It feels a bit like we need to wheel that Bors comic out again.
Russian invasion of Ukraine | Fewer tweets, more discussion
- Thread starter Wednesday at Stoke
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Also fascinating to ponder is whether some of these are saboteur attacks by Russians working in concert with Ukraine. Not this attack mind, but those deeper inside Russia.
Me too, but I’d also like to recommend these Twitter accounts for updates:
Kyivindependent
Rob Lee (@RALee85)
Illia Ponomarenko
Canadian Ukrainian Voulenteer
I’m sure there’s loads more good ones out there.
At the very least you’d think they needed boots on the ground somehow. Even in the Iraq war, with a hugely more advanced military the US and UK had to use special forces behind enemy lines to pinpoint coordinates of targets. I don’t know how much that has changed with drone warfare though. Perhaps you can have a high altitude drone that does all that for you now. If it’s not saboteur attacks (and that’s definitely a feasible explanation) then I’d put money on there being US input into target identification.
I’ve only just got the 10 likes needed to post on this forum, but I remember reading when the Russian ship Moskva was sunk that a US drone was operating in that area and had turned off its location finder in the hour leading up to the hit.
*Sigh*
You got almost everything wrong about my post. So I try to get my point across better.
Firstly, I don't feel insulted. It's perfectly fine to call out the politicians who are hesitant to help Ukraine. Actually I am very opposed to most of them for years, albeit for other reasons (but their stance on the war in Ukraine fits them well...).
I think you are right about our strategic mistake and I appreciate that you seem to be understanding about that. And yes, Zelensky calling Germany out for it is understandable to everyone, albeit the discussion about Steinmeier's visit wasn't the right move.
But that article discussed wasn't about Zelensky, but about the Ukrainian ambassador in Germany, Andriy Melnyk (The title means "It's enough, Mr Melnyk"). And he is indeed a problem for Ukraine in my eyes. The issue with him is his total disregard of diplomacy. @TMDaines said "with friends likes these" and I would totally agree if Melnyk treated Germany like a friend. He doesn't. He constantly acts in a way like he can give orders to the German government and then publicly moans when his orders aren't fulfilled. So the way he acts basically denies Germany any sovereignty in the current situation, which is an interesting stance for an ambassador of a country that is forced to fight a war to keep its sovereignty.
This behaviour of him is totally over the top so he appears to be someone who is a maniac who would say everything just to get what he wants. He isn't the girl in a miniskirt calling for help, he is more the three year old child who throws a tantrum if he doesn't get what he wants. This is why it is easy to discredit Ukrainian claims about war crimes etc - they are made by an annoying brat, not by someone who is held in high regard and thought to be a reliable partner.
Obviously not everyone in Germany sees him this way, but those close to Russia definitely do and a lot more people are open to the points he makes, but are also highly critical of his behaviour and style. Some celebrate him for "calling out the corrupt politicians", but getting this kind of approval is right for a politician who wants to win elections against others (who he might happily call out in this way), but not for a diplomat who needs to convince those who aren't convinced yet.
It also doesn't help that he has some sympathy for Nazi collaborateur Stepan Bandera, essentially proving Russia's claim about Ukraine being a Nazi country, but this isn't a major factor right now (but has been some years ago when he visited Bandera's grave, so those close to the matter surely still have this present).
And I get that this is a very German problem, because Melnyk isn't relevant anywhere else, so that this discussion must seem weird to those of you who are simply blessed by Ukrainian ambassadors that aren't as annoying as he is.
To be clear, yes Germany is dragging everything out to long and the German performance in this whole affair is not up to the expectations of the world and most Germans alike.
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@oryxspionkoep and @kemal_115 to keep track of losses
@kamilkazani for cultural background threads about the Russians
@TrentTelenko usually tweets about logistics, especially the Russian issues
@MarkHertling as retired general giving some top-level insights/overview over the situation
@jmvasquez1974 (US volunteer fighting for Ukraine)
This list is one that I follow: https://twitter.com/i/lists/1378399759992512516
It's got a bunch of different users (including almost all of those mentioned) and was recommended by, I think, Bellingcat at the start of the war?
@TheStudyofWar for the most detailed updates on the situation map.
Or just use the website - https://www.understandingwar.org/
Or just use the website - https://www.understandingwar.org/
I dont get it mate. You said i missed the point bc you were talking about Melynk not zelensky but your openning statement that i quoted you equated the steinmeier no visit to the ambassadors and in this last message you said that zelensky did well on calling germany out and as well you recognize that germany is dragging its feet.
I find it contradictory.
