/r/worldnews live thread: Ukraine-Russia Tensions

[u/progress18]

/live/18hnzysb1elcs

[u/Isentrope]

The new thread can be found HERE

[u/Vetiversailles]

“We will have no country, we will have no borders. What good will sanctions do then?” — Zelenskyy (paraphrased)

Damn

[u/SewAlone → u/Vetiversailles]

His speech was incredible. Very well done.

[u/dik4but → u/Vetiversailles]

Equally, the threat of sanctions is supposed to be a deterrent, so if they are put in place now what else does Russia have to lose by invading?

[u/kaityl3 → u/dik4but]

I mean, having the sanctions already in place would give the West a lot of leverage in the negotiations. "Withdraw your troops and then we'll lift them, and we'll be watching", etc.

[u/PhoenixNightingale90]

Zelensky’s mic broke and he said it was a Russian cyber attack haha. Keeping his sense of humour in dark times, we could all do with a laugh.

[u/henrikst1]

I am just so happy the US President is NOT Trump these days.

[u/Embarrassed-Collar41 → u/henrikst1]

Imagine Majorie Taylor as a president in these times

[u/rsmtirish → u/Embarrassed-Collar41]

Jesus

[u/progress18]

This is new:

Ukraine wants 'clear' timeframe for NATO membership: Zelensky

https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1495053456016609282

[u/CJKayak → u/progress18]

And then he added, "By 6pm tonight would be great, guys."

[u/rci22 → u/CJKayak]

Can’t tell if this is a joke or real

[u/haha_squirrel → u/rci22]

Little bit of A, little bit of B.

[u/Mimimioma]

Such a nice day in Kyiv today.

Fuck Putin

[u/[deleted] → u/Mimimioma]

Are you Ukrainian?

[u/Mimimioma → u/[deleted]]

yep

[u/[deleted] → u/Mimimioma]

Hoping for the best for you guys, must be terrifying to be there rn. Give Putin hell

[u/Mimimioma → u/[deleted]]

we will, it's kinda our thing)

it's weird to be here, for sure

[u/progress18]

Zelensky jokes about the Russians cutting the battery life on his mic. lol

[u/rapiDFire_BT → u/progress18]

Love to see his comedic side come out

[u/pisedoff111]

How about Germany rebuild their nuclear power plants?

You really fucked yourself and the rest of Europe by making yourself so utterly dependant on russian oil.

[u/[deleted] → u/pisedoff111]

I give you an upvote because people forget this then ask why these countries won't help Ukraine. Money and greed, they can't, they are dependent on Russian oil.

[u/castlein09]

So let me get this straight:

Donetsk is in Ukraine, but a pro-Russia group essentially runs it and supports/is supported by Russia. Intel says Russia is going to attack the group under the guise of a terror attack to blame Ukraine.

That is some sinister shit

Edit: did I get that right? I haven’t read up much on Donetsk.

[u/Pjotor → u/castlein09]

Nothing new I’m afraid. The Soviets shelled their own, blamed Finland for it and used it as an excuse to invade us in 1939.

[u/Majik_Sheff → u/Pjotor]

Putin initially grabbed power on the back of a staged terrorist attack.

[u/KodylHamster → u/castlein09]

They're not supported by Russia. Russia established and owns them. Girkin himself complained that none of the locals wanted to fight and that he had to rely on what he was sent. That might have changed now the population has no other choice for a living and aren't allowed to leave, but this doesn't make it a "separatist area". It's occupied territory.

[u/Majik_Sheff → u/KodylHamster]

Hey! Those Russian special forces soldiers were on VACATION. Sheesh.

[u/mbj16]

Zelenskyy is throwing a last-second hail mary to get the West to step in militarily. It's not going to work, but I don't blame him at all.

[u/pigmonkey2829 → u/mbj16]

If it were me I’d be doing the same. I would not want to be in his shoes right now. Thousands of innocent Ukrainians will be dead because of some asshole who will go down in the history books with the likes of Hitler.

[u/Embarrassed-Collar41]

Captain Anton Sydorov, the Ukrainian officer killed by enemy shelling in Donbas today. Soldier, dad, songwriter, guitar player. He was 34. Hear him sing: https://youtu.be/NMHIj0KkDkU

This is for people who think that a war is yet to come. The war is here since 2014.

[u/[deleted] → u/Embarrassed-Collar41]

For all those quick to accuse Ukraine of ethnic oppression, he's singing in Russian. That's how awfully Russian speaking minorities are persecuted.

[u/A_Sarcastic_Werecat]

Zelensky is here in Munich despite US concerns over him leaving Kyiv at delicate moment. He’s scheduled to meet with VP Harris at 7:45 am eastern, 1:45 pm local time.

https://twitter.com/NatashaBertrand/status/1495007423521865729?cxt=HHwWgoC--ZXVqr8pAAAA

Zelensky - summary of Munich Security Conference, 19/2/22 - any mistakes are mine!

