War in Ukraine

#30,901
#30,901
OrangeTsar said:
most of Western Europe has let their militaries lapse into underfunded lethargy once the Cold War wound down. They are trying to rearm quickly now after the Ukraine invasion but it is going to take time.
Even bigger though than the material softness, the commitment to everything we think of as the West has faltered into postmodern relativism. Patriotism, military service, and fealty to objective truth are now seen as hopelessly outdated kitsch.
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I don't know that their militaries were necessarily underfunded post cold war. There was no looming foreign threat and they had Uncle Sam on standby. They directed their resources to infrastructure, education, social services, etc. and their societies are better for that. With today's potential threats, as you mentioned they are gearing up their military capabilities.
I don't see an erosion of Western values in Europe. Rule of law, objective truth, human rights, etc. are still strong. Patriotism and military service aren't really indicators of Western values; the North Koreans are big on them too.
 
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#30,902
#30,902
Rasputin_Vol said:
US "Running Low" On Javelin Missile Stockpiles After Supplying Ukraine, Warns Congressman | ZeroHedge

What's bad is the president himself seems at times to constantly want to remind everybody what we won't do and putting arbitrary limits on our assistance, I think, undermines our effort. But, the real ugly is that we are running low in terms of our stockpiles.

We just burned through seven years of Javelins and that's not only important as we continue to try and help the Ukrainians win in Ukraine, that's important as we try to simultaneously defend Taiwan from aggression from the Chinese Communist Party. They are going to need access to some of these same weapons systems, and we simply don't have the stockpiles at present in order to backfill what we've spent in Ukraine.
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This right here. I don't know what our stockpiles are but absolutely we need as many such defensive weapons as possible and sooner rather than later.
 
#30,903
#30,903
Putin has forcibly deported 1.2 MILLION Ukrainians to Russia and put them in 'filtration camps' – including mother of four-year-old girl who 'was snatched off the street and separated from her daughter

Ukrainians are being taken against their will into Russia, the U.S. has said, with some reports suggesting more than 1 million have been taken - including a mother who was separated from her four-year-old daughter.

A senior defence official said Tuesday that the Pentagon has seen indications that Ukrainians caught up in Russia's invasion are being forcibly removed from their homeland and sent across the border by Vladimir Putin's forces.

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that camps were involved in the process.

'But we do have indications that Ukrainians are being taken against their will into Russia,' Kirby said. He called these actions 'unconscionable' and 'not the behavior of a responsible power.'

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People evacuated from Mariupol arrive on buses at a registration and processing area for internally displaced people in Zaporizhzhia, on May 8, 2022

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A child and her family who fled from Mariupol arrive at a reception center for displaced people in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Sunday, May 8, 2022

Putin's troops forcibly removed nearly 1.2MILLION Ukrainians and sent them to Russia, officials say | Daily Mail Online
 
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#30,904
#30,904
EasternVol said:
I don't know that their militaries were necessarily underfunded post cold war. There was no looming foreign threat and they had Uncle Sam on standby. They directed their resources to infrastructure, education, social services, etc. and their societies are better for that. With today's potential threats, as you mentioned they are gearing up their military capabilities.
I don't see an erosion of Western values in Europe. Rule of law, objective truth, human rights, etc. are still strong. Patriotism and military service aren't really indicators of Western values; the North Koreans are big on them too.
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My impression is that the Germans especially have felt so much shame at their past that they have feared to fully rearm. But when I was there in February, during the beginning of the invasion, I began to feel that their fear of Russia was about to change that. They are fearful and for good reason. Putin’s biggest long term error was in reawakening Russia’s greatest historical foe
 
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#30,905
#30,905
Hunerwadel said:
It's not far fetched for Putin to believe he could take advantage of the political divide that exists in the US today. He may have guessed albeit wrongly that a significant number of Americans would see things his way. I am grateful that while we are divided on many issues we can still recognize a common enemy.
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The idea that January 6 made this easier for Putin is a stretch at best. The author is just doing their best to foster the divide in America. It's just too dang predictable.
 
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#30,906
#30,906
'I like it so much, mum': Russian brags about using '21 roses' FSB Torture Method of Slicing Open Ukrainians' Fingers, Toes and Penis to his mother... who says she would have 'liked it too'

Disturbing audio has emerged of a phonecall between a Russian machine gunner and his mother who took great pleasure in laughing about the torture and murder of Ukrainian civilians.

The call, intercepted and published by the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Ministry of Defence, was shared by a soldier of Russia's 11th Army Corps - identified as Konstantin Solovyov - and his mother Tatiana Solovyova.

After a brief exchange of small talk and jokes about taking food from local villagers near Kharkiv, Solovyov quickly begins describing, in graphic detail, a variety of heinous torture methods used by members of Russia's security service (FSB).

Some of the tactics included the '21 roses' - stripping the skin back from a man's fingers, toes and penis like the petals of a flower - and the 'barrel' method, when a line of barbed wire is inserted into a prisoner's anus via a tube before being slowly and painstakingly ripped back out.

Solovyov, whose unit is deployed near the eastern front in Kharkiv according to Ukraine's MoD, also explained how he and his colleagues in the FSB beat an old man to death for taking photos of Russian troop positions, and excitedly recounted conversations he shared with a prisoner whose legs he had broken to prevent him from running away.

When asked by his mother whether he enjoyed taking part in the torture, the soldier replied: 'I like it... I don't know.'

Incredibly, Tatiana responded in kind: 'I always told you that, in principle, I'm holding myself back. If I had ended up there I would also be enjoying it. We're the same.'

