Russia's 🇷🇺 Invasion of Ukraine 🇺🇦 (Official Thread)

Kyle C. Barker

Kyle C. Barker

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mastermind said:
I didn’t say a word about Russia’s economy. I specifically said Putin because that is ultimately what matters in this scenario. As long as India and China are buying Russian oil, he doesn’t care.
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I brought up Russia's economy in response to your statement that Ukraine can't win this war. Russia is going to need a healthy economy to not only maintain its territory and push for more land, but to also continue paying their troops which they're having trouble with. This same type of economic strain brought down the U.S.S.R when they were in afghanistan in the late 80s.

mastermind said:
Let me ask you a question, do you think Ukraine will gain that land back through fighting? In what world does a nation that occupies lands it won through conflict over another, willingly gives it back?
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They already did that in Kharkiv and Kherson


mastermind said:
Also, how many Ukrainian people have died fighting? You bringing up that Russia lost 250,000, Ukrainians have lost 400,000 people. That would not be so bad if Ukraine wasn't a nation of around 40 million people. That means they've lost almost 1% of their population over the last three years, or about 2% of their male population. That is an insane figure that's almost generational. Ukraine's had to conscript old men to fight.
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You're comparing the number of Russian soldiers killed in action (the 250,000 number) to Ukraine's casualties (the 400,000 number). A better comparison would be the number of casualties between the two (400,000 for Ukraine to Russia's 1,000,000) or comparing the number killed in action (80,000 for Ukraine to Russia's 250,000). So both have lost a considerable amount of their respective population due to the war (using your formula that would be 1.4% of Russia's male population). But again, Russia's economy is in a horrible state, which puts them on a time table. They haven't faced real economic sanctions yet due to trump even though Congress has an appetite for it. Putin at best has until 2028.


mastermind said:
Lastly, I don't know how interested Russia is in gaining more lands. I say that because it seems they've been sitting on this 20% of Ukraine for over 18 months or so. I could be wrong, but that feels strategic.
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This is the generosity/charity I was talking about. This is Putin we're talking about. He wasn't satisfied with just having Crimea from 2014-2022 and last week in his pre-negotiations with Trump he asked for the return of Kharkiv and Kherson and for a decrease in Ukraine's armed forces. If he's really satisfied with the land that he already holds, then he shouldn't be opposed to a real security guarantee for Ukraine (but as we've seen that has been a deal killer for Putin).



mastermind said:
So let's be 100% on what that "unpopular law" was. Zelensky signed into law a bill that ended the independence of their anti-corruption agency. Why in the fukk would anyone sign a law like that? I guess I commend him for reversing course, but you shouldn’t have to have reverse course there because it should have never happened.
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This is a purity test that neither Russia nor the U.S. would pass. I wish we had the type of democracy where a healthy protest could reverse a law. But at least you are willing to give the ukranian government a pass.


mastermind said:
Let's also be clear that Zelensky's administration and military leaders have been accused of a lot of corruption before the war and during the war. His popularity within Ukraine has dropped a lot the last couple of years too. He is still popular, but largely because of this war and Trump treatment of him at the White House. He also suspended elections, so saying he ain't like Putin is odd considering that's what we think Putin does. (I am not saying Zelensky is Putin, I am saying your comparison ain't as strong as you think)
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We have 25 years of Putin's shenanigans to compare against. Again, i think it's quite charitable to Putin for you to say that it's not that strong. Let me know when Zelensky kills a couple of journalists and invades a nation or two. As for the elections, post-poning elections during war time is written into Ukraine's constitution and it was probably added to their constitution given who their neighbor is. How would you go about holding an election when you have a neighbor who is continously willing to bomb civilians?


mastermind said:
At the end of the day, Putin was wrong for invading Ukraine, but thinking he is going to give back lands he now occupies is not serious. Zelensky has to think about if he wants more men to die because of this because Ukraine is not going to militarily win this war. We have to be honest and serious about this and I feel a lot of people aren't. We gotta stop this stupid neocon reasoning and try and save lives and first get a ceasefire done before we get to peace talks.
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It's neocon reasoning versus Russian imperialist appeasement.

mastermind said:
Saying all of that, Trump would probably offer Putin more lands just because he is a clown. That I don't agree with and people should push back against that.
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Honestly, it's the same type of appeasement. One appeasement just happens to be more generous than the other. Either way, the 2 viewpoints are converging at their respective ends of the horseshoe.
 