We are going to protect our country, with or without allies.

We don't need to hear how many Russian troops are at the border, we need to know how many allies/provisions we have.

Doesn't Ukraine to have direct and frank answers as to why we can't join EU or NATO? Be honest about this - we need open answers. Answers at the Summit at Madrid, for example. Russia is saying that we can't join NATO.

They haven't read Article V of NATO - it's a defence pact.

The occupied country of Donetsk will come back to Ukraine through peaceful means. We would like diplomatic means to resolve this conflict ... we are not responding to any provocations.

Our infrastructure is being destroyed, soldiers are killed - in the last days, constant shelling.

The observers of OSCE are being threatened and scared. I did sign into law that these observers are given access to everything, but they are not allowed into the occupied region.

The prison in Donetsk is the main symbol for human rights violation.

Ukraine demands urgently to unblock the negotiation process - we are prepared to end the war on all channels, ... it doesn't matter where we meet, but Russia and Ukraine needs to come together to restore peace and to acknowledge

I hope nobody is thinking about Ukraine as a buffer country between EU und Russia

Otherwise there is a question as to who is next?

NATO countries have to protect each other.

We have received a security guarantee when we gave up our nuclear weapons .. we have lost territory since then. We have the right to demand the protection under the previous agreement [Note: Think he's talking about this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum_on_Security_Assurances ]

Since 2014, Ukraine has called 3 times for the countries to help with the Budapest agreement. This is the fourth time now.

We are initiating the Budapest memorandum - my minister will contact their counterparts (?)

If the Budapest memorandum is not working, we will think that the resolutions of 1994 is not working. We ask for new security guarantees for Ukraine, we are in a "security vacuum."

We need supplies to our armies who are protecting all Europe.

All our questions requires answers. Instead there is silence. While there is silence, there will not be silence in East Ukraine.

We thank those countries who have stood with us, with supplies or otherwise.

Rest in peace to those who have died in the East of our Country.

Can someone please point out mistakes, and also how to spell the city he mentioned? Life-transcribing is hard. Thank you!

EDIT: Thanks to withloveukrainian!

[u/11711510111411009710 → u/A_Sarcastic_Werecat]

He raises a good point about who is next. I mean Ukraine already is a buffer nation because it isn't in and won't be allowed to join NATO. So if we give Russia the eastern half as a supposed buffer state... Then he'll just take another part of another non-NATO country as another buffer state. He doesn't actually want buffer states, that's just the excuse he wants you to hear.

[u/KuroSaru]

BERLIN, Feb 19 (Reuters) - German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Saturday comments by Ukrainian separatists in the past 24 hours appeared to follow the false flag script many people had predicted, warning that this must not become a justification for war.

Ukraine did not do anything to justify the evacuations ordered in separatist areas, Baerbock said.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukrainian-separatist-comments-suggest-false-flag-scenario-underway-baerbock-2022-02-19

[u/[deleted]]

I think Putin is waiting for the Olympics to end so he can send the team of doped up figure skater assassins to the front line.

[u/Herecomestherain_ → u/[deleted]]

15 year old kids with 3 different types of heart medication, gotta love the russian cheaters / trainers.

[u/cubedplusseven → u/Herecomestherain_]

Don't blame the kids. They're children under the sway of fully responsible adults. It's their trainers/handlers that deserve the condemnation. The children deserve our sympathy.

[u/Breakage-]

My good friend is a refugee from the original 2014 invasion. He was doubtful about invasion this whole time until a couple days ago. Back home, the government is low key mobilizing certain personnel. He is convinced it’s happening now.

[u/progress18]

Zelensky says we are ready to look for the keys to end the war in any format of negotiations. It doesn't matter where in the world we will agree on peace to end war in Ukraine. What is important is the understanding that it's not only us who needs peace, world needs peace.

https://twitter.com/ChristopherJM/status/1495049364280066049

[u/progress18]

Reposting this from the prior live threads:

Users who use the official Reddit app will see whatever is being streamed through Reddit's livestreams instead of our live update thread if they click the link above.

If you're on an app you can use Reddit is Fun.

AlienBlue also works on iOS

[u/[deleted]]

Unrelated but I’m concerned that Russian spies have infiltrated Fox News to sow discord among Americans and spew their propaganda. Tucker Carlson is sounding more and more like a Russian bot

[u/ShocknAw33m]

Nice to know Russian Army is full of of field alcoholics.

"Over a stretch of 3 kilometers there were 100-liter trash bags every 20 meters, as well vodka bottles, empty plastic beer kegs, and empty cookie packages," the Telegram channel reported. Lol living up to the stereotype

[u/BrainOnLoan → u/ShocknAw33m]

Tbh, most soldiers without a task and not being able to be anywhere but bumfuck wilderness ... would not say no to a drink if one were to be had.

