comment: >
  
  So the whole situation in the fight for Soledar, and all the information warfare surrounding it, has gotten me to think again about the reports from the Russian side that have been spread all over these pages, daily and for some time now. An observation: they're really laying it on thick this week.
  So let's review.
  The Russian media lies like the Russian state: continually and aggressively. No matter the pretense, they have no desire whatsoever to report the actual truth. They aren't allowed to, for one, but the bigger problem is that the Russia has been a shifting swampland of lies and corruption for so long that I don't think they even believe there is a truth to report. The truth is what people believe, and so information, all information, is just another weapon to get what you want.
  So the race in on to make up the most extreme, preposterous "truth" they can come up with, to get eyes and attention to their broadcasts, and possibly good attention from the sanctified powers-that-be at the top of the pyramid. The capos, kleptos and warlords. The dispensers of all that is good — power, favors and money — in Russia,  because they've stolen it all.  
  So if you pay attention to the Russian media you will most definitely be less informed after than before you started. If you end up  hearing something they've said despite this, it's better to assume from the get-go that everything you have heard is a lie of some sort and try and figure it out from there. Or ignore it completely, which is, really, better anyway.
  The problem is that they call themselves reporters and they sometimes get considered, by outside sources, as a legitimate take on the news. But that too is a lie, because all this dispensing of favor makes it end up propaganda for the state wrapped up in what amounts to rage-porn entertainment. Which is of course a deeply disturbing idea in itself. Sorry about that, but it's fair. 
  Another truly weird and new aspect of this war of information, with reporting used as weapons, is that the Russian doctrine has been taken over by the Spirit of Christmas Selfishness. The acting credo is: "Who can I fuck over to get ahead?" So we have all these opposing PMCs and factions, each with their own media pets trying to curry favor, creating their own lies with their own agendas. So nothing is coherent. Which actually serves back into the corrupt idea that there is no truth and truth is what we say it is. The Kremlin and the FSU surely approve. 
  So in this confusing cloud of conflicting reports, I get why people say: "The Russians said this monstrous thing! The Russian said they won that battle! The Russians said the Nazis they're fighting bite the heads off kittens!" The Russians work to destroy truth and fog the information battlefield by blowing smoke out of their asses. It's the plan. So be aware of this and go elsewhere for your news, no matter how tempting it is to hear what the other side has to say for themselves. In most circumstances involving a disagreement it's good to listen to your opponents' point of view. But not when their doctrine explicitly says to use it as a weapon against you. Don't walk into the punch. 
  This has been a public service announcement
context: Hey Patriarch Kyrill.  This is because God hates you. >
  
  It’s ironic that Russia majorly pushed climate change denialism. Then that very climate change denied their ability to blackmail Europe with gas. >
  
  And let themselves freeze with -30° Celsius temperatures.
  This should be a "maybe god doesn't like what we're doing" moment for every priest but then again Kyrill is just another oligarch in the disguise of a man of the church. >
  
  If it’s anything like here in the US, it won’t be long before they all start claiming God has been corrupted by Satan and now they need to worship their real god, God Putin. >
  
  Imagine sitting like that in freezing weather, most probably wounded, on top of a pile of rubbish that once was your home and your life. Fuck Putin. >
  
  France ? They already promised their light tanks, with or without a consensus. And AFAIK they never said they would send other kinds of tanks. >
  
  I think they hinted handing over Leclercs to countries who pledge Leopards.
  Might be remembering wrong. >
  
  Excellent. Good on GB for having the balls to take the lead on that. >
  
  Without inciting violence,  I do hope one day Ukraine have the ability to respond, in a big way.
  Again, not inciting violence in the middle of a genocidal attack by Russia, just want Ukraine to be able to defend itself. >
  
  I mean, I'm all in for a scenario of Ukraine creating a 50-100 km buffer zone inside russia and belarus. Government continues operating and life goes on, but no military, and numerous restrictions should be in place to prevent weapon smuggling towards the border. >
  
  Give them what they need. >
  
  Russia throwing a fit now the uk have confirmed we will give tanks?
  Seems about right >
  
  Russia is trying to do maximum damage before Ukraine will get more proper weapons (like tanks, etc). >
  
  More like using ballistic missiles while Ukraine can't defend against them. Patriot and SAMPT will be able to somewhat defend against those when they are deployed >
  
  Hope those escorting ships have water cannons, because the admiral is a fire hazard. >
  
  May the people responsible see the same compassion when it's their time. Disgusting. >
  
  25 invaders move into a building in Soledar and get evicted by HIMARS or MLRS >
  
  Walk it off lads… >
  
  Why walk when you can fly? And in multiple directions at the same time too. >
  
  “I’ve got the UK prime minister on the phone.”
  “I’ll call him back.”
  “He said something about tanks?”
  “Tanks…? Oh right, the tanks!” >
  
  ”Trained” >
  
  Yes, surely you can produce a high quality military of 500k troops in 3 months.
  …it can’t be that hard.
  /s >
  
  Reminds me of the world war 2 bombing of a church/school killing around 200 children in France I think it was. Correct me if I'm wrong. There was a movie about it called the bombardment. Very sad. >
  
