Russia's Invasion of Ukraine, aka "Putin's Special Operation"

[Natural_Born_Cynic]

@Yohan

These people are not active soldiers of any NATO member country. No Western government ordered them and pay them to fight in Ukraine.

But those Western foreigners did volunteered on their own accord. Some has NATO training and expertise and has been teaching Ukrainians how to fight in Western tactics. In addition, you may recall that tens of thousands of Ukrainians were trained in the UK and Germany in NATO style. So least some Ukrainian troops are familiar with NATO tactics. So I guess you can say that they are sort of the expendable part of "NATO troops" just with Ukrainian nationality.. nevertheless, they have failed to turn the tides of this war.

Outlived? It seems NATO is getting stronger with more members than ever before - Sweden and Finland are now full members, Moldovia, Georgia and Armenia are also considering to join EU and NATO....also Ukraine wants to become a NATO/EU member after this war to feel safer against Russia in future.

Yep It did. The original mission for NATO was to stop the spread of Soviet Influence and Warsaw pact in the Cold War. After the Soviet Dissolution,
NATO outlived it's original mission and started misusing/abusing their power to intervene in the Yugoslavia/Balkan conflict despite U.N's disapproval and lack of legality to intervene there. Instead of NATO disbanding and creating a new defensive pact or transitioning to something else, they keep on crossing the line, disregarding their original purpose as a defensive pact against the Soviets and keep on adding new countries into their group and kept on ignoring the Russian demand to not to expand NATO near there borders. If NATO is actually honest with itself, then it should have disbanded in the 1990's. Instead NATO is masquerading as a defensive pact while actually being used mainly by the Unites States and others as an instrument of their power expansion and containment of those so called "evil" Russkies from the East.

I think Have2fly have mentioned earlier. NATO countries are a defensive pact but they can act as their own accord. Well the United States is part of NATO and they can cause all sorts of turmoil and get NATO involved. How very convenient. That means the other NATO countries are essentially "Vassal States" of the United States. When the U.S used 9/11 as a false flag operation to get NATO involved and launch an full scale invasion to Iraq and Afghanistan and occupy it for 20 years. In addition, the U.S blew up Nordstream 2 connecting Germany to Russia, but Germany can't do anything about it and do what their American Yankee masters tells them to do like an obedient dog. So your are in NATO, then you are America's b*tch now.

Good, Armenia, Moldova, and the rump states of Ukraine after the war? More countries to be included in the list of American vassal states.

[Yohan]

@Yohan

Japan and South Korea also offer support for Ukraine, both were quickly put on the 'unfriendly countries list' by Putin.

Both countries shouldn't have supported the Ukrainistan sinkhole. Now they get no cheap Russian natural gas and oil. Bad move by both. They should've stayed neutral.

Neither Japan nor South Korea are neutral countries and both feel threatened by Russia (and protected by USA)

South Korea would not even exist if Russia could decide it, only North Korea would be on the map.

About Japan, Russia was always a threat and it is provoking Japan with warplanes entering Japan every single day.
Japan would be a divided country after WWII with no hope to unify again - similar to North/South Korea.

Japan found other suppliers which are willing to export more energy related materials into Japan, for example Australia and Indonesia....
Policy is about to cut down any relationship with Russia to the bare minimum.

A military weak Russia is only good for South Korea and Japan. With less support from Russia to North Korea it makes this region where I am living now safer.

[Natural_Born_Cynic]

@Yohan

Japan and South Korea also offer support for Ukraine, both were quickly put on the 'unfriendly countries list' by Putin.

Both countries shouldn't have supported the Ukrainistan sinkhole. Now they get no cheap Russian natural gas and oil. Bad move by both. They should've stayed neutral.

Neither Japan nor South Korea are neutral countries and both feel threatened by Russia (and protected by USA)

South Korea would not even exist if Russia could decide it, only North Korea would be on the map.

About Japan, Russia was always a threat and it is provoking Japan with warplanes entering Japan every single day.
Japan would be a divided country after WWII with no hope to unify again - similar to North/South Korea.