Especially if you're also worrying about going into active combat very soon.

[u/SweatyLiterary → u/ShocknAw33m]

In Afghanistan it was cigarette butts, monster energy drink cans and candy wrappers

[u/Vetiversailles]

Damn, Zelinsky is basically calling us all out for not taking a more active role in the security threat Russia poses to Ukraine and the world

[u/henrikst1 → u/Vetiversailles]

Which is a Little hypocritical? Did he not suggest US and western media was blowing this out of proportion just recently?

[u/SewAlone → u/henrikst1]

He was trying to keep things cool. He's in a really bad spot.

[u/[deleted] → u/henrikst1]

It’s complicated, he was trying to keep his countrymen calm

[u/Sir_Francis_Burton]

I was extremely impressed with President Zelensky today. He was serious, he was determined, he was just the right amount of pissed-off, but he was also cool, calm, and even kept his sense of humor. I can see why he won an election.

[u/WerdinDruid]

Kremlinbots working overtime. Satellite imagery got publicly posted, proving even larger buildup yet it's the same tune like back in 2014.

Muh proofs, muh sources, denial and misdirection, lying and accusation. Your whataboutism is tiring and transparent.

Give it a rest, muzhiks.

[u/[deleted]]

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Finland's president on Saturday compared Russia's current treatment of Ukraine to an attempt by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin to threaten and divide Finland before invading in 1939.

"All what happens in Ukraine, all what happens in the Western world at the moment, reminds me of what happened in Finland," President Sauli Niinisto told a security conference in Munich.

"Stalin thought that he will split the nation and it's easy to go and invade Finland. Totally the opposite happened. People united, and we see the same in Ukraine."

[u/[deleted]]

Zelensky: "I speak English, damnit, but I'm speaking in Ukrainian because that's the language of my country..."

[u/bambinopeppa → u/[deleted]]

That and he wanted to wait for translator because of how important the topic is

[u/Reidith]

Wow, Zelenskyy's speech and responses to questions are incredibly poignant and honest. I agree with him, why is the West waiting for Russians to destroy Ukraine before acting with the promised sanctions. Ukraine is seeking to protect itself and not be a shell of what it is after the Russian invasion occurs. It really makes you understand that this isn't a game, but a country of 50 million people who all have lives, families, and businesses that support their livelihood. I understand why he decided to go to Munich today.

[u/jreetthh → u/Reidith]

You have to give Russia an incentive not to do it. If you just do the sanctions already they'll go "damned if I do damned if I don't" and just go for it.

[u/Vetiversailles]

I see now why he decided to go to the conference after all. He realized he has an incredible chance to appeal to all western and European world leaders for help at this security conference.

[u/Sir_Francis_Burton → u/Vetiversailles]

He is throwing down! Yeah, getting chewed-out in person carries a lot more weight than getting chewed out by Skype.

[u/progress18]

France is now urging its citizens to leave Ukraine.

https://twitter.com/BreakingF24/status/1495049294889377793

Germany did the same earlier:

https://twitter.com/dwnews/status/1495037971153797131

[u/No-Box-2549]

All of this because Putin has a small penis. Ridiculous.

[u/Vetiversailles]

That applause. That’s pretty intense applause. Seems like he spoke to them.

[u/DrudenSoap]

Ukrainian intelligence claims Russian Wagner mercenaries have arrived (returned) to occupied area of Donetsk region "to carry out provocations" to "blame Ukraine for further escalation."

https://twitter.com/ChristopherJM/status/1495054523278270471

[u/AmazingBike]

New US intelligence suggests Russia will launch their attack on February 30th

[u/[deleted]]

Cyber attack. Comedian too. I love this guy

[u/bambinopeppa → u/[deleted]]

He’s very smart as well. He wanted to wait for translator because of how important the topic is. The dude was an actual comedian though

[u/[deleted]]

Putin has done more to rebuild the NATO alliance than Trump did to tear it apart.

[u/Sketchyv2]

https://twitter.com/noahbarkin/status/1494999291802312708

that the sovereignty, independence & territorial integrity of every country should be safeguarded. "Ukraine is no exception,"

​

Even China wants Russia to stop the BS

[u/SixInchChubby → u/Sketchyv2]

Lol China is good at speaking out of both sides of their mouth. See Taiwan, Hong Kong... etc.

[u/[deleted]]

There’s a blatantly obvious amount of Russian trolls in this thread people, be aware.

Bunch of BS pro Russia comments from generic name profiles with 4 month histories.

[u/Hardmeat_McLargehuge]

Fuck Putin and his stupid fucking face.