  Sounds like the US and Pakistan have reached an entente, after lukewarm relations during 'the global war on terror'.
  India won't be too happy about it >
  
  It makes sense, really.
  The only geopolitical issue between the US and Pakistan was Afghanistan. With that issue gone, they're both probably looking to move on.
  Meanwhile, outside of dealing with China, India and the US rarely agree on anything. >
  
  India is also an issue for Pakistan.
  US and India are closely tied wrt military defense in Asia. >
  
  Isn't most of India's military supplied with Russian/former Soviet gear? >
  
  80%, last I heard.
  The problem isn't that they don't realize they're over-dependent on Russia, it's that they refuse to actually decrease their dependence. They may have signed some deals with the US and Europe, but that doesn't mean they're willing to give up their dependence on Russian equipment which comes with zero political strings attached.
  The Indians have seen just how easily the US and Europe can switch off supplies to nations that piss them off, and they're not willing to take the risk, especially with Modi and BJP in charge who are almost certainly fascist and authoritarian leaning.
  The Indians aren't stupid, they know they're just being used to contain China. >
  
  Wow very special from Zolkin, they have taken one of the Russian POWs to one of the villages he occupied and he is confronted by the habitants.  
  Zolkin channel >
  
  At this point Russia degraded enough that the West has to give Ukraine the necessary equipment to try and finish this. >
  
  Again 3 loud explosions in Kyiv
  and only after that air raid alert >
  
  Russia is terrorizing cities 100s of kms away from the front for no military gain.
  ATACMS, please. >
  
  Russians should feel shame about their blatant terrorism, but make no mistake, 90% of Russians absolutely love this shit. >
  
  Not all russians! The 99% are really spoiling it for the 1%. >
  
  Update on the explosions in Kyiv (kinda)
  
  Deputy Commander of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General, Oleksandr Pavliuk
  "No offensive action from the North yet. The explosions are not related to an air or air defense threat or any military action. If there was a threat, you would have heard the alarm. The cause of the explosions will be reported separately".
  
  So nothing definitive here. From what Hatshepsut420 said it might have been a chain of coordinated explosions. Maybe some kind of car bombing? It's curfew in Kyiv so it might have made reporting on it harder. >
  
  Kyiv region military administration head reported that there was an explosion on a "critical infrastructure facility" caused by a fire. Emergency services have been dispatched. >
  
  From 24.02.2022 to 14.01.2023 (Day 325) estimated Russian losses so far:
  |Category              |Change*|Total     |
  |:---------------------|:------|:---------|
  |Personnel             |+530      |114660    |
  |Tanks                 |+6      |3104      |
  |APVs                  |+6      |6173      |
  |Artillery             |+4      |2090      |
  |MLRS                  |-      |437       |
  |Anti-aircraft Systems |+1      |219       |
  |Aircraft              |-      |286       |
  |Helicopters           |-      |276       |
  |UAVs                  |+2      |1867      |
  |Missiles              |-      |723       |
  |Warships / Boats      |-      |17        |
  |Other Vehicles        |+13      |4846      |
  |Special Equipment     |+2      |186       |
  *Change since the previous day.
  Source: The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine >
  
  I like the formatting 👍 >
  
  Out of 4158? >
  
  United24 - Donate directly to Ukrainian government (defence, medical aid, rebuilding efforts)
  Support Ukraine Now - More ways to help >
  
  Also, you can claim the medical donations on your taxes for US donors. According to the donation page. >
  
  a new challenger arrives!
  I don't think it's 100% announced but it appears the UK is going to give Ukraine 12 challenger 2 tanks. >
  
  I've posted this before but there is no evidence of it, just a theory. Jordan has 400-500 Challenger 1s that they no longer want. UK would be able to control where they go next. There has been military planes flying from Jordan to the UK recently, within the last couple of days. >
  
  Surely 500 tanks wouldn’t take planes. But it could be for inspectors. 
  500 tanks would have major material impact. >
  
   Whisper it, but Europe is winning the energy war with Putin 
  
  “For now, things look good,” an EU diplomat agreed. “The Russians only had one weapon in the energy war: gas. It’s a strong weapon, with strong short-term impact. But they’ve used it already." The diplomat said that the EU's "arsenal" was more diverse, including: boosting renewables, getting supplies from elsewhere and taking steps to use less energy. "But we can’t afford to be complacent.” >
  
  It really isn't THAT strong of a weapon assuming you have even a passing interest in national security. >
  
  It used to be a very strong weapon for a long time considering it's cheap price and some struggling economically countries. Then russia completely weaponized it and ruined the price. >
  
  It's only a strong weapon as long as you can threaten to use it. Just like nukes, it's mostly a defensive weapon. Putin tried to use it offensively and now he doesn't have it any more and Europe has one massive reason less to do what he wants. >
  
  Well it was a weapon that required good thinking to use and worked in the past but this invasion wasn't good thinking. >
  
  Microsoft and Intel Quietly Resumes Russia Support, Unblocks Software Downloads >
  