Japan found other suppliers which are willing to export more energy related materials into Japan, for example Australia and Indonesia....
Policy is about to cut down any relationship with Russia to the bare minimum.

A military weak Russia is only good for South Korea and Japan. With less support from Russia to North Korea it makes this region where I am living now safer.

Nope your incorrect. I don't know about Japan, but South Korea and Russia had an "ok" relationship before the war.
South Korea was doing good business with Russia with it's exporting K-food, ice breaker ships, cars, electronics, cosmetics, and many others.
And South Korean cost of living didn't went up thanks to cheap Russian natural gas and oil. Keep in Mind, South Korea doesn't have lot of natural resources and it can't produce it's own gas and oil.

However, South Korea wanting to "dick ride" and please their boss America chose to support Ukrainistan and cut off trade deal with Russia.
Russia was very angry and decided to support North Korea in retaliation of South Korea's treachery under their new government and them indirectly giving 155mm shells to Ukraine and other aids to Ukraine. That's what actually happened. Russia didn't even support North Korea by default and Russia didn't do much business with North Korea prior to the war.

[Winston]

Wow check this out. NATO is deploying thousands of troops and hundreds of tanks to Poland. Are they going to invade Russia? Won't they be nuked if they do? See videos below of the NATO military deployment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZeIEeu0vlM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MwLCARHDFU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1MHSY_fpOM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aZpEWvAhbo

[Winston]

@Yohan and @Voyager1:

I don't understand something. Why didn't Ukraine just remain neutral as Putin wanted, so this war would have been avoided completely? Very simple. Ukraine was neutral for a long time. Why change it? Is it really worth the lives of thousands of people just to get Ukraine into NATO? Isn't this war unnecessary? Isn't all this basic common sense? What is the problem exactly?

[Winston]

Wow everyone. Check out this full debate in Toronto between Prof. John Mearsheimer and a former US ambassador and former Polish ambassador. They debate the Ukraine War and what caused it and how to end it. It's very good. Both sides make a lot of good points and eloquent speeches.

[Natural_Born_Cynic]

@Yohan and @Voyager1:

I don't understand something. Why didn't Ukraine just remain neutral as Putin wanted, so this war would have been avoided completely? Very simple. Ukraine was neutral for a long time. Why change it? Is it really worth the lives of thousands of people just to get Ukraine into NATO? Isn't this war unnecessary? Isn't all this basic common sense? What is the problem exactly?

I don't understand this either! Ukraine is being so stubbornly stupid, playing with fire and poking the bear and Western NPCs are brainwashed that Russia=bad, Ukraine=good while the Military Industrial Complex and the Elites are making mad money on the side. Doesn't Ukraine even care about their own civilians lives? I guess not. They want to throw all of that away so Ukraine can join this stupid club called NATO. It's beyond belief that it's quite stupefying.

[Natural_Born_Cynic]

Wow check this out. NATO is deploying thousands of troops and hundreds of tanks to Poland. Are they going to invade Russia? Won't they be nuked if they do? See videos below of the NATO military deployment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZeIEeu0vlM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MwLCARHDFU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1MHSY_fpOM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aZpEWvAhbo

Those equipment means nothing and just empty posturing by NATO countries. They are all going to be shelled, droned, missile strike anyway.
Why can't those stupid blockheads see that Ukraine is f*cked whether NATO, America, Western NPCs like it or not? I feel I am in a twilight zone here. WTF. The amount of Western Hubris and arrogance is astounding.

[Yohan]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/russian-oil- ... 13533.html

Russian oil depot hit by Ukraine as Kremlin bans fuel exports
Mon, March 11, 2024

Fuel depot blast
Ukraine has been striking at Russian hydrocarbon infrastructure, such as this one in the Kursk region in February -
Russians are feeling the effects of Ukrainian strikes on oil infrastructure “in their pockets” as a depot in the Kursk region became the latest site to be targeted.