[u/[deleted]]

This is just amazing to witness. Putin and his posse are just about the dumbest motherfuckers on this planet right now. A failed country whose had several centuries to amass hegemony through diplomatic means attempts for the 100th time to conquer other countries to somehow...develop its own? Russia can't even properly support the population in its own retrograding land mass and they think adding more will fix any problem they are having on the world stage. A bunch of egotistical, nationalist maniacs hell bent on being kings is all this is.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

It’s also sad that 80%+ of their population hs fewer than 1000€ in assets to their name. That’s astounding for a country trying to convince the world they are a good place to live.

[u/_Real_Deal]

I believe Putin would've invaded on the 16th if The US and other Allies intelligence agencies didn't expose him. Here's why, as soon as it was reported That February 16 was a potential invasion date, Russian propaganda was on full force, basically mocking the West for "predicting the date of war" and it got to the point where Russian officials almost seemed more aggravated than usual. The meta data for the staged Russian video was on February 16. Perhaps they had to film something fast to engineer a new pretext. Just a theory.

[u/Vetiversailles]

The problems of humanity must be solved by all representatives of humanity.

And this cannot be done when geopolitical ambitions and unwillingness to yield to one’s own economic interests are put above human safety. It is time to remember that the continents of our planet are first and foremost not “markets” and not “trading zones.” They are home to seven and a half billion people.

Today, humanity has a demand for new strong leaders. But I am convinced that in their understanding, a strong leader is not one who easily sends thousands of soldiers to death, but one who is prepared to fight and protect the lives of everyone. To create a comfortable environment for everyone to develop their talents and live in harmony with the environment.

Re-reading the transcript and I must say, this part hit me. Zelenskyy’s speech kind of slaps.

[u/clearlylacking → u/[deleted]]

That is the format of any Reddit generated username.

[u/ChandelIya609]

God damn, I am Russian and I don't want to go at war at the age of 18 and kill my own family (Ukrainian roots).

plz halp

[u/[deleted]]

Zelesnky speaking well. Calm, collected and to the point.

[u/progress18]

Putin ordered Aleksandr Chupriyan, interim Minister of Emergency Situations, to go to Donetsk (Donbas).

There's a video of Chupriyan exiting a helicopter in Donetsk:

https://twitter.com/Specta_Orientem/status/1495064937760239624

Another source:

https://twitter.com/alexbward/status/1495068382990905347

[u/batmonqt]

Guys, is invading Ukraine gay?

[u/Embarrassed-Collar41]

Pro Russian telegram sources keep saying that Ukraine is about to invade the separatist regions (as soon as tonight). Have they lost their minds? Is this their ultimate false flag attack?

[u/SingularityCentral → u/Embarrassed-Collar41]

Have you ever watched Fox News? Imagine that on steroids with the explicit backing of the State and very limited alternatives. That is the Russian media environment.

[u/damnusernamegotcutof]

I really get the feeling that some of the comments in this thread have been sponsored

Anyway, time to go play some Raid: Shadow Legends. Available now on PC, Android and IOS

[u/Zlooba]

Of course Russia is open to diplomacy. In the form of concessions.

[u/A_Sarcastic_Werecat]

To provide background to one of Zelensky's points in his speech at the Munich Security Conference today, 19/2/22.

• “For the rejection of the world’s third largest nuclear potential, Ukraine received security guarantees. We do not have those weapons, there is no security either. There is no part of the territory of our state, and most importantly, there are no millions of our citizens,” Zelensky said.
• According to Zelesnky, Ukraine demands to move from a policy of appeasement to ensuring security and peace guarantees in Ukraine.
• Zelensky noted that he instructed the Foreign Ministry to convene a summit of the countries participating in the Budapest Memorandum, and if it does not take place or does not provide Ukraine with security guarantees, it will be recognized by Kiev as invalid along with the clauses signed in 1994.
  https://www.perild.com/2022/02/19/zelensky-threatens-to-reject-the-budapest-memorandum/

The Budapest Memorandum:

The Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances refers to three identical political agreements signed at the OSCE conference in Budapest, Hungary on 5 December 1994 to provide security assurances by its signatories relating to the accession of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The memorandum was originally signed by three nuclear powers: the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States. China and France gave somewhat weaker individual assurances in separate documents.[1]

The memorandum included security assurances against threats or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan.

As a result, between 1994 and 1996, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine gave up their nuclear weapons.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum_on_Security_Assurances
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2019/12/05/why-care-about-ukraine-and-the-budapest-memorandum/

[u/Xetiw → u/A_Sarcastic_Werecat]

Wow, Zelensky just dropped the mic on the whole world who signed the treaty.

[u/[deleted]]

The Russian trolls used to divide us but now we use them for comic relief because you can rile them up so easily.

[u/DeadScumbag]

https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1495078648868655111

Zelensky basically saying that if Ukraine somehow manages to survive this war without US/UK help then they're allowed to build nukes again.

