Ukraine war mega thread

[russellsimpson]

Russia says it foiled Ukrainian attempt to seize nuclear plant
Sept 3 (Reuters) - Ukrainian forces attempted to capture the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in an attack on the facility on Friday night, Russia's defence ministry said in its daily briefing on Saturday.
The ministry said a Ukrainian naval force of more than 250 troops attempted to land on the coast of a lake near the Zaporizhzhia plant in southern Ukraine at around 11 p.m. local time (2000 GMT) on Friday.


"Despite the presence of representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the Kyiv regime once again attempted to seize the plant," the defence ministry said.
Russia said its forces foiled the attack with strikes from military helicopters and fighter jets, destroying 20 Ukrainian vessels and causing others to scatter and call off the attack.
Ukraine and Moscow have traded accusations about attacks on the power plant, Europe's largest nuclear energy station, in recent months. The plant was captured by Russian forces in March, but is connected to the Ukrainian power grid and is still operated by Ukrainian staff.


Russia said its forces foiled the attack with strikes from military helicopters and fighter jets, destroying 20 Ukrainian vessels and causing others to scatter and call off the attack.


Reuters was unable to verify the report.


Kyiv and Moscow have traded accusations about attacks on the power plant, Europe's largest nuclear energy station, in recent months. The plant was captured by Russian forces in March, but is connected to the Ukrainian power grid and is still operated by Ukrainian staff.




The IAEA sent a mission to the nuclear plant this week amid concerns an escalation could trigger a Chornobyl-style nuclear disaster on the European continent.


Both Russia and Ukraine have said the situation is grave and the risk of a nuclear catastrophe is high. Ukraine and the West have said Russia is using the site as a base for heavy weapons in a move to discourage Ukraine from firing on it.


Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on Friday denied Russia had heavy weapons at or near the power plant and accused Ukraine of committing "nuclear terrorism" through its attacks on the facility.

Russia says it foiled Ukrainian attempt to seize nuclear plant | Reuters

[russellsimpson]

I've made a bit of a dog's breakfast with this.

Are we expected to sweep this under the rug so to speak. I have heard very little coverage of this in the mainstream media. If anyone has a more comprehensive reference for this please post it up. If what the Russians are claiming is true then Zelensky has a lot of explaining to do. I think it undermines his entire credibility. These days I am far more inclined to believe the Russian position than that spewing from the mouth of Mr. Hothead.

There are people like the Snub Meister who will immediately condemn this as Russia lying. But there are intelligent and knowledgeable folks on the board and hopefully they will try to take a more independent viewpoint.

Thanks to Zelensky and the feeble administration that exists in Washington we may be closer to a nuclear catastrope than most people realize.

[david44]

Lets be clear their are 6 plants none are in Zaporizhzhia all are on S side of the Dnieper in Enerhodar I have been there.

Both sides should be condemned for any release of radio nucleides which could prove catastrophic. The Ukrainians would be better off putting a bounty on Putin, targetting his Kerch Strait Bridge , the remanats of the Russian Black Sea and Caspian fleets, Russian overseas assets, the water supply to Krym, Minsk or Kalingrad and sanctioning the resupply the former East Prussian/Memelland exclave via the Suvwalki corridor aka the Twangste gap or indeed more of a final solution Berlin which is of course financing Putin's adventures for that matter.

[pickel]

I saw a video Russia posted of the aftermath and it was one of their fakest videos yet. Soldiers in crisp clean uniforms lying face down with no blood or injuries, and the perfect skin tone of a living person. They even threw some blackwater patches and crisp hundred dollar bills in for good measure. Almost as cringeworthy as the video of the takedown of the people that wanted to kill the TV propagandist.

I ain't gonna go back and scroll through a hundred videos to find it again, so find it yourself. And quit being such a gullible sucker. Already a thread on the war btw.

[david44]

Thanks to Zelensky and the feeble administration that exists in Washington we may be closer to a nuclear catastrope than most people realize.