  Downloading software from a country that is actively working against you...That's the sorta shit that makes network security people curl up and cry while tightly clutching their Linux penguin plushy. There is close to zero possibility that the US isn't politely asking those companies to add a few surprises in there >
  
  We can but hope. >
  
  My tiny country, Denmark, put 30,000 people in internment camps and jailed 13,000 people for having contact with the enemy/occupational forces during WW2. Similar treatment of suspected enemy sympathizers happened all over Europe during and after the war. Have that in mind when people accuse Ukraine of being a totalitarian dictatorship for putting only a dozen priests and local administrators under a mild house arrest. >
  
  Hopefully we get Ukrainian version of 73 easting. All we need is the for tanks to finally be supplied. >
  
  For some reason a huge Putin supporter and enabler is allowed to participate in the NHL, and most people still cheer for him >
  
  As someone who once followed the NHL he was a superstar player but he brought politics to a place politics does not belong.
  Screw him for ruining the game. >
  
  From this lurker to all the regular posters. Thank you!!! You have created a massive resource of information and you make it easy to keep up with this tragedy on the literal other side of the world. Round of applause 👏 
  I thank the mods for being amazing at their bot game and keeping this thread alive. 
  Salva Ukraini >
  
  Russia: invades a country, says it belongs to them, wants to wipe out their identity and existence.
  Russia: kidnaps children, subjecting them to re-education and most likely alot ending up trafficked  or treated as slaves.
  Idiots: "yeah you go Putin, give those imperialists what they deserve. We're totally on your side against the people's who trade in slavery, steal land, and try to edaricate people's cultures" >
  
  The amount of people on twitter who talked about russia being anti-imperialist/colonist is insane. It's like they are completely oblivious to what russia is doing and what it has always done. Not gonna miss that place for sure, heard it's only gotten worse. >
  
  Was there ever anymore information about the booms in Kyiv? I know that it was announced that it wasn't about the Russians but when things go boom right now it begs curiosity. >
  
  S-300 was fired at Kyiv >
  
  Good job they changed generals so they can checks notes do the same bombing civilians they've always been doing >
  
  Russia probably claim they've destroyed 150 Challenger 2 tanks this time tomorrow. >
  
  ...While they were parked on the third floor of a bombed out building, somehow. >
  
  3rd floor of an active children's hospital. That's where all the tanks are. >
  
  It’s kind of crazy that we are close to year since this war started. I remember a new thread had to be made every hour in the early weeks of the war and the fear of Armageddon was genuinely in the minds of people. >
  
  The Armageddon scenario on Reddit was, I believe, a reflection of the age of the average Redditors.
  I suspect most of us who have lived through the Cold War were less dramatic because we have seen higher risks before. >
  
  When the war started a lot of people came to these threads asking if WW3 had started yet. >
  
  Explosions in Kyiv without air raid alert, source: me
  upd: the military says it wasn't an attack, the cause will be explained later >
  
  Did you see it? Hear it?
  If you heard it, are you sure it wasn't a sonic boom? >
  
  Heard a series of them, maybe 3-4, the first one triggered car alarms. Local chats also report it, the cause is still unknown. >
  
  You sure it wasn’t Zelensky’s big brass balls clanging when he sat down? >
  
  Great Odin's Raven! >
  
  Update from Soledar >
  
  Good to see Kiyanyn. They've obviously got way better things to do than shoot videos for us, but it still makes you anxious when the familiar faces making regular updates miss a day. >
  
  Air Force of Ukraine spokesman, Yuri Ignat:
  
  "The missile that was fired at a high-rise building in Dnipro is an X-22 [aka Kh-22] missile fired from a Tu-22M3 long-range bomber. The launches were carried out from the Kursk and Azov Sea regions. A total of 5 missile launches were executed.
  What kind of rocket is this? A similar missile hit a shopping center in Kremenchuk a few months ago.
  A missile with a warhead of 950 kilograms, called a ‘carrier killer,’ is designed to destroy aircraft carrier groups at sea, and it can be equipped with a nuclear warhead. But this type of missile hits a densely populated city where people... There is no explanation or justification for this terrorist act."
  
  Ignat also reported that on Saturday, anti-aircraft missiles were fired at Kyiv and Kharkiv, which are designed to hit air targets and are very dangerous for the population.
  
  "Why are they terrorists, why are they inhumans? Because they started with anti-aircraft missiles, S-400 or S-300... The type of missiles that were used to hit Kiev has been established. They are the missiles that are used constantly to hit the eastern part of our country—including Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, and Dnipropetrovsk—they suffer practically every day from those.
  Why do we call it a terrorist weapon? Because missiles are designed to hit aerial targets with thousands of striking elements to destroy an aircraft, missile, drone, or helicopter. Those fragments fly hundreds of meters, striking the civilian population. Shooting in cities is pure terrorism. Kyiv was hit with those today. And Kharkiv was also hit that day by those complexes." >
  
  30 AS90s? That's an immense step-up, That's ~1/3rd of the UK's operational SPA fleet.
  They don't have the longest range or many fancy features, but it's a solid gun and platform. >
  