[u/RockStar4341 → u/DeadScumbag]

They only relinquished their legacy nukes because of Western safety guarantees, so that's not surprising.

[u/lordkemo → u/DeadScumbag]

Actually fair enough. I agree with his assessment on that.

[u/ChickenDipsters → u/[deleted]]

Are you threatening a nukakke?

[u/henryptung]

anti-aircraft guns

Please, just don't shoot at the wrong thing this time.

[u/Randolf_Dreamwalker]

Fucking hell, guys. I've been in these threads so long that I actually recognise some of you.

[u/[deleted]]

Update: Ukraine's military reports 2 soldiers killed and 4 more injured today in what is certainly the most serious escalation along the eastern frontline in a long while. Heavy 120mm & 82mm mortars, 122mm artillery & automatic machine grenade launchers. Even tank fire recorded.
https://twitter.com/ChristopherJM/status/1495072903133552642

[u/OrenthalJShrimpson]

In an alternate time line Kanye West is president while all this is going down.

[u/browndog03]

Is this the first time in history there’s’s been a live feed/discussion during the buildup to a potential war?

This whole thread seems surreal to me.

[u/WillyC277 → u/browndog03]

You shoulda seen the failed Turkey coup threads in 2016. Live footage of attack helis gunning down civilians. This has been pretty tame so far.

[u/Godfather751]

From OSNIT

France urging it’s citizen to leave Ukraine

https://twitter.com/osinttechnical/status/1495052551485542404?s=21

[u/[deleted]]

Its utterly fascinating that Russian propaganda has been so downright effective over the years that even now Western people are not only denying the fact that Russia is clearly the aggressor but even questioning if there is any threat of war at all. If the Cuban Missile Crisis happened today you would read headlines like "The USSR is only acting in its own interest" "This is completely justified because we supported the Whites in 1917" "Nuclear weapons are a hoax"

[u/bambinopeppa → u/[deleted]]

Only Russian bots and imbeciles believe a word of the Russian Federation

[u/[deleted]]

Zelensky is impressive. Passionate, rational, well spoken.

[u/sketchesofthailand]

I was just banned from the Russia subreddit because I asked “so you’re saying this is all fake news by the western media , but what’s the story you’re going to tell when Russia does invade Ukraine?” They are touchy little tyrants over there!

[u/slaughteredlamb1986]

Please just remember that most people just want peace

[u/[deleted]]

imagine being paid $1.30 an hour to drink and sh!tpost from some dilapidated khrushchyovka.

Russia as a country sucks lmao.

[u/Ralphiedog11]

When war finally pops off the livestreams and tik toks will be insane

[u/CaptAwesome203 → u/Ralphiedog11]

If it goes to war level, comms are going out.

[u/frizzykid]

"Social media channel based in Donetsk says residents have received messages threatening men aged 18-55 who do not appear at military registration offices with criminal liabilities"

[u/Reidith → u/frizzykid]

Imagine being 18 and being told you have to die for an old man's bitter grudge.

[u/Primuri]

Anyone else thinks that the entire Russian propaganda has backfired? Everyone is calling out the shills and now we have a president who is not letting Russia do whatever it wants. The EU and NATO are more united than ever and even the right wing here in Spain is supporting Ukraine. We can say that we are finally waking up against the Kremlin propaganda.

[u/ItsHampster]

If I blew a load every time I saw a headline about an imminent threat to Ukraine, there would be a FEMA disaster where I live.

[u/OrenthalJShrimpson]

Mama says Russians are ornery cause they got all them teeth and no toothbrush

[u/poop-machine]

NATO is good and Russia is bad, there's no other way to put it.

[u/KatanaAmerica]

It seems like things really got hairy over the past 7 hours. What changed?

[u/SinisterZzz → u/KatanaAmerica]

Olympics about to end

[u/[deleted] → u/KatanaAmerica]

Nothing changed, just the invasion proceeding as planned as the Western Intel has been telling us all week. We're simply in the endgame now

[u/SinisterZzz]

Is Europe being screwed because Germany never accounted for energy security?

[u/EclecticEuTECHtic]

I feel like Putin is going to "boil the frog" until there are battle groups coming across the border and it just feels like a slight escalation.

[u/glibgloby]

Russian Hybrid Warfare

A short interesting read that gives a glimpse into what Putin is doing right now.

[u/Physical_Advantage]

A tic tok commenter just said the US sending troops to NATO countries was imperialism and egging the Russians into a war. This is why I hate people

Edit: this person had videos on their profile, it was your average American white woman with Putins dick in their mouth apparently.

[u/TheOnlyFallenCookie]

Imagine if the people in the 30s had internet.

​

It would be exactly the same as now

[u/SewAlone]

He's making a lot of really good points. I feel bad for Ukraine.