Russian officials said that the depot in the region which borders Ukraine exploded after it was hit early on Sunday morning.

“Fire brigades and emergency services are working at the scene of the incident,” said Roman Starovoyt, the regional governor on Sunday morning. He did not specify which oil depot was hit or its size.

The attack is part of a Ukrainian strategy to strike oil and gas facilities across Russia, which the British Ministry of Defence said had forced the Kremlin to ban fuel exports for six months to try to dampen price rises.

“It is likely that Russia’s refining capacity had been temporarily reduced by multiple uncrewed aerial vehicle strikes against refineries across Russia,” it said.

Russia’s fuel export ban, introduced on March 1, follows a similar three-month ban that came into place in mid-September. The ban last year was triggered by Russian farmers who threatened to protest unless the Kremlin brought fuel price rises under control.

Fuel prices in Russia have risen by around 10 per cent this year after drone attacks on oil and gas facilities, including a strike on major chemical export infrastructure near St Petersburg and refineries on the Black Sea and central Russia.

[Yohan]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/moldova-face ... 13939.html

Moldova faces multiple threats from Russia as it turns toward EU membership, foreign minister says

CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — The past two years have been the hardest and most tumultuous for European Union candidate Moldova in more than three decades as it faces threats from Russia in multiple spheres of public life, the country's foreign minister says.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, its neighbor Moldova has faced a litany of crises that have at times raised fears the country is also in Russia’s crosshairs. These included errant missiles landing on its territory; a severe energy crisis after Moscow dramatically reduced gas supplies; rampant inflation; and protests by pro-Russia parties against the pro-Western government. Moldova has also taken in the highest number of Ukrainian refugees per capita of any country.

“This past two years without exaggeration have been by far the most difficult in the past 30 years,” Mihai Popsoi, appointed foreign minister in late January, told The Associated Press in an interview.

Moldova gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, but Russia continues to see the country — sandwiched between Ukraine and EU member Romania — as within its sphere of influence.

Moldovan officials have repeatedly accused Russia of conducting a “hybrid war” against the country — funding anti-government protests, meddling in local elections and running vast disinformation campaigns to try to topple the government and derail Moldova from its path toward full EU membership. Russia has denied the accusations.

Last week, Moldova’s national Intelligence and Security Services agency said it has gathered data indicating “unprecedented” plans by Moscow to launch a fresh and sprawling destabilization campaign as Moldova gears up for a referendum on EU membership and a presidential election later in the year

[Natural_Born_Cynic]

The U.S refuse to give $60 billion aid to Ukraine. Ukraine seeks alternative source of funding.
Russian T-72 destroys U.S abrams.

[Yohan]

@Yohan and @Voyager1:

I don't understand something. Why didn't Ukraine just remain neutral as Putin wanted, so this war would have been avoided completely? Very simple. Ukraine was neutral for a long time. Why change it? Is it really worth the lives of thousands of people just to get Ukraine into NATO? Isn't this war unnecessary? Isn't all this basic common sense? What is the problem exactly?

The problem is exactly Russia!

Russia would invade Ukraine anyway, despite it promised there is no such intention - but one week later the invasion started.
Next might be Moldovia, if NATO is not helping these countries to fight back.

Finland and Sweden were also threatened with military actions, and the Baltic small countries know they could also be attacked any time.
Armenia and Georgia are also hoping for EU and NATO membership.

However the Russian invasion failed and the Ukrainian government is still in power and is fighting back - Russia did not expect such a strong response from Ukraine und NATO and such a huge support for Ukraine from more than 30 countries, which all are sending materials into Ukraine to help their citizens to fight it out.

Here in Japan there are daily provocations by Russian warplane entering Japan, and since WWII there is no peace treaty with Russia.
After WWII Russia wanted a divided Japan 50/50 similar to West/East Germany, but it did not work out.
Of course Russia supports also North Korea with military technology to produce rockets which are sent from time to time in direction to Japan.