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The call, intercepted and published by the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Ministry of Defence, was shared by a soldier of Russia's 11th Army Corps - identified as Konstantin Solovyov (pictured) - and his mother Tatiana Solovyova

57594469-10797707-image-a-2_1652107107237.jpg

When asked by his mother whether he enjoyed taking part in the torture of Ukrainian civilians, the soldier replied: ' I like it... I don't know.' Incredibly, Tatiana (pictured) responded in kind: ' I always told you that, in principle, I'm holding myself back. If I had ended up there I would also be enjoying it. We're the same'

57594447-10797707-image-a-3_1652107109626.jpg

An elderly lady gets assisted while crossing the Irpin river, under a bridge that was destroyed, as civilians flee the town of Irpin, Ukraine, Saturday, March 5, 2022

56819537-10797707-Irpin_suffered_huge_civilian_casualties_after_weeks_under_Russia-a-5_1652109385685.jpg

A new grave for people killed during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, is seen at a cemetery in Irpin, Kyiv region, Ukraine April 19, 2022

Russian brags about using FSB torture method of slicing open Ukrainian's fingers, toes and penis | Daily Mail Online
 
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#30,907
#30,907
OrangeTsar said:
My impression is that the Germans especially have felt so much shame at their past that they have feared to fully rearm. But when I was there in February, during the beginning of the invasion, I began to feel that their fear of Russia was about to change that. They are fearful and for good reason. Putin’s biggest long term error was in reawakening Russia’s greatest historical foe
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I agree that their shame has been a factor and that they seem to be getting over it. Also, the US and their neighbors did not want a strong Germany considering the precedents. I think we're right to assume that a rearmed Germany will be a force for good.
 
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#30,908
#30,908
Franklin Pierce said:
'I like it so much, mum': Russian brags about using '21 roses' FSB Torture Method of Slicing Open Ukrainians' Fingers, Toes and Penis to his mother... who says she would have 'liked it too'

Disturbing audio has emerged of a phonecall between a Russian machine gunner and his mother who took great pleasure in laughing about the torture and murder of Ukrainian civilians.

The call, intercepted and published by the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Ministry of Defence, was shared by a soldier of Russia's 11th Army Corps - identified as Konstantin Solovyov - and his mother Tatiana Solovyova.

After a brief exchange of small talk and jokes about taking food from local villagers near Kharkiv, Solovyov quickly begins describing, in graphic detail, a variety of heinous torture methods used by members of Russia's security service (FSB).

Some of the tactics included the '21 roses' - stripping the skin back from a man's fingers, toes and penis like the petals of a flower - and the 'barrel' method, when a line of barbed wire is inserted into a prisoner's anus via a tube before being slowly and painstakingly ripped back out.

Solovyov, whose unit is deployed near the eastern front in Kharkiv according to Ukraine's MoD, also explained how he and his colleagues in the FSB beat an old man to death for taking photos of Russian troop positions, and excitedly recounted conversations he shared with a prisoner whose legs he had broken to prevent him from running away.

When asked by his mother whether he enjoyed taking part in the torture, the soldier replied: 'I like it... I don't know.'

Incredibly, Tatiana responded in kind: 'I always told you that, in principle, I'm holding myself back. If I had ended up there I would also be enjoying it. We're the same.'

57594449-10797707-image-a-1_1652107103866.jpg

The call, intercepted and published by the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Ministry of Defence, was shared by a soldier of Russia's 11th Army Corps - identified as Konstantin Solovyov (pictured) - and his mother Tatiana Solovyova

57594469-10797707-image-a-2_1652107107237.jpg

When asked by his mother whether he enjoyed taking part in the torture of Ukrainian civilians, the soldier replied: ' I like it... I don't know.' Incredibly, Tatiana (pictured) responded in kind: ' I always told you that, in principle, I'm holding myself back. If I had ended up there I would also be enjoying it. We're the same'

57594447-10797707-image-a-3_1652107109626.jpg

An elderly lady gets assisted while crossing the Irpin river, under a bridge that was destroyed, as civilians flee the town of Irpin, Ukraine, Saturday, March 5, 2022

56819537-10797707-Irpin_suffered_huge_civilian_casualties_after_weeks_under_Russia-a-5_1652109385685.jpg

A new grave for people killed during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, is seen at a cemetery in Irpin, Kyiv region, Ukraine April 19, 2022

Russian brags about using FSB torture method of slicing open Ukrainian's fingers, toes and penis | Daily Mail Online
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Not to say that's necessarily false, but the Daily Mail is a sensationalistic rag.
 
#30,914
#30,914
EasternVol said:
This right here. I don't know what our stockpiles are but absolutely we need as many such defensive weapons as possible and sooner rather than later.
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Meh. We'll get more.

I can't think of a better scenario than to have our Javelins blowing up Russian armor without our boys in harms way.

This is ******* ideal.
 
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#30,924
#30,924
Rasputin_Vol said:
Why wouldn't the very people that elected Yanukovich not be angry and disgruntled about their candidate being overthrown by a foreign country?
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Because he broke his campaign promises and rhetoric. We have posted direct quotes from Yanykovich of his western support and wanting to align Ukraine westward, and you guys ignore it.
 
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#30,925
#30,925
LouderVol said:
What problem in the US is a result of too little money? If anything our problem is thinking that money will fix things.
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The money doesn't go to actually fix the problems. That's the point.

Granted there are always going to be people who are homeless or addicted to drugs so some people could never be helped. However I do think there should be better programs for the people that do want help. Let's bring even more of our manufacturing back here to the U.S.

Let the UK and Poland help Ukraine. I mean you guys have said they could handle Russia themselves just fine. So let's not spend anymore of our money on Ukraine.
 
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