Yes but will hardly affect the far East LAtin America or Oceania nor USA whose goal is to break Russia, China, The EU and any rivals to its a priori global hegemon, let those luckless Europups slog it out as long as possible there are huge profits to be made from the war. US aid and UK intervention will balance up the casualty rate to a steady trickle on both sides. When the history of this conflict is done we will see USA won and all of Europeans Russians EU and esp Ukraine lost.
The Turkish drone industry will be a temporary beneficiary until China clones there excellent cheapo weapons

[russellsimpson]

Excellent comments David. Should get everybody thinking. Or maybe not. Cheers

[russellsimpson]

I ain't gonna go back and scroll through a hundred videos to find it again, so find it yourself.

Gee thanks. And I would have to see the video. In any case thanks for your outstanding contribution.

Already a thread on the war btw.

True. I am very gullible. Keep well.

[russellsimpson]

No luck finding that video Pickel although I don't doubt it exists. I think it has probably been 'scrubbed' by the media powers that be.

[bsnub]

There are people like the Snub Meister who will immediately condemn this as Russia lying.

It is already debunked as a complete hoax in the other thread. The origin of the propaganda is the Russian MOD which basically lies 100% of the time. As usual, you throw your two bits in with the Three Stooges.

But there are intelligent and knowledgeable folks on the board

Of which you are not one.

[russellsimpson]

It is already debunked as a complete hoax in the other thread.

Have you seen the video that Pickel is referring to?

[harrybarracuda]

I've made a bit of a dog's breakfast with this.

Nothing unusual then.

[bsnub]

Have you seen the video that Pickel is referring to?

No need, the claim has been debunked several times over. Just Russian MOD crap. They always go over the top with claims like this when they are getting their shit packed in. You are just another clueless lemming swallowing the kool-aid.

[Backspin]

Does the west do FAKE news? Yes. The most blatant FAKE news you could imagine. Which is why I don't post in the Ukraine topics anymore. Knowing how FAKE it all is and standing in front of this FAKE news runaway train is not good for my mental health.

Full article link Ukrainian pensioner 'shoots down PS74million Russian Su-34 jet with a RIFLE and is awarded a medal' | Daily Mail Online

[misskit]

^ Would you have believed it if it were in the National Enquirer?

[bsnub]

Would you have believed it if it were in the National Enquirer?

He would have if it was from one of his propaganda sources.

[sabang]

It's not okay for grown adults to call the invasion of Ukraine "unprovoked"; that's a fartbrained fairy tale for idiots and children. You have a whole internet full of information at your fingertips. Fucking use it.

https://twitter.com/caitoz/status/1566940335036542976

[bsnub]

It's not okay for grown adults to call the invasion of Ukraine "unprovoked"; that's a fartbrained fairy tale for idiots and children.

You have proven time and again to be a clueless-indoctrinated buffoon. You bleated on for months that this war would never happen, only to be made a fool of. Now you attempt to justify the fact that it happened and that Russia is somehow not to blame. You are a massive hypocrite on a level not seen since Boon Mee was an active poster. The irony is that back then you were a mod in this section who used to delete a lot of his horseshit. Now you need a mod to delete a lot of yours.

Sad decline.

[Hugh Cow]

All done with a rifle that looks suspiciously like a shot gun.

[harrybarracuda]

It's extremely stupid to keep grasping at straws by posting pro-Putin bullshit off twitter, just because you're a pathetic putin brown noser.

It's not okay for grown adults to call the invasion of Ukraine "unprovoked"; that's a fartbrained fairy tale for idiots and children. You have a whole internet full of information at your fingertips. Fucking use it.

https://twitter.com/caitoz/status/1566940335036542976

Even if it is off some ugly hag you've got the hots for.

[harrybarracuda]

You have proven time and again to be a clueless-indoctrinated buffoon. You bleated on for months that this war would never happen, only to be made a fool of. Now you attempt to justify the fact that it happened and that Russia is somehow not to blame. You are a massive hypocrite on a level not seen since Boon Mee was an active poster. The irony is that back then you were a mod in this section who used to delete a lot of his horseshit. Now you need a mod to delete a lot of yours.

Sad decline.

You're fucking joking, sabang was a MOD?

[sabang]

“This is not just my opinion,” said Chomsky, “it is the opinion of every high-level US official in the diplomatic services who has any familiarity with Russia and Eastern Europe. This goes back to George Kennan and, in the 1990s, Reagan’s ambassador Jack Matlock, including the current director of the CIA; in fact, just everybody who knows anything has been warning Washington that it is reckless and provocative to ignore Russia’s very clear and explicit red lines. That goes way before (Vladimir) Putin, it has nothing to do with him; (Mikhail) Gorbachev, all said the same thing. Ukraine and Georgia cannot join NATO, this is the geostrategic heartland of Russia.”