  Anyone able to explain what is meant by “ballistic trajectory” and why/how is that different to previous strikes we’ve seen Russian clowns do on Ukraine >
  
  Ballistic trajectory is when you fire something up and towards your target and it then falls down on it under the influence of gravity, like a mortar. If you send the projectile high enough then the speed it will have when falling down will be very high and so it is extremely difficult to intercept.
  Cruise missiles travel parallel to the ground because they have an engine and wings. They are not as fast and are easier to shoot down. >
  
  Ah cheers appreciate it >
  
  Unfortunately, Austria is a known hub of FSB activity >
  
  Austria on the wrong side of history more often than Germany, somehow. >
  
  Just as Hungary >
  
  If so, then either those attacks would continue, like with Kharkiv or Mykolaiv earlier or Ukraine will step into belarus to prevent them. No other options. >
  
  Russia is a barbaric nation. Fucking savages. What the fuck is wrong with them? Ukraine just wanted to be left alone! >
  
  Not sure if I got what the 500s are exactly. >
  
  People who refuse mobilization or try to get out of serving more. The least motivated bunch, really. The idea seems to be to hand them over to Wagner so they can treat them like dirt and send them to die without oversight. >
  
  What's ironic is that the convicts turned out to be relatively competent and motivated soldiers especially compared to the mobiks. Now they are replacing them with the refuseniks,  or the least motivated of the already low-motivated mobiks. The transition is going to go over well for sure. >
  
  While I'm all for sanctions, any that can be introduced, we^1 need to be realistic about what's actually possible here and not expect overnight results from this kind of call. The low hanging fruit on sanctions has already been picked.
  Even Arestovych has said this, that what can be done is being done, and he pointed out that the person in charge of the EU sanctions is personally invested in this, that Russia lied to him directly about the invasion.
  Sanctions are more and more difficult to introduce as time goes on as they get more difficult to pick through the details on what impacts it'll have to the nations introducing them. We may even see them wound back in small parts as they get introduced and then unintended consequences occur within introducing jurisdictions.
  ^1 we as in us observers - the EU and other nations should do what it can and add resources if necessary.
  p.s. ATACMS could be an alternative way to sanctions to hit their missile production and staging areas. >
  
  
  p.s. ATACMS could be an alternative way to sanctions to hit their missile production and staging areas.
  
  No, ATACMS only has 300km range. If they want to reach RU missile production and staging areas, they need Tomahawks or some good long range drones. >
  
  Or help with Ukraine analog that will be produced on safe territory for example in Poland >
  
  
  Air defense engaging targets over Mykolaiv 14min ago >
  
  Give Ukraine the missles to sink those f..... terrorist ships, ffs. >
  
  You know, seeing how Russia is once again terrorizes Ukraine with missiles, and bombing our cities, i feel that i need to reporst this once again because they launched another missile attack on our cities. 
  They are celebrating RIGHT now, that they killed innocent people in Dnipro as a result of their missile barrage.
  I am once again stating that Western media absolutely does not paint this war correctly. They do not show absolute vile comments, gloating, hatred that Russians display towards Ukraine and Ukrainians. Only few channels do, but the rest is focused on “poor russians”.
  If you want to learn what is "real Russians" think, just visit few "neutral" Russian forums, telegrams and see what they write with translator.
  You can visit Pikabu, Telegram channels, Yaplakal, and many other places. Check forum themes where they declare victories, no matter how small.
  And the story is ALLWAYS the same. Russians are gloating. They are happy. They are celebrating. They are threating that they will go "forward", and that they will "return Kiev" and all of Ukraine.
  This is the main and absolute difference between Nazi Germany and Nazi Russia.
  Germans had vague understanding of what happening for some time, because they chose to ignore it, and looked away.
  Russians KNOW full well what is going on. They can watch it in real time. And they are celebrating it. They are proud of atrocities they committing. They want to commit more. They are proud that "Russia is expanding". They want to expand it more. They are proud they are genociding Ukrainians.
  I hope in the future, all Ukrainian children will learn from these vile comments and we will save them full well to show every and each Ukrainian child what Russians truly are. We must never forget that Russians tried their best to destroy us, that they gloated, laughed, and celebrated genocide of Ukraine and annexation they were conducting. And we MUST never forget who our enemies are.
  All these comments, all these reactions of bombings, of “taking” of our cities, they MUST be archived, they must be studied. We must never forget what Russians did to us, and how happy they were doing it. How they celebrated it, taunted us, gloated, and threatened to take Ukraine.
  Russia and Russians who support and enable this war are worse than Nazies. This must be remembered forever.
  Russians are showing entire world who they truly are. Do not be afraid to look at them. >
  
  The showing of support for this war by those Russian is the same as the Nazi fervor displayed by many Germans during World War 2.
  As a Westerner I think we need to do more to push our governments to supply Ukraine with what it needs now because every day we hold off debating if a certain weapons system is on or off the table there are Ukrainian civilians paying the ultimate price. >
  
  
  Nazi fervor displayed by many Germans during World War 2.
  