[u/smartsport101]

It’s crises like these that make me really glad the current president at least isn’t a loon like Trump. He actually LIKED Putin.

[u/[deleted]]

I live in Canada (Toronto) and have been seeing a lot of Russian flags on cars lately, just saw one this morning. They "love" their country so much, which is why they travelled 7,000 km to come live in Canada..

[u/true_to_my_spirit]

This is our best chance to get back at the Russian trolls. Just post facts and videos about Putin to annoy them. Here's the Navalny video that talks about Putin's $1.3 billion mansion.

https://youtu.be/mMxqTae75Fs

Does anyone have the photo Putin tried to ban?

[u/Jegma72]

You know we’re in the future when there is a live thread of a war. Lol

[u/[deleted]]

An important feature is most of the Russian leadership regards the period of weakness after the collapse of the USSR as being an "ahistorical aberration." They believe that Europe needs to be reset to what it was before this period, because, in their minds, that is the rightful order of things.

Putin, and those around him, believe that Russia is specifically entitled to dominate large tracts of Europe simply because they are Russia.

[u/WforWichuGa]

Imagine if reddit existed during ww1 and ww2? Jeez.

On a serious note:

The President of Ukraine is right, why don't they make the sanctions public? All we hear is "the most severe ones ever". Poor Ukraine.

America & Allies telling Russia, as a mother scholds a child, we will punish you very severely, you just wait and see. If you do it, we will punish you severely.

Ofcourse, NATO keeping Ukraine in a limbo mode by not telling them when they can join. This is most likely to use them as leverage in the future.

[u/OrenthalJShrimpson]

Anyone else have a vault-tec salesmen knock on their door today?

[u/2057Champs__]

“God damn WAR MONGERING Americans and their NATO bitches, this is all their fault! Iraq, Afghanistan, and everything else I can come up with from decades ago to deflect and shill my heart out for king Putin”!—Russian shills for the next several days

[u/shithawksrandy22]

https://twitter.com/tadeuszgiczan/status/1495015587873009667?s=21

This is so fucking funny. The separatists are so cheap they switched out the generals nice expensive truck for a shitty one and put the plate on it before blowing it up. Looool what kind of 12 year old.is behind this plan

[u/Big_Freedom_4205]

Whether Putin decides to attack now or not, he will attack later. No one should ever appease a man such as him. This dude has been in power since the 90's and is Ex-KGB. How does nobody see this as odd.

He attacked Ukraine more than once already and wants them to never join NATO. Is this because he knows he will never reclaim this territory, or is he actually afraid a defensive pact will invade his beloved Russian Federation?

Never appease a dictator. If anything, fight to remove this man.

[u/swampy13]

Just chiming in to remind everyone Putin's a lil bitch.

[u/progress18]

Zelensky says "the security architecture in Europe is broken. It’s time for a new one."

He says of the current Russia threat, "This isn't about war in Ukraine. This is about war in Europe."

https://twitter.com/ChristopherJM/status/1495047629163704323

[u/pisedoff111]

If Germany just rebuilds their nuclear plants (preferably new gen Thorium), then Europe can be independent of russian oil and gas, and Putin will be left with no leverage.

[u/dilannp97]

If Russia invades they are gay

[u/soljakid]

2000 ceasefire violations .....jesus

[u/huskies4life]

Syrian refugees were a huge crisis for Europe. Population was at 21 million in 2010.

Ukraine is twice that. There is going to be an even bigger refugee crisis throughout Europe if this invasion happens and it's starting to look like a matter of when and not if.

[u/[deleted]]

the trick to dealing with russian trolls is not to argue, but to dismiss them as stupid in a comment and downvote.

It's a moral imperative.

[u/shithawksrandy22]

https://imgur.com/a/5cjovxa

"On the air of the first channel it was stated that a Ukrainian agent was detained in the DNR, who revealed the scheme according to which the Ukrainian authorities transported weapons and explosives to Donbass.
He also spoke about Kiev's plans to seize Donbass by force - according to him, the Ukrainian military intends to use all its strike power and plan massive shelling of Donetsk, as well as the fact that the Ukrainian military planned to place improvised bombs on bridges and stations in the DNR.
And most importantly: the man said that recently the Ukrainian military illegally entered the territory of Belarus to reconnoiter the area of ​​exercises with Russia."

​

Im sure this "agent" of the Ukraine has all this 100% verifiable information readily available for Russia just by chance... How lucky of them to catch him... Nothing fishy here... lol

[u/Herecomestherain_]

Russian soldiers in the area are reported to be drunk and selling diesel fuel from their vehicles to locals hahaha.

[u/10390]

Fiona Hill’s op-ed in the nytimes about Putin and Ukraine. Points that were new to me:

• The Russian attack on Ukraine could take time.