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www.dailykos.com

Russian stuff blowing up: Ukraine severs Russian pipeline, destroys Russian fuel train

The oil flow to Hungary, Slovakia and other parts of Europe through the Druzhba pipeline has been cut off. Multiple drone strikes destroy a Russian fuel train in occupied Zaporizhzhia. This is reported to be in the town of Molochansk, which is a few...
www.dailykos.com


Russian stuff blowing up: Ukraine severs Russian pipeline, destroys Russian fuel train​

by quaoar
(This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)
Tuesday, August 19, 2025 at 12:51:22p EDT

Destructions_in_Kostiantynivka_after_Russian_attack_2025-06-27_01.jpg

Fire destroys a building in Kostiantynivka after a Russian attack. Attribution: "Destructions in Kostiantynivka after Russian attack, 2025-06-27 (01)" by State Emergency Service of Ukraine is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

The oil flow to Hungary, Slovakia and other parts of Europe through the Druzhba pipeline has been cut off.

WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social)
"The Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces announced a complete halt of oil pumping for an indefinite period. The oil pumping station "Nikolskoye" in the Tambov region has been destroyed."
WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) August 18, 2025 at 3:14 PM

(((Tendar))) (@tendar.bsky.social)
"The situation of the Druzhba pipeline is actually far worse. Last night NASA FIRMS confirmed that the hub and pump station in Novonikolske, Tambov region, in Russia was burning. Satellite pictures show that large parts of the facility are completely destroyed."
(((Tendar))) (@tendar.bsky.social) August 18, 2025 at 3:32 PM

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Multiple drone strikes destroy a Russian fuel train in occupied Zaporizhzhia. This is reported to be in the town of Molochansk, which is a few kilometers southwest of Tokmak along the road to Melitopol.

Anton Gerashchenko (@antongerashchenko.bsky.social)
"A Russian freight train was blown up in the Russian-occupied part of Zaporizhzhia region last night.

It is reported that the Russian railway connection through occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia region is not functioning.

Glory!"
Anton Gerashchenko (@antongerashchenko.bsky.social) August 19, 2025 at 4:53 AM

MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social)
"🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩"
MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social) August 19, 2025 at 8:44 AM

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Ammo dump bavovna.

The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com)
"⚡️ Ukrainian drones destroy 2 Russian ammo depots in Luhansk Oblast, Security Service says.

The strikes hit warehouses in the village of Bilokurakyne, located on a key railway line supplying Russian forces on the Pokrovsk front, where Moscow is focusing its primary offensive efforts."
The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) August 19, 2025 at 7:36 AM

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Resistance is futile.

🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social)
"Epic chase of a fiber optic drone after a Russian military jeep."
🦋Special Kherson Cat🐈🇺🇦 (@specialkhersoncat.bsky.social) August 17, 2025 at 11:55 AM

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Operation Spider Web continues to have an effect.

MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social)
"✈️💥 After SBU's "SpiderWeb", Russian strategic aviation launches half as many missiles.

❗️The intensity of missile attacks has decreased from 33 to 19 missiles per strike. Russia is forced to transfer surviving bombers to distant airfields, some of which require repairs."
MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social) August 19, 2025 at 5:30 AM

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Zelenskyy said it was a great meeting. Merz agreed.

And Trump says he wants to arrange a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting in about …. wait for it … two weeks.

UNITED24 Media (@united24media.com)
"⚡️ Merz: Expectations today were not just met but exceeded."
UNITED24 Media (@united24media.com) August 18, 2025 at 5:55 PM

Trump hopes solving the Ukraine-Russia war will get him a ticket through the Pearly Gates.

Sorry, Don. Your ticket to hell has already been printed and validated.

MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social)
"🇺🇸🇺🇦 Trump: If I can save 7,000 people a week from being killed, I wanna try to get to heaven if possible.

I'm hearing I'm not doing well. If I can get to heaven, this will be the reason."
MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social) August 19, 2025 at 11:34 AM

Putin says he'd be happy to meet Zelenskyy … in Moscow.

Prediction: Putin will find a way to avoid any meeting with Zelenskyy.

Kevin Rothrock (@kevinrothrock.me)
"Still in disbelief about this whole story, but this offer feels a bit on brand for Putin.

www.bfmtv.com/internationa..."
Kevin Rothrock (@kevinrothrock.me) August 19, 2025 at 9:26 AM

Remember back at the start of the war when Macron would call Putin and try to reason with him?

Macron is clearly out of fukks to give now.

Savchenko Volodymyr (@savchenkoua.bsky.social)
"🇫🇷💯 Macron called Putin a "predator" and "a cannibal at the door of Europe."

The French president warned that Russia has become a permanent source of destabilization and a long-term threat to Europe.

Macron also stated that he does not share Trump's optimism about a possible peace agreement."
Savchenko Volodymyr (@savchenkoua.bsky.social) August 19, 2025 at 8:45 AM

Where's that dude from Finland? Oh, right in front of me.

Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com)
"this is where Stubb was sitting when Trump couldn't see him btw"
Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) August 18, 2025 at 2:16 PM

The suit thing again.

Glenn is a reporter for something called Real America's Voice and is MTG's boyfriend.

Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social)
"Brian Glenn: President Zelenskyy, you look fabulous in that suit

Zelenskyy: You are in the same suit. I changed, you did not."
Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) August 18, 2025 at 12:31 PM

This is the same guy.

WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social)
"Brian Glenn, an American journalist who criticized Zelensky for not wearing a suit during an Oval Office dispute, was given "famous Russian vodka" by Russian propagandist colleagues."
WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated.bsky.social) August 17, 2025 at 10:05 AM

This is a troubling sign coming from an official from a Baltic country.

Phillips OBrien (@phillipspobrien.bsky.social)
"Rather worrying. We heard a great deal about how European states were holding together to stand by Ukraine. Yet today there is this kind of statement (from the Baltics no less) which parrots exactly what Trump is saying. Signs Europe is preparing to sacrifice parts of Ukraine."
Phillips OBrien (@phillipspobrien.bsky.social) August 19, 2025 at 9:38 AM

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This is a great (as in profitable) time to be in the arms business.

🪖MilitaryNewsUA🇺🇦 (@militarynewsua.bsky.social)
"❗️Zelensky has offered Trump a $100 billion deal to buy US weapons as part of a security assurance deal, the FT reported.

Kyiv has made clear its desire to buy at least 10 Patriot air defense systems, as well as other missiles and equipment."
🪖MilitaryNewsUA🇺🇦 (@militarynewsua.bsky.social) August 18, 2025 at 4:37 PM

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Russia launched a blitz of drones/missiles at Kremenchuk.

MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social)
"🤬 Kremenchuk is filled with smoke — residents are asked to close their windows.

They hit everything at once: with "shaheds", ballistics and cruise missiles.

Administrative buildings of energy enterprises were damaged, gas storage facilities in Poltava region were also hit."
MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social) August 19, 2025 at 1:34 AM

OSINT Intuit (@urikikaski.bsky.social)
"Russian sources have been spreading this video of an RF Kh-101 air-launched cruise missile striking the Kremenchuk oil refinery last night which a local had posted on social media.

#OSINT"
OSINT Intuit (@urikikaski.bsky.social) August 19, 2025 at 6:22 AM

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Two large Russian refineries are off line.

(((Tendar))) (@tendar.bsky.social)
"The Rosneft refinery in Syzran and the Lukoil refinery in Volgograd suspended all operations due to the heavy damages inflicted by drones on 14th and 15th August.

Together both refineries have an annual production output of over 21.5 million tons in oil products.

Source: Reuters, Moscowtimes"
(((Tendar))) (@tendar.bsky.social) August 18, 2025 at 3:00 PM

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Updates from the situation in the 18-kilometer thrust Russians made past Ukrainian lines northeast of Pokrovsk. This first one says the Azov Corps is in control of the situation.