Korea was unlucky and it is still divided in North and South with no solution in sight. Russia sent in more than 70.000 soldiers to help to create a Korea, which would be only North Korea, but with USA help it did not fully work out, result was only 50/50, South Korea does still exist.

[Natural_Born_Cynic]

@Yohan

The problem is exactly Russia!

Russia would invade Ukraine anyway, despite it promised there is no such intention - but one week later the invasion started.
Next might be Moldovia, if NATO is not helping these countries to fight back.

Your wrong. Russia doesn't even want this war anyway and they tried their best to get along with NATO in the early 2000's. But NATO kept on provoking Russia, ignoring the Russia's request in Minsk accords to not put NATO countries at their borders, arming and training the Ukrainian army since 2014 with Western weapons & training and shelling Russian speaking people in Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia had no choice to go to war to put Zelensky at the negotiating table. However, Russia didn't expect Zelensky and Ukraine to fight back as stubbornly as possible and all of Western countries aiding Ukraine. That's why now we are in this situation. And whenever Russia wanted to sign a peace deal with Ukraine, Zelensky refuse to accept the Russian delegation into the peace conference in Switzerland or anywhere else.

I don't know about Russia's relationship with Japan.. it seems tense. However South Korea's relationship with Russia was "good" prior to the Ukrainian war. Despite what the Soviets did and created North Korea, South Koreans doesn't really care and they made lot of money from Russia and benefited from cheap Russian gas and oil. It was only South Korea's treachery against Russia by siding with Ukraine that Russia decided to side with North Korea.

[Winston]

The U.S refuse to give $60 billion aid to Ukraine. Ukraine seeks alternative source of funding.
Russian T-72 destroys U.S abrams.

This is a good analysis. Yeah even if Ukraine got the 60 billion dollars, it's not going to make a difference and is just more money wasted. Plus Ukraine doesn't have the manpower anyway. They are conscripting old men and young boys into the army, which is a bad sign of desperation, according to Scott Ritter and Col. Douglas Macgregor. Throwing more money at them isn't going to do anything or solve the problem. This is a hopeless situation.

[Winston]

@Yohan and @Voyager1:

I don't understand something. Why didn't Ukraine just remain neutral as Putin wanted, so this war would have been avoided completely? Very simple. Ukraine was neutral for a long time. Why change it? Is it really worth the lives of thousands of people just to get Ukraine into NATO? Isn't this war unnecessary? Isn't all this basic common sense? What is the problem exactly?

The problem is exactly Russia!

Russia would invade Ukraine anyway, despite it promised there is no such intention - but one week later the invasion started.
Next might be Moldovia, if NATO is not helping these countries to fight back.

Finland and Sweden were also threatened with military actions, and the Baltic small countries know they could also be attacked any time.
Armenia and Georgia are also hoping for EU and NATO membership.

However the Russian invasion failed and the Ukrainian government is still in power and is fighting back - Russia did not expect such a strong response from Ukraine und NATO and such a huge support for Ukraine from more than 30 countries, which all are sending materials into Ukraine to help their citizens to fight it out.

Here in Japan there are daily provocations by Russian warplane entering Japan, and since WWII there is no peace treaty with Russia.
After WWII Russia wanted a divided Japan 50/50 similar to West/East Germany, but it did not work out.
Of course Russia supports also North Korea with military technology to produce rockets which are sent from time to time in direction to Japan.

Korea was unlucky and it is still divided in North and South with no solution in sight. Russia sent in more than 70.000 soldiers to help to create a Korea, which would be only North Korea, but with USA help it did not fully work out, result was only 50/50, South Korea does still exist.

If Ukraine promised to be neutral, then what is the problem? What is Putin's basis for the invasion then? It doesn't make sense. Prof. Mearsheimer said that Ukraine was already a de facto member of NATO even if it wasn't a member on paper. That's why Putin invaded, because he saw that. Btw, in the Munk debate above, the US ambassador Michael McFaul and the Polish ambassador made the same points you did above. They were very eloquent. You should see the debate and hear from both sides. It's very interesting and informative.