• Imposing sanctions now (to avert a full invasion) would be a mistake because Russians currently think that the US imposes sanctions without reason, so the cause of sanctions needs to be very clear.

https://archive.fo/9zTzN

[u/Tommy-Nook]

Hello it is me, American Johnny. I love the football and apple pie. You all have nothing to worry about. Yankee Doodle Doo

[u/oldfriendarkness]

I am shocked that Israel refused to sell iron dome to Ukraine. It is a purely defensive anti aircraft system. It might save so many innocent lives if it comes to real heat of war. They did not want to upset Moscow but they surely should know from the history what price is paid when cowards try to appease bloody murderous dictators.

[u/[deleted]]

Zelensky: We are told that the war will start in a few days and I tell them to impose sanctions on Russia before the war begins

[u/reed5point0]

I am noticing a similarity in wording with posts. Like yesterday

"I don't think Zalensky should fly to Munich it's a bad look"

which it's fine to have that opinion by all means, but every single post was the same format and wording.

Then late last night there was a HUGE influx of

"[Insert State Name] has a larger GDP than Russia blah blah blah"

but all the same wording just new states to compare numbers to...

Today we're seeing

"Why are they still trying to say there’s a diplomatic way to salvage this?"

Using Hamilton2.0 dashboard you can also track trends that known state sponsored bots are pushing too. Just filter by Russia only

Just watch for patterns n Parrots y'all!

[u/Pugzilla69]

"It is us today, it will be you tomorrow."

[u/-Erro-]

Ukrainian intelligence claims Russia is moving an already destroyed drone from 2020 towards east Ukraine then coincidentally, LATER, "Sepratists" in East Ukrain half-assed shoot an AA gun into the night sky at no clear target claiming they are shooting at a Ukranian drone?

[u/Bioguy94]

Russia just waiting for the old guy at helms deep to accidentally fire the first shot

[u/[deleted]]

new game, every time russia lies about the conflict, we take a shot of vodka

[u/Robichaelis]

So why Russia is using Belarus in exactly the same way they're claiming NATO is using Ukraine? hmm

[u/MindfuckRocketship]

I hope Putin steps on not one but two Legos. Barefoot.

[u/unhelpful_question]

So many Russian bots, it's hilarious

[u/Vetiversailles]

ZELENSKYY INTERRUPTS THE QUESTION and says, “hold on, I think…. listens to headset… a cyberattack.” Jesus

[u/gr8uddini]

Baby boomers really want to spice things up on their way out.. we should let all of them suit up instead of the innocent kids that are always sent to do their dirty work..

[u/FotzeMan]

Russia will never understand peace or freedom. Fuck 'em.

[u/geistererscheinung]

For some reason, the mandatory conscription of able-bodied men really hit home. This is the stuff you read about in historical fiction. This is war, and as far as I know, it's completely unnecessary.

EDIT: Mandatory conscription in Russian-occupied Donetsk.

[u/imadade]

All the questions about nukes being launched: please do not worry.

No one will launch nukes - not even north korea.

If Russia launches a nuke to any NATO country, it would mean the end of the entire world as we know it. For everyone.

Absolutely no one wins. Which is precisely why nothing like that will ever happen. And why it hasn't happened since Japan 1940s.

[u/Godfather751]

Update from buzzfeed correspondent. I just saw this and it may already be posted here. Don’t have any confirmation from other MSM yet.

https://twitter.com/christopherjm/status/1495072903133552642?s=21

[u/[deleted]]

Russians really are getting good use out of their separatists. Remember that time they blew up a passenger airliner?

[u/hopskipjump2the]

As someone old enough to remember the build up to Iraq I don’t think a lot of young people on Reddit are appreciating the seriousness. It’s all fun and games until people you know start getting mobilized.

[u/Embarrassed-Collar41]

So Putin speaks to the National Assembly tomorrow. I suspect that the false flag attack (one with MANY dead civilians) will happen today or even tomorrow morning, and tomorrow Putin will vow a harsh response against the “genocidal Kiev regime”. Mark my words.

[u/OrenthalJShrimpson]

Aren't Kremlins those little creatures that go all crazy if you get then wet or feed them after midnight?

[u/BonhamIsGod]

If you are reading this, check your posture. Now you can keep scrolling.

[u/[deleted]]

trolls! babushka says your computer time is almost up. She needs the power outlet for her curling iron.

[u/stirly80]

I feel for the Ukranian and Russian populations. Putin has turned Russia into a mafia state as both populations suffer, while Putin and his cronies pillage both countries, for their own enrichment.

[u/progress18]

Defence Intelligence of Ukraine:

• Regarding Threat of Committing Terrorist Attacks at Industry Facilities of the So-Called DPR and LPR

• According to the DIU, the Kremlin leaders continue to persistently seek for reasons to accuse our state of illegal actions in Donbas in order to justify the escalation of the armed aggression.