... Chomsky continued, “Of course, it was provoked. Otherwise, they wouldn’t refer to it all the time as an unprovoked invasion. By now, censorship in the United States has reached such a level beyond anything in my lifetime. Such a level that you are not permitted to read the Russian position. Literally.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/06/28/not-a-justification-but-a-provocation-chomsky-on-the-root-causes-of-the-russia-ukraine-war/


Idiot Neocons. Have a nice Winter.

[russellsimpson]

Such a level that you are not permitted to read the Russian position. Literally.

A dismal state indeed. The threads on here re: Ukraine I shall try to avoid going forward for the most part.

By now, censorship in the United States has reached such a level beyond anything in my lifetime.

Completely the same in Canada, disgraceful. I have never seen such a thing in my lifetime as well. I fear we may be heading for disastrous circumstances. Cheers and knock yourself out.

[sabang]

Some six months since the start of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the emergence of three realities in the war is forcing Washington to wrestle with some hard choices.

The first is that the combination of Ukrainian courage and U.S. technology has proved quite potent in blocking Russia’s attempt to conquer the bulk of Ukraine. American air defense support has denied Russia the air superiority essential to the rapid advance of its ground forces. American anti-tank weapons and targeting intelligence have prevented Russia’s armor from sweeping into Kyiv, and Russia has suffered significant personnel losses, particularly in its officer corps. Putin has been forced to downsize his battlefield ambitions and rely on a barrage of stand-off artillery and rocket strikes to slowly grind down Ukraine’s defenses in its Donbas region.

The second is that despite this defensive success, Ukraine has been unable to build offensive momentum and force the Russian military to withdraw. The delivery of advanced American artillery, rocket and missile systems has certainly helped Ukraine to strike Russian supply lines and weapons platforms, but its infantry has not been able to muster the numbers required to seize ground defended by Russian forces. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky insists that his long-promised offensive against Russian forces near Kherson will change this picture. But a near-term Ukrainian victory in the war is difficult to imagine.

The third is that American efforts to strong-arm Putin into retreat by crippling the Russian economy and isolating him on the world stage have sputtered. Western sanctions are no doubt hurting Russia; the International Monetary Fund forecasts a 6 percent decline in Russia’s GDP this year, and its technology sector faces a grim future. But this compares to a greater than 40 percent economic plunge in Ukraine. Russia’s currency is stronger today than it was before the war, despite President Biden’s vow to “turn the ruble into rubble.” Russian earnings from energy exports have actually grown thanks to higher oil prices and reluctance outside the West to join sanctions. Putin is persona non grata in the West, but he is hardly a pariah in the rest of the world, as his scheduled attendance at the G-20 summit meeting in Indonesia in November will attest.

Meanwhile, the economic fallout from the war is landing on the West as well as on Russia. Americans are grappling with higher gasoline and food prices. Europe is facing not only the prospect of a cold winter, but also significant disruptions in key industries, as sanctions-related shortages of natural gas and other Russian commodities take their toll on the construction, metals, and automotive sectors. Germany, highly dependent on Russian energy supplies, is headed toward significant economic turbulence in the coming months if current trends continue.

These realities have reshaped Putin’s strategy. Recognizing America’s advantages in battlefield technology, Putin has turned the conflict into an endurance contest that plays to Russian strengths. He is relying increasingly on China and the Global South to outflank Western sanctions, while counting on the vaunted pain tolerance of the Russian people to outlast Western political resolve. And he is apparently calculating that, even with sustained Western support, Ukraine cannot match Russia’s reserves of manpower, munitions and economic resilience in a war of attrition. Putin may be unable to conquer Ukraine altogether, but he can turn it into a bleeding wound for years to come, unable to mend itself and in no condition to join NATO.

Unless we change the terms of engagement, time may well be Putin’s ally in Ukraine. What choices do we have to counter his moves?

FULL- https://thehill.com/opinion/national...eid=f28a48fb2f

[mikenot]

Ukraine trolling a russian recruitment video :

[russellsimpson]

^Great minds think alike, fools seldom differ.

(morning fellas)