guard is home to the Azov Battalion — a force populated by neo-Nazis — there is no evidence to suggest widespread support for such extreme-right nationalism in the government, military or electorate. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is Jewish; three of his family members were killed in the Holocaust.

In the most recent Ukrainian parliamentary elections in 2019, a coalition of ultranationalist right-wing parties failed to win even a single seat in the Rada, the country's 450-member legislature. And for several years, U.S. appropriations laws have included a provision banning spending in support of the Azov Battalion.

But in accusing Ukraine of pro-Nazi sentiment, Putin is playing to generations-old scars from World War II, when his country was allied with the U.S., Britain and other countries in defeating the Axis powers. According to the World War II museum in New Orleans, an estimated 24 million Russians died in that war.

[Moksha]

How will you respond when Putin declares a Just War to rid Oregon, Idaho, or any number of states in the American South of alleged pro-democracy forces, by invading the US?

I would wonder what deal Trump Enterprises had been promised.

[Chap]

Ukraine soldiers told Russian officer ‘go “F” yourself’ before they died on island
Thirteen border guards died in air and sea bombardment on Snake Island in Black Sea after refusing to surrender

Guardian 25 February

If all Ukrainian forces are resisting like this, it is no surprise that intelligence reports are telling us that Russian forces failed to attain the objectives they had planned to reach yesterday.

Ukrainian soldiers who died defending an island in the Black Sea from an air and sea bombardment reportedly told an officer on board a Russian navy warship to “go f**k yourself” when asked to surrender.

There were 13 border guards stationed on Snake Island, a roughly 16-hectare (40-acre) rocky island owned by Ukraine that sits about 186 miles (300km) west of Crimea, when Russian troops bombed the island on Thursday.

All 13 soldiers died after refusing to surrender, Ukrainian officials announced.

In his address after the first day of the invasion of his country, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced he would posthumously award all of the soldiers the Hero of Ukraine award.

“All border guards died heroically but did not give up,” Zelenskiy said.

Audio has emerged that is purported to have captured an exchange between Ukrainian border guards on Snake Island and an approaching Russian navy vessel, in which a Russian officer told the Ukrainian forces on the island to “lay down your weapons”.


“This is a military warship. This is a Russian military warship. I suggest you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and needless casualties. Otherwise, you will be bombed,” the Russian office was recorded as saying on a naval radio channel.

After a short period of silence in the recording, a Ukrainian officer reportedly responded: “Russian warship, go f**k yourself.”

The audio has been published by multiple media outlets including the Ukrainian online newspaper Ukrayinska Pravda, and was shared on social media by Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian interior ministry.

[Binger]

The Disinformation Campaign has already begun. Whataboutism in the form of Nazi regiments. Putin could land troops at the Air Force Academy to stop sexism and some people would nod sagely and say the invasion was feminism at its finest.

From and by who?

This is a very interesting take on things, MDO.

[Dr Exiled]

How will you respond when Putin declares a Just War to rid Oregon, Idaho, or any number of states in the American South of alleged Nazis, by invading the US?

Red Dawn baby! https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087985/?ref_=ttls_li_tt Time to kick some Russian ass.

[Chap]

Here is a link to the recorded conversation between the Russian warship and the officer commanding the Ukrainian border guards on Snake Island, who answered the invader's summons to surrender with the immortal words "Go f**k yourself".

https://youtu.be/6Y2iVHUMZhg

I am not much of a romantic about such matters, but it does remind me of the reply of the 300 Spartans barring the way to the huge invading Persian army at Thermopylae in 480 BC, where a small but determined force could block the narrow road between the mountains and the sea that led into the central Greek mainland.

Persians: "Lay down your arms."

Spartains: "Come and get them."

... at least that is the response recorded by the ancient historian Herodotus. I suspect, however that it might have been something just a little ruder. Anyway, they all died fighting, like the Ukrainian border guards, who also deserve a place in our memories.

[Res Ipsa]

I think this is likely to replace "nuts" as expression of "never surrender"