  Well, at least at the time Nazies did not taunt people who they bombed online. They did not watch what they were doing online. 
  Russians do, and they stand by it, proud of what they have become. >
  
  The Taliban has had a Twitter account for years, nothing new >
  
  If anyone also wondering. She is yelling at them in Russian. So they fully will understand her. >
  
  For those who know about the upper level leaders of the Russian forces: With Surovikin, who actually had the sense to see what was being set up on Kherson and make the Russian forces GTFO while they still could, now demoted and Gerasimov in his place, what does this suggest about the approach Russia will take now? >
  
  Gerasimov has already been relieved once.  It's a complete crap shoot if it lasts, and the losers are those bothering to place bets.  
  Who knew HBO's The Wire was a soft calque of Russian military leadership.  Bunch of humps. >
  
  It might not last, but it is still likely to be a different approach, otherwise why replace him? That's the question I'm asking, what that approach is likely to be based on peoples' understanding of Gerasimov's approach to things. >
  
  But that's also what I'm getting at.  Gerasimov's approach is that it's Gerasimov telling people to do things.  And by proxy, Gerasimov not being thrown out of a fourth story building.  
  None of these people know or care what they're doing.  They're just about eating as little shit as they can. >
  
  Russia is the new ISIS. Just a bunch of terrorists >
  
  New old ISIS*. Remember apartment buildings blowing up and school hostages in early 2000s? As well as Chechen wars and Georgia invasion. >
  
  17 RF bombers active and in the air. Massive missile strike expected around noon local time.
  And I still have 600 km towards border with Poland. F*** you Russia. >
  
  If it's the strategic bombers that's up to 3 missiles each if I remember correctly. >
  
  So just a prodding of Ukrainian air defence? >
  
  It’s interesting that Russia chose to do a missile tantrum now. They usually don’t do them on the weekend except for Christmas and New Years. This timing is odd. The tantrums happen when Russia takes an L or make a statement. 
  I can think of several possible reasons. The one I’ve heard the most is that Russia is pissed at the announcements of Ukraine receiving IFVs and tanks, so are throwing a tantrum. Another possibility could be frustration at the situation in Bakhmut and Soledar. Russia keeps pronouncing victories that haven’t been completed and keep bleeding for minimal gains. A third could be that significant progress has been made by Ukraine somewhere, most likely Kremmina and Svatove. A fourth could be Russia kicking off that long-broadcast attack from Belarus, but that feels the least likely. Russia usually doesn’t do these just because, especially now when they are experiencing missile hunger and can’t just use them Willy-nilly. >
  
  Today is the Orthodox New Year in the Julian calendar. >
  
  Ah, so they did pick a day with significance. Unfortunately, Russia hasn’t picked up on the fact that every time they kill civilians, it spurs more aid to Ukraine. >
  
  Meh. I believe it when I see the official announcements >
  
  I’ll believe it when I see videos of Ukrainians cleaning Russian corpses out of their treads. >
  
  My sympathy for these men ends the second they report to the mobilization office. They're not victims. They always accompany their whiny videos with "we're not refusing to fight, give us more shit so we can go kill nazis."
  Their shitty motherland won't even give them food or warm clothes, and they're still ready to fight and kill for it. They deserve everything they get. Them dying without ever getting sights on a Ukrainian is the best case scenario. >
  
  Lots of people in the replies to those tweets mentioning how they complain about their circumstances, but don't complain about being sent to kill people! >
  
  Honest question for a novice here: What's the significance of Bahkmut for Russia? Why are they spending so many resources and throwing so many troops at it?
  I'm aware of the mineral mines there, plus have heard they may be trying to tie Ukraine down from counter offensives elsewhere. Anything else?
  Just seems like a blunder on Russia's part. >
  
  It started as an objective for the southern pincer of an envelopment they were trying to trap Ukrainian forces in the northern Donbas with. 
  The northern pincer fell apart when the Ukrainians attacked out of Kharkov and then took Izyum   
  But Bakhmut was an important objective for the southern pincer, it was where they were told to attack as they needed it and its road network to advance further in the direction they wanted to go.   
  The Ukrainians stopped them dead but now the Sunk cost fallacy takes over   
  If Bakhmut was an important place to take in the late summer, it must stll be important now else all those resources have been thrown away for nothing and so the Russians keep reinforcing failure >
  
  It got to the point when I don't consider getting to 1991 borders enough anymore.
  There must be a (at least) 100 km DMZ inside russia, where no russian military assets must be present.
  All their strategic bombers, cruise missiles, ICBMs, nuclear warheads, ballistic missiles must be either dismantled and destroyed, or transferred to Ukraine (with all documentation, maintenance tools, parts and so on).
  russia must be deprived of its strategic military assets. If it cannot be done diplomatically, it should be done by force. >
  
  If you get to a point where this is even remotely possible you very likely don't need to do it anymore. >
  
  Surprisingly, this even made it into Russian news today, although only the picture and that debris fell—not the quote or the cause. >
  
