Russo-Ukrainian War 2014-23 and Invasion

[Sheilbh]

If you want to shake your fists at the usual usual suspects 

The usual fringe randos and the main opposition's candidate to be PM of the UK for five years

[HisMajestyBOB]

Sweden has presented its 9th aid package to Ukraine. Air defense systems (exact nature still secret), winter gear, body armor and ATVs. No Archer artillery systems, yet.

How about actual archers?

[The Brain]

Sweden has presented its 9th aid package to Ukraine. Air defense systems (exact nature still secret), winter gear, body armor and ATVs. No Archer artillery systems, yet.

How about actual archers?

Sweden is not sending fighting troops to Ukraine at this point.

[HisMajestyBOB]

Sweden has presented its 9th aid package to Ukraine. Air defense systems (exact nature still secret), winter gear, body armor and ATVs. No Archer artillery systems, yet.

How about actual archers?

Sweden is not sending fighting troops to Ukraine at this point.

A wise move given what happened last time.

[Iormlund]

If you want to shake your fists at the usual usual suspects 

The usual fringe randos and the main opposition's candidate to be PM of the UK for five years

By now the Ukrainians must be the only remaining, unfailing fans of Boris.

[Sheilbh]

By now the Ukrainians must be the only remaining, unfailing fans of Boris.

Almost certainly - the people of Ukraine and, for some reason, Nadine Dorries

He wrote a piece in the WSJ, I think last week, encouraging support for Ukraine - and reportedly he still speaks with Zelensky and plans to spend some of his time out of office encouraging Republicans/conservatives in the US to keep backing Ukraine. No doubt he'll do the usual embarassing gigs for cash to pay off his ex-wives, but it may be that nothing becomes him quite like leaving office

[Legbiter]

Sweden has presented its 9th aid package to Ukraine. Air defense systems (exact nature still secret), winter gear, body armor and ATVs. No Archer artillery systems, yet.

Good. Just calmly keep giving them aid to steadily kill Russians. Cheapest, most cost-effective Western aid/intervention ever.

[celedhring]

ian bremmer
@ianbremmer
darth vader statue replacing lenin in odesa, ukraine

 

It reminds me of the - sometimes humorous - defacing of Soviet monuments in Eastern European nations after the fall of the USSR. Ukraine is now going through a similar process of rejecting that legacy.

[Solmyr]

That's from 2015 though, so not the latest.

[celedhring]

Ah! Somebody retweeted it and I thought it was current.

[Zoupa]

The North Atlantic Fellas Organization is buying a naval drone to fuck up the remains of the Black Sea fleet.

We held a contest to name the drone. The top 2 names were The Dildo of Consequences (Rarely Arrives Lubed) and Raccoon's Revenge.

For reference, the russians decided to kidnap a raccoon from the Kherson zoo when they fled, for some reason.

Raccoon's Revenge ended up being picked.

[The Larch]

Obviously Russia was not including the fury of internet shitposters into their equations coming into the war. 

[Barrister]

The North Atlantic Fellas Organization is buying a naval drone to fuck up the remains of the Black Sea fleet.

We held a contest to name the drone. The top 2 names were The Dildo of Consequences (Rarely Arrives Lubed) and Raccoon's Revenge.

For reference, the russians decided to kidnap a raccoon from the Kherson zoo when they fled, for some reason.

Raccoon's Revenge ended up being picked.

Raccoon's Revenge is funnier than Dildo of Consequences.

[The Larch]

On the topic, there's a campaign headed by Mark Hamill that fundraises with the objective of buying drones for the Ukranian army. They've already bought 500, apparently.

'Star Wars' actor Mark Hamill is helping donate drones to defend the skies over Ukraine against 'the evil empire'

• Mark Hamill told Bloomberg he's helped send 500 drones to Ukraine through the country's United24 initiative.
• The "Army of Drones" program is collecting drone donations to "constantly monitor the front line."
• Hamill urged "everyone to come together and help Ukraine stand up in this war with the evil empire," Deadline reported.

"I was really shocked because they give me these updates at least two or three times a week about what's going on and they said they've received over 500 drones since I started this," Hamill told Mathieu. It is unclear if Hamill has donated any personal funds toward the initiative or if the 500 drones come from funds he has raised as an ambassador. 

Mark Hamill, best known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the "Star Wars" film series, has helped send at least 500 drones to support the Ukrainian war effort, he said in a Wednesday Bloomberg interview.

"Very simply: Ukraine needs drones. They define war outcomes, they protect their land, their people, they monitor the border, they're eyes in the sky," Hamill told host Joe Mathieu in the radio interview.

As a celebrity fundraising ambassador to the Ukrainian United24 initiative, Hamill has advocated for surveillance drones to be sent to the Ukraine frontlines to improve surveillance and mapping of the invaded region. Other ambassadors of the "Army of Drones" program include Barbra Streisand, Liev Schreiber, Imagine Dragons, and Balenciaga creative director Demna, Deadline reported.

On its website, the United24 "Army of Drones" program calls for donations of funds and camera-equipped tactical unmanned drones "to make the Ukrainian Army stronger and save thousands of our defenders' lives."

Hamill has been vocal about his support for Ukraine for months, sharing "Star Wars"-themed memes and participating in interviews about the war effort, drawing parallels between the fight between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire in "Star Wars" and the ongoing Russian invasion of the Eastern European country.

"I know for certain that Ukrainians need drones to protect their land, their freedom, and the values of the entire democratic world," Deadline reported Hamill said in a statement last month. "Right now is the best time for everyone to come together and help Ukraine stand up in this war with the evil empire."

[Barrister]

https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/john-mearsheimer-on-putins-ambitions-after-nine-months-of-war

This is a link to an interview with political scientist John Mearsheimer.  I admittedly hadn't heard of him, but he is apparently pretty prominent as a "realist" in international relations.  He has repeatedly laid the blame for the whole situation in Ukraine on the US, and he continues to do so to this day.

This interview though is just masterful.  He fully Mearsheimer as a complete idiot all without ever getting hostile, or without challenging him.  He just keeps asking questions...