Euromaidan Press (@euromaidanpress.bsky.social)
"Frontline report: Azov corps encircles 800 Russian soldiers after 18-km breakthrough collapses

Azov command reports an additional 101 Russian soldiers injured, 13 taken prisoner during the rapid response operation that mobilized Ukraine's 1st national army corps
euromaidanpress.com/2025/08/18/f..."
Euromaidan Press (@euromaidanpress.bsky.social) August 18, 2025 at 4:08 AM

Euromaidan Press (@euromaidanpress.bsky.social)
"ISW: Ukraine recaptures villages near Dobropillia, cutting off Russian troops at the base of the penetration.

Russia's infiltration is stalling as Kyiv moves faster on both flanks, ISW confirms.
euromaidanpress.com/2025/08/19/i..."
Euromaidan Press (@euromaidanpress.bsky.social) August 19, 2025 at 7:08 AM

Challengerinua (@challengerinua.bsky.social)
"Some of the effective work of the Black Raven Unit in helping take back control over the villages of Hruzke and Vesele near Dobropillia, where a recent Russian breakthrough occurred. Wait for the boom!🔥
🇺🇦93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade."
Challengerinua (@challengerinua.bsky.social) August 18, 2025 at 2:13 PM

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Another 890 Russians plus 66 artillery systems, but no tanks.

MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social)
"Russian losses 👍"
MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social) August 19, 2025 at 1:32 AM

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He was willing to kill Ukrainians so he could have a shytty one-room apartment.

SPRAVDI - Stratcom Centre (@stratcomcentre.bsky.social)
""I came to kill Ukrainians for a one-room apartment".

Captured Russians describe their reasons for coming to Ukraine."
SPRAVDI - Stratcom Centre (@stratcomcentre.bsky.social) August 19, 2025 at 2:47 AM

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Russia's attack on the Azerbaijani state-owned SOCAR oil depot in Odesa involved 10 drones and set it ablaze.

Euromaidan Press (@euromaidanpress.bsky.social)
"Frontline report: Azerbaijan is mass-producing 122mm and 155mm shells — Ukraine wants them all

Russia hit Azerbaijan's oil sites in Ukraine. Baku answered by threatening to send weapons.

euromaidanpress.com/2025/08/18/a..."
Euromaidan Press (@euromaidanpress.bsky.social) August 17, 2025 at 5:38 PM

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This would double the range of kamikaze drones and would put Belgorod within range. Of course, it would also spread fiber-optic cable across 100 km.

Samuel Bendett (@sambendett.bsky.social)
"www.businessinsider.com/ukrainian-co..."
Samuel Bendett (@sambendett.bsky.social) August 16, 2025 at 5:58 PM

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It's a race to try to stay ahead of Russia's own drone improvements.

Samuel Bendett (@sambendett.bsky.social)
"defence-blog.com/russian-dron..."
Samuel Bendett (@sambendett.bsky.social) August 11, 2025 at 12:43 PM

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Ukraine plans to go all in on nuclear power.

Euromaidan Press (@euromaidanpress.bsky.social)
"Ukraine announces it will quadruple nuclear capacity while Russian missiles target the power grid. The plan: finish Soviet-era reactors abandoned in the 1980s, then add American-designed units. The goal extends beyond energy independence — capturing Russia's energy export revenues across Europe."
Euromaidan Press (@euromaidanpress.bsky.social) August 19, 2025 at 4:08 AM

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Did somebody put RFK Jr. in charge of Russian health care?

Prune60 (@prune602.bsky.social)
"‼️ Russia: "The HIV Fight Fund has been left without government grants"

HIV & AIDS are a big problem in Russia

www.moscowtimes.ru/2025/08/18/f..."
Prune60 (@prune602.bsky.social) August 18, 2025 at 6:17 PM

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It's hard to bring an economy to its knees when you keep throwing more money at it.