  The newest excuse by Russian trolls is that Ukraine intercepted the Russian missile which is why it hit a residential building. Even if that was true the dumb fucks don't understand that Russia is still to blame.
  Hundreds of British civilians died because of British anti-aircraft shells malfunctioning, falling down in populated during the Nazi bombing campaigns over Britain. The Nazis were to blame for their deaths just like Russia is to blame for these deaths. >
  
  It is not true, there's a video, it's a direct missile hit >
  
  Even that pro russian shit slinger got unbanned on twitter? Holy shit. >
  
  yeah elon doesn't care >
  
  The really interesting thing about these attacks, is that it shows just how even high up in the chain of command, that decisions are being made out of a mixture of childish petulance and military strategy that has NEVER worked; rather than scholarly and rational thinking. Terror bombing doesn't work, even when you can send in enough planes to darken the sky; yeeting dozens of rockets sure as fuck won't. And all while there are literally millions of valid military targets that could and NEED to be hit if Russia is going to want to win this thing, instead of just throwing near untrained bodies at defensive lines that have been turned into fortresses. Someday when we can find out the truth of what is actually happening behind the scenes of Russian command, that book is gonna be WILD!!!! >
  
  Civilian targets are easier to hit with unprecise weapons >
  
  Everyone is focused on the tanks that may or may not be donated to Ukraine. But what's really impressive is the amount of self propelled artillery that has been promised this month. Take a look at the wiki. If you're on mobile you'll have to scroll down to the "self propelled artillery" section. >
  
  I assume this is why Russia is all about treaty's and making small wins look huge
  The assumed summer offensive by Ukraine is going to be with masses of Western weapons against Russians mobilised soldiers and 50 year old tanks. >
  
  International business with russia must stop. Right fucking now.
  I don't care about the consequences. Every tax ruble paid to russian budget goes to their army and killing of Ukrainian people.
  Every business working in russia or with other russian businesses literally sponsors terrorism against Ukraine. >
  
  Full boycott. 
  It's disgusting that Russia can export things to the West easily. >
  
  Russia: Commits terrorist attacks on civilians in Ukraine
  Ukraine: Just defends itself
  Zwitzerland: Damn I am so neutral even other countries can't send weapons to Ukraine if they were made by us >
  
  I am neutral. Unless monie... >
  
  Or gold teeth. >
  
  The total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02.22 to 14.01.23 were approximately:
  about 114660 (+530) persons were liquidated,
  tanks 3104 (+6),
  Combat Armored Machines 6173 (+6),
  artillery systems 2090 (+4),
  MLRS - 437 (+0),
  Anti-aircraft warfare systems 219 (+1),
  planes 286 (+0),
  helicopters 276 (+0),
  UAV operational-tactical level 1867 (+2),
  cruise missiles 723 (+0),
  ships 17 (+0),
  vehicles and fuel tanks-4846 (+13),
  special equipment 186 (+2).
  Data are being updated.
  Strike the occupier! Let's win together Our strength is in the truth! >
  
  The bombing of Kyiv and random cities is really messed up. Just pure terrorism by Russia. >
  
  Of course they did.  Terrorists tend to do shit things. >
  
  We really need to get the Patriot system up and running in Ukraine >
  
  Yes, ASAP.... >
  
  Any idea what hit Dnipro? Kinzhal? >
  
  Russian media is already saying Ukraine did this to itself to distract from losses in Soledar... Of course all Russian 40+ are eating it up. >
  
  Just an embarrassing shithole at this point.
  The whole nation thinks if it lies enough it will make their sorry shithole better.
  Russia is crumbling into a failed state. >
  
  
  Russia is crumbling into a failed state.
  
  Always has been a failed state. >
  
  I find myself annoyed when I have to read people parroting pro-russian propaganda while scrolling news comments on facebook. They are not Russians but people from my own country/town. Makes me annoyed how people can be so stupid. >
  
  Bear in mind that Facebook (and Twitter) deliberately push this stuff into your newsfeed because it triggers you, and therefore increases the amount of time you engage with their platforms/consume the advertising they push. >
  
  The best antidote: stop using facebook. Thank me later, it truly makes you a better person >
  
  What a clown show >
  
  We are 41 days away from a year of the conflict 
  What has felt liked a lifetime for the world watching the people of Ukraine must be feeling thus had gone on for eternity 
  Hoping for a miracle and this all ends soon >
  
  I don’t think anyone would have dared to predict things were going to be this successful for Ukraine 10 months ago. >
  
  Nope, I was also in the camp of "this is gonna be for Russia what Afghanistan was to the US". Take the country quickly, then face an insurgency until they'd eventually have to pull out because it ain't worth it.
  And I don't think that was a bad judgement with the info we had at that time. The Ukrainian army had an almost static war with a bunch of (Russian supported) rebels in the east. It's hard to imagine that a country like that could stand up against the second largest army in the world.
  But the absolute madlads managed to stop the invasion by being smarter and by sheer will. >
  