On the subject that tge ukranian ambassador behavior abd zelensky calling out gives votes to russian fascist state friendly politician, and we have to fear that, there is a sentence of i dont remember who that said: you dont fear fascism, you fight it
You have to call out fascist friendly politicians and if those convince voters, it means that they are fascist inclined also, they are not converting anyone, they were colset fascists all along, because it would not occur to me because they would call out one if my politicians, that now i would support what russia is doing
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Well done Putin, you've been uniting the West even more.
https://apnews.com/article/russia-u...lloyd-austin-2a7cd301a33083e46490fe954039b550
I get it sounds contradictory, I apologize for it. The Steinmeier incident for me was just the tip of the iceberg of Ukrainian diplomatic failure in Germany, but 90% of that is Melnyk's fault. I didn't realize there wasn't a translation for the article that only talked about Melnyk, maybe that would have made things clear.
The point broken down is: Melnyk behaves like a fascist
He is representing Ukraine, so if you want to understand the situation like that you can claim this to be a war between two fascist states, we would have to fight both or neither based on that sentiment.
Zelensky made a dumb move by not wanting Steinmeier to visit, but I don't think he is anyway near as toxic as Melnyk to the Ukrainian cause, on the contrary. Without the scorched earth Melnyk created it could maybe even have been a powerful statement. The way it was, it just became part of Ukrainian diplomatic failure - which isn't Zelensky's fault, it was ill-advised but understandable I guess.
On the road to dictatorship???
Melnyk's job is to make Germany do what Ukraine wants. Antagonizing Germany/German politicans accomplishes the opposite. So while it's absolutely right to critize Scholz's hesitancy on almost everything, Melnyk is doing it the wrong way. He's failing his job.
The Steinmeier visit is a case in point. He had already admitted that his policy towards Russia was a mistake, they could have used that admission to ask for something. Instead they used Steinmeier's visit to open up a side show that doesn't benefit Ukraine at all, but actually fuels pro Russian narratives. It's shambolic.
The Steinmeier visit is a case in point. He had already admitted that his policy towards Russia was a mistake, they could have used that admission to ask for something. Instead they used Steinmeier's visit to open up a side show that doesn't benefit Ukraine at all, but actually fuels pro Russian narratives. It's shambolic.
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Looking forward to the remake of The Americans: The Russians.The wig ffs
I can’t post this but I wish someone could. There’s a guy called Francis Scarr on twitter who has posted a release from the Russians with what is purportedly a Ukrainian neo-nazi “starter pack”, replete with swastika. The reason it’s so ridiculous is that within the starter pack there are 3 copies of the computer game Sims 3. So it seems as though there’s been a breakdown in communication within the FSB where they’ve been asked to include in their photo 3 Sims (as in SIM cards) and have ended up with Sims 3! It beggars belief.
Previous page, mate
Ehm... On the road to dictatorship? When was this written? 1999?
It is Biden's job to make Germany do what they have to do. It is the Ukrainians' job to show that Germans are still helping Putin.
Too many Germans were making money with Putin, you don't expect them to give it up without applying force on them. I think the best would be to get some lists with who was getting how much money from Putin, I am sure there will be some surprises in there.
The big problem with Germany today is that many politicians were corrupted by Russian money.
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Dammit! But thanks!Previous page, mate
On which note, Gerhard Schroeder can feck right off. Not that he’s the only one, no doubt.
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Is it ever possible that the single German who made money from Russia was a former Prime Minister? No, it is impossible. First you corrupt lower level politicians. And most of those corrupt politicians that are being paid from Russia are still active today.
That's the reason that today, Germany is giving more money to Russia than to Ukraine, two months after the start of the war.
I am still giggling about this.
Its been suggested those attacks needed US approval, which has only recently been forthcoming.
Correction: the biggest risk in the event of a civil war in Russia would be who possesses and control their nuclear weapons.
It so much beggars belief that I'm inclined to believe there is active sabotage taking place within the FSB from those who realise that Putin's invasion is a total disaster.
Not officially confirmed but apparently the sources are credible. Not like Russia was really going to do something anyway.
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Are these tanks abandoned? They just sit there without moving or firing back.
Yep.
I don’t disagree that there will be people in all echelons of the Russian state who are well aware of that. I’m more dubious that they’d act on it. Going against Putin must be as close as you can get to Stalinist purges right now.
How does Grozev define "collapse"?
I'd be wary of NEXTA by the way, they've been unreliable. I've avoided them lately and try to get as many official/authoritative sources as possible.
Yeah, but acting stupid - as in deliberately misreading instructions in a way that's believable if you were actually stupid - is a form of passive-aggressive sabotage that might just be a fine-line that's deemed safe enough to tread. Who knows.
Grozev is listed as "Tier 1" on the Reddit hierarchy of reliable Ukraine tweeters
Grozev is reliable. I'm more wary of NEXTA overdramatizing what Grozev actually says.