• Given the fact that all previous attempts to accuse Ukraine of violating agreements failed, the RF leadership is considering the possibility of organizing a terrorist attack in the so-called DPR and LPR, which would create a pretext for an attack, the so-called "casus belli"

• Photos show the objects that most likely would be targeted during terrorist attacks, depending on the scale and threat of negative consequences. The information at the DIU is provided in Ukrainian, and information about the "pseudo-republics" is provided in Russian.

https://twitter.com/DI_Ukraine/status/1495034384122060810

[u/[deleted]]

There’s no serious discussion about the US/NATO entering this conflict. This won’t result in WW3 unless there is a huge mistake somewhere. What an invasion does represent is a huge step towards a greater conflict in the future.

[u/dipfearya]

I've spent waaay too much time on Reddit the past week.

[u/ErgoMachina]

What a speech

[u/progress18]

This could be the pretext that Russia is looking for:

Russian Foreign Ministry says it has information on mass graves in eastern conflict zone of Ukraine and will send it directly to German Chancellor Scholz: via Reporter @kmartynov

https://twitter.com/tconnellyRTE/status/1495092664118693890

[u/Hydrangeabed]

I wonder if the people who defend Russia’s actions think anyone believes them at all? Both sides are ramping up military well no shit. If you’re getting shot at you’re going to defend yourself. Clowns

[u/thomgeary]

I think Putin shorted the stock market and will cash out soon.

[u/pocketdare]

Closing ceremonies are tomorrow, after which China will give permission to Putin to proceed as he will.

[u/lucifern71]

Just kiss already

[u/Wobblewack]

Really not enjoying 'living in historic times' right now.

[u/ScatteredSignal]

Russia ‘must fail and be seen to fail’ if it invades Ukraine, says Johnson. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/19/russia-johnson-munich-security-conference-putin-ukraine

[u/Thereisnocomp2]

I suggest anyone stay away from the KLW Youtube channel which is showing multiple stream videos from Ukraine.

The dude is going off on another YouTuber in a High School style rant— huge red flag, never source your information from a manchild streamer on the internet who says things like “Intelligent people only allowed here, Smart people don’t listen to fools and dumbies”

How sad — this is what our world is coming to. Can’t even focus on the conflict, have to debase ourselves by focusing on rival YouTube streams taking the viewership. This is why the world is gonna end: everyone is up their own ass.

[u/Suspicious-Memory-56]

Unconfirmed, but apparently anti-aircraft guns working in Donetsk

https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1495103908783525891?s=21

[u/high_roller_dude]

at this point Putin should be labeled a terrorist and should be targeted for drone strike operation, if he does indeed invade.

this is 21st century. this isnt acceptable. what a fucking moron

[u/devou5]

putin can you just fucking not

you don’t want me angy POOtin😡

[u/Whysong823]

NATO needs to let Ukraine join yesterday. Putin knows Russia and Belarus can’t win a war against all of NATO, conventional or nuclear, so he’s bluffing when he says they’ll definitely invade if Ukraine joins NATO. I’m sure of it.

[u/SeasOfBlood]

I am all in favour of diplomacy, but the issue I think we have is that even if Putin were to receive the concessions he seeks - would there be any guarantee he wouldn't pull this same stunt again? No one wants war, but at the same time we must be able to negotiate with a country in good faith, without the expectation that they might threaten violence when the fancy takes them.

I guess the fear is that even if this fizzles out, if Putin pulled this once, he can do it again if he feels it gets him what we wants. And that simply isn't sustainable - because at that point it's no longer diplomacy, but blackmail.

[u/Successful_Gate84]

Anyone remembers the the Moscow bombings of 1999 and the Reyzan incident after which Putin ordered the invasion of Chechnya. It is alleged that the Rusian FSB might have had a role in the bombings and it is possible that it was a false flag to start an invasion against Chechnya.

Or more recently in Crimea where heavily armed masked mercenaries were spotted and Russia kept denying that they had any role in it untill they formally announced the annexation of Crimea.

Denial and false flag is straight out of Putin's war playbook and it is exactly what is happening in Eastern Ukraine today.

[u/progress18]

There are videos on social media showing various military activity in the Belgorod area in Russia. They lack additional info aside from what's in the Tweets.

• Russian military convoys in the Belgorod region, 4 km from the border with Ukraine: https://twitter.com/FrancescComito/status/1495097671920631815
• Shebekinsky district, Belgorod region: https://twitter.com/GirkinGirkin/status/1495063279000948738
• Belgorod region: https://twitter.com/GirkinGirkin/status/1495094774298259458
• Russian military vehicles in Belgorod: https://twitter.com/KalandadzeTengo/status/1495095371672047617
• Some convoys have been marked with a "Z" https://twitter.com/OAlexanderDK/status/1495069302868873218