  Totally!
  I think it will be remembered as a combination of both things. 
  Firstly, Ukraine showing national pride and heroism that no one fully expected, and will literally become the bedrock of the country’s national identity for a very long time.
  Secondly, no one really appreciated just how much the Russian oligarchs had hollowed out the Russian  military and the military industrial complex. Corruption was expected, but I don’t think anyone realised how bad it was. Including the Russians. Everything not nailed down had been sold, from not having night vision gear to not supplying their tanks with enough fuel. Also, the cronyism had equally hollowed out the military leadership severely.
  It was reasonable to expect Ukraine to fight back, and we kinda knew Russia wasn’t at NATO level, but what we’ve seen has been next level. >
  
  Agree with most of it. One difference:
  
  Everything not nailed down had been sold, from not having night vision gear to not supplying their tanks with enough fuel
  
  They have and have always had plenty of fuel for their tanks. Ukraine just played it smart, let the tanks pass because they couldn't properly counter them yet, and then attacked the fuel supply lines.
  Russia is doing perfectly fine in regards how many tanks they have, how many planes, guns and all that sort of stuff: the big numbers that people care about. What they lack is proper maintenance, socks, winter clothing, bandages etc. >
  
  It's potentially the case that what this actually is is a massive burn against Wagner, i.e. because they're not the Russian army they have no meaningful state of control even in the areas where their troops are present. They are mercenaries and therefore cannot unilaterally claim land by themselves.
  Basically: "send your real army plz Russia", message from Ukraine implying cowardice?
  It also could be taken as meaning there are no areas Wagner has been able to hold uncontested. Ukraine might not have full control either but as the defender they have "control" whilst the area is contested. >
  
  The Armed Forces of Ukraine do not have weapons capable of shooting down the type of missiles that the Russians launched today, according the Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Mykola Oleschuk.
  
  "On January 14, 2023, five X-22 [aka Kh-22] cruise missiles were launched from five Tu-22m3 long-range bombers of the Russian Air Force over the territory of Ukraine. The launches were carried out from the Kursk region and from the waters of the Sea of ​​Azov.
  One of the Kh-22 missiles, launched from the Kursk region around 3:30pm. On January 14, 2023, it hit a high-rise building in the city of Dnipro (on Naberezhna Peremogy St.).
  The approximate launch location, altitude, and flight speed were detected by radar means. There is no doubt that it was the Kh-22 missile.
  The Armed Forces of Ukraine do not have firearms capable of shooting down this type of missile. Since the beginning of Russia's military aggression, more than 210 missiles of this type have been launched on the territory of Ukraine. Not a single one was shot down by means of anti-aircraft defense."
  
  Oleschuk added that the weight of the X-22 warhead is about 950 kg. The maximum range is up to 600 km. When it is used from long distances, the deviation from the target can be hundreds of meters.
  
  "Only anti-aircraft missile systems, which in the future can be provided to Ukraine by Western partners, eg, systems as Patriot PAC-3 or SAMP-T, are capable of intercepting these air targets." >
  
  They have a pre-war stock of 370 kh-22's, they've launched +200 and they're not making any more. They'll only use these for scare tactics. >
  
  11 months. For 11 months russia still inflicts more damage at Ukraine than they get from sanctions and AFU defense.
  Current sanctions are not enough. Current weapons are not enough. Current air defense is not enough.  
  I want every single business operating in russia shut down, all their infrastructure, factories, military bases and facilities destroyed. I want russia to remain in ruins and without any economy. For decades.  
  Reparations won't help restore nature, reparations won't help bring killed and tortured people back alive. Irreversible damage that Ukraine and people living here sustained cannot be covered by money alone. Therefore, russia either must remain sanctioned for a long time, or cede part of their territory and all their weapons to Ukraine. >
  
  Ah, yes, the Russian culture. A culture well worth investing in. I’ll happily invest in kicking it out of Ukraine and I’ll gladly contribute to quarantining it behind a DMZ and closed off from decent people. Before all this, I really wanted to visit Siberia because it has so many amazing natural wonders, but the Russian people have shown the world just how cruel and hateful and repugnant and violent they are and I am cool just looking at pictures. >
  
  I can't think of a single valuable thing or cultural artifact from Russia that's worth keeping. They are peddlers of cheap hydrocarbons, nothing more. Fuck them >
  
  Well of course they have valuable cultural artifacts; they have looted tons from other people! They are very proud of their looting. Taking things from people means you are strong, right? >
  
  That's just such a bizarre "anecdote".
  A Pole randomly thanking the jogging German chancellor for his caution?
  Wat? >
  
  
  Air defense shot down a missile in Odesa region
  
  Note the position on the map. Looks as though this was headed into the West of Ukraine rather than being fired directly at anything in Odesa. >
  
  Let's hear it for the war crimes prosecutors, who may currently be at the scene collecting evidence and matching it to names, and maybe work for justice and strict travel restrictions in the future. >
  
  It's aggravating how nothing Russia does is 'escalation' and they can do anything they want, but any help from Ukraine's allies is a a potential 'escalation' and a decision needs to be made carefully in committee, and the first meeting is scheduled, oh two weeks from now if we're lucky. 
  Please give Ukraine anything they need. >
  