Euromaidan Press (@euromaidanpress.bsky.social)
"The European Union spent approximately 4.48 billion euros ($5.22 bn) on Russian liquefied natural gas imports during the first half of 2025, marking a significant increase from the 3.47 billion euros ($4 bn) spent during the same period in 2024
euromaidanpress.com/2025/08/18/e..."
Euromaidan Press (@euromaidanpress.bsky.social) August 18, 2025 at 2:08 PM

Ukraine has brought home 1,000 fallen soldiers.

NOELREPORTS (@noelreports.com)
"Ukraine has recovered the bodies of 1,000 fallen soldiers. Among them, tragically, are five who died while in captivity."
NOELREPORTS (@noelreports.com) August 19, 2025 at 9:35 AM

---

And finally …. Kharkiv has been under constant Russian attack from drones and missiles, yet people there took the time to rescue a cat stuck in a tree. I looked for this video on Bluesky but can't find it there, so here it is on Twitter.
 
mastermind

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Kyle C. Barker said:
I brought up Russia's economy in response to your statement that Ukraine can't win this war. Russia is going to need a healthy economy to not only maintain its territory and push for more land, but to also continue paying their troops which they're having trouble with. This same type of economic strain brought down the U.S.S.R when they were in afghanistan in the late 80s.
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They aren’t pushing for more land. Also, what is Ukraine’s economy like?
Kyle C. Barker said:
They already did that in Kharkiv and Kherson
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I shoulda been clearer. They ain't giving back lands that they don't want to give back. Especially not diplomatically.

Kyle C. Barker said:
You're comparing the number of Russian soldiers killed in action (the 250,000 number) to Ukraine's casualties (the 400,000 number). A better comparison would be the number of casualties between the two (400,000 for Ukraine to Russia's 1,000,000) or comparing the number killed in action (80,000 for Ukraine to Russia's 250,000). So both have lost a considerable amount of their respective population due to the war (using your formula that would be 1.4% of Russia's male population). But again, Russia's economy is in a horrible state, which puts them on a time table. They haven't faced real economic sanctions yet due to trump even though Congress has an appetite for it. Putin at best has until 2028.
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History shows us Russia will keep throwing bodies and they have a bigger population.


Kyle C. Barker said:
This is the generosity/charity I was talking about. This is Putin we're talking about. He wasn't satisfied with just having Crimea from 2014-2022 and last week in his pre-negotiations with Trump he asked for the return of Kharkiv and Kherson and for a decrease in Ukraine's armed forces. If he's really satisfied with the land that he already holds, then he shouldn't be opposed to a real security guarantee for Ukraine (but as we've seen that has been a deal killer for Putin).
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Using crimea proves my point. I'm not saying he won't go back for more land again in the future, but Putin didn't go for more lands. It could a been the on tool up for 2022, but there wasn't more of a land grab. He may be fine with what he got, which is why a deal is imperative right now to actually provide real sanctions and actions if he/Russia does this again in the future. Nothing happened after Crimea that deterred Putin by Europe and the US.

Kyle C. Barker said:
We have 25 years of Putin's shenanigans to compare against. Again, i think it's quite charitable to Putin for you to say that it's not that strong. Let me know when Zelensky kills a couple of journalists and invades a nation or two. As for the elections, post-poning elections during war time is written into Ukraine's constitution and it was probably added to their constitution given who their neighbor is. How would you go about holding an election when you have a neighbor who is continously willing to bomb civilians?
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You misunderstood my post. I didn't say a positive word about Putin, but you aren't exactly being crítical of Zelensky and still aren't. I never said Zelensky was Putin, but that his government has been extremely corrupt.

Kyle C. Barker said:
It's neocon reasoning versus Russian imperialist appeasement.

Honestly, it's the same type of appeasement. One appeasement just happens to be more generous than the other. Either way, the 2 viewpoints are converging at their respective ends of the horseshoe.
Click to expand...
Miss me with this appeasement talk. You don't have a solution to stop this war. I know you not interested in US troops showing up and fighting for Ukraine. Europe has shown they aren't interested in having their troops die for Ukraine. What is the end game here? Just keep fighting and lose more? This isn't a video game or a simulation. This is real life.
 
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