  We've reached a point where Russia can launch a missile at a massive apartment building, destroy an entire section, and we treat it like it's just an average day, while Scholz is meeting Polish joggers >
  
  The thing is that in the past that missile would have been one of hundreds, alongside hundreds more suicide drones. Now, the Russian ability has quite literally been decimated, and not by the Russians being bombed , or by giving Ukraine fleets of B-2's; but by sanctions, bank freezes, backroom deals with other nations(many of whom are otherwise "ok" with Russia) to seriously limit the amount of parts and electronics entering Russia. It's not like the west is just sitting on it's hands. >
  
  If Russia thought 2022 didn't quite go exactly to plan, wait until they see what's coming this year.
  The hammer is about to be dropped.  HI:MA:RS will look like a mere warmup execise. >
  
  Ukraine needs ballistic missiles of their own, to wipe out the military factories in the urals. >
  
  Why is the possibility of ballistic missiles being used suddenly emphasized? Aren't iskanders also ballistic? So they have used them all the time. >
  
  I think it's because Ukraine wants ATACMS (HIMARS fitted ballistic missiles) and want to emphasize that their AA isn't that well suited to defend against Iskanders / Tochka-U's etc. But yeah, I scrolled through some comments and statements talking about the use of ballistic missiles being some type of escalation which obviously seems really off to me because as you said, they used it a ton early on and have kept doing so since to my knowledge.
  I still think Ukraine should get ATACMS of their own so they have a good way to strike back so I kind of support raising a stink about how silly it is that they haven't gotten this clearly useful tool yet but I also don't really see how them using Iskanders is an escalation as much as it's a reminder that all the AA sent isn't some permanent solution to the problem of being bombed. >
  
  
  The Russian GOVERNMENT is afraid the West might start attacking them with magic:
  
  I mean.. if the imperial grand shaman says so, then it's probably true. >
  
  Ye but like that's the thing... This isn't a bunch of Russians in some village being polled, these are official military documents <.<
  Its scary to realize how detached from reality nuclear powers apparently are. >
  
  Medvedev is like a living experiment as to the results of near constant drunkeness, to ones mental abilities. It's not just that he comes up with all this wild shit, but that he has zero ability to filter, and somehow rationalizes that spewing it all out is making him a valid world leader of some sort. It's really and interesting case study. Shame that it also has to effect the rest of us trying to live our lives. >
  
  Someone suggested he could be under orders to spew extremes to make Putin amd others seem more sane. >
  
  Russia must disintegrate >
  
  What people don't think about enough sometimes is the enormous positive repercussions a desintegration of the Russian state as we have known it for the last 20 years (more, but they were kinda hamstrung in the 90's) would lead to.
  
  
  Georgia would be free to resolve its "seperatist" issue, another one created by Moscow. 
  
  
  Moldova would be able to resolve Transdnistria
  
  
  Putin gone, Assad would no longer be backed and propped up by Russia.
  
  
  Serbia would lose its only ally, which might force it to actually start to relate to its european neighbors in a more positive way.
  
  
  Russias involvement in countless conflicts on the African continent would be over
  
  
  Chechnya could toss Kadyrov and become a state at last and move towards democracy. This goes for multiple regions of Russia that are supressed.
  
  
  Lukashenko would be overthrown and the poor people of Belarus finally be given a chance too.
  
  
  The insane proliferation of former USSR weaponry to every potential conflict zone would be hampered.
  
  
  Hungary would need to wake up and start adjusting to Europe.
  
  
  Europe as a whole would be stronger and more unified without constant undermining by Russian financed opposition.
  
  
  I could go on...it is a very long list. >
  
  Damn. I must admit your comment has somehow --- among all the mixed news in this thread -- managed to make me want Russia actually disbanded as a state, gleaming with hope. And this is coming from someone born and partially raised there. >
  
  That hits differently and pretty hard. Thanks for commenting! >
  
  Andriy Yermak (President Office head) wrote on his telegram "Calm."  
  Not sure what those explosions are about, maybe demining. But then, why demine early in the morning? And if those were drones, doesn't seem like there was any damage, as power still is on everywhere  
  Edit: Deputy Commander of UA Ground Forces said that the reason for the explosions will be communicated later. It was not AD or any other military action, nor does it mean "the start of the north offensive", like russian propaganda could try to spin it. >
  
  Countries need to confront and pressure Switzerland why they are refusing and boycotting weapons being sent to help Ukraine.
  Like what the fuck?? >
  
  I hate these filthy neutrals. With enemies you know where they stand but with neutrals, who knows? It sickens me. >
  
  The US should once again take the lead and announce something like "Abrams are on the table." Basically the exact same thing they did with the Bradleys. That was enough to push Scholz over the edge for IFVs, so it should work pretty well for MBTs, too. The UK Challenger 2 announcement is a great first step, but both Abrams and Leopard 2 are available in much more significant numbers. Let's go, Biden! >
  
  Bradleys weren't even the US, but Macron. If he hadn't made the initial push, then there would be no Bradleys >
  
  That's also true for self propelled howitzers when Macron opened the doors with Caesars