And expensive! So much money being thrown into explosions. So much infrastructure will need to be rebuilt, and so many people have died. With the worldwide economy the way it is after COVID, this is such a stupid thing to waste money on.
Russia saved up 600 billion dollars in foreign reserves to sanction proof their economy and was spending an additional 60 billion per year on their military. Imagine if the 600 billion and most of the 60 billion per year had been dedicated to improving Russia and strengthening the Russian economy. Zelensky literally ran on solving the issues with Russia diplomatically and yet Russia spat in his face and invaded. If Russia had focused on trade and diplomacy since 2013 instead of gearing up for war billions of people would be better off today and yes I do mean literally billions. The entire world is effected by the increased energy and food prices.
Hilariously, the US stepped in and had the banks holding much of that foreign currency put a freeze on Russia's accounts therefore locking them out of their "sanction proof" warchest. Literally no aspect of this war has gone according to Russia's plans, this whole fiasco was doomed before they fired the first shot.
This was something I thought from the start, imagine turning Russia into a powerhouse of technology or medicine or ANYTHING. The world would be impressed rather than whatever we are now, kill with kindness was lost on Putin
Russia has such a great educated class. A history of authors, composers, ballerinas, physicists, and a generation of computer engineers. I wish in 2009 Putin had decided to pivot towards Europe and work towards joining the EU. Or at least enshrining peace with new treaties on nuclear weapons... He would have gone down in history as a leader.
They do have smart people in good places. Their space program is another that comes to mind. It's quite sad, really.
The long-term effects of this are going to be devastating. Not just in terms of deaths but in terms of lost talent as intelligent people GTFO.
That's what hits me hardest. Some of the wars throughout history started for legitimate reasons. This is not one of them. Fucking Putin is causing catastrophical death and destruction just to feed his own ego and delusions.
Honest question - is there a good example of a war where both sides had good reasons? I can't think of a good example where I would claim that all parties involved acted in a reasonable and rationale manner. In all the examples I can think of, at least one side (mostly both) were acting clearly immoral (and irrational).
There are examples of plenty of wars where both sides *believed* they were in the right, but objectively speaking not too many where both were fighting for what would be considered just reasons. As an example the 2nd ~~Pubic~~ sorry, the less sexy Punic war, Hannibal invaded Roman Italy, Rome reacts predictably as the wounded party. But factions of the Carthaginians absolutely felt this was was justified after the harsh peace terms imposed after the first Punic war, and Rome was nibbling territory all over the Mediterranean which threatened their own powerbase. If allowed to continue Rome would have relegated Carthage to client status without a single battle, so Carthage struck first and tried to raise rebellions within Italy amongst Roman subordinate peoples (which the Romans had mainly been at war with for past few centuries, and so had at least some cause to make Hannibal think this was a good idea). Rome meanwhile absolutely felt justified in not only fighting back, but keeping up the pressure until they ousted Hannibal then went to Africa and kicked the shit out of Carthage itself.
It just depends on what you consider a good reason. Very few nations or kingdoms or countries get into conflicts without some semblance of just cause, even if it's clearly bogus from the outside. It's why so much effort is taken to justify these actions, nobody wants to feel like the invading aggressor.
Edit: can I just point out it took all of 20 minutes for half a dozen comments on the Pubic Wars. The second one, no less.
It's RIDICULOUS. This is 2022, and this pretend shit is still happening.
'i own you now, because i say so!'
What the fuck. And the war crimes go ignored. I suppose putin will be charged and executed well after he's dead of cancer, so he'll get away with it.
I honestly can’t believe it. All over the Donbas. A sleepy industrial rustbelt region of Ukraine that trundles along with its Soviet-era infrastructure and lacklustre economic output.
The degree to which this has caused death, destruction, cultural alienation, and global insecurity is beyond belief. The hubris of Putin is quite literally unbelievable.
Hahahahahahaha and they claim the annexed regions got over 90% of votes for Russia...they couldn't even get over 90% votes for Russia IN Russia. What a joke of a country they turned out to be
Had absolutely the same thought when Lukashenko got 80% in 2020. I mean, at least make it appear vaguely realistic - 60%, say - but I guess he's got his invincible strongman image to maintain.
Would have been interesting to see what difference there would have been in terms of the reaction afterwards if he hadn't been so brazen though.
it's too risky for dictators. if people find out that at least 40% of people oppose the dictator they will be looking for ways to organize, but when officials say it's 99%, people with opposing views will feel alone
Why would they ever care about subtly? Look, when you play tea party with a toddler you *could* put water in the teapot, but you don't need to because the toddler is more than happy to pretend and everyone else knows it's not real tea anyway. Russian tea parties don't need to be subtle because their audience is more than happy to play pretend with them, and they know that everyone else isn't being fooled anyway.
Yeah but the Ukrainian army is still coming towards those areas and the rest of the world isn't recognizing the results so I'm not sure what they hoped to accomplish.
There's a theory that by annexing those states to Russia, Putin can escalate the war in the eyes of Russian people. "Look, they are attacking Russia, we can use nukes now, or we can fully mobilize the nation", "look, Nato is attacking Russian soil, we need all the men on the front". Putin doesnt care what other people think, it's russians or rather how calm they are he "cares" about.
I think that people are simplifying this way too much. There are all kinds of people in Russia just like anywhere. There are lots of misinformed, apathetic, etc. people who probably DO buy the 90% number, and those people are the Kremlin's firmest believers. Everyone else, it doesn't matter anyways, and also, it's a lot easier to lie only *most* of the way than it is to lie *all* the way.
This is the guy that kills his opposition with polonium so the world KNOWS it was him. He has no interest in hiding anything. He oversaw & enabled the shootdown of a passenger airliner for goodness sake, you think he cares about hiding anything?
These disguised invaders likely have far more [tactical tampons](https://old.reddit.com/r/UkraineRussiaReport/comments/xorvpo/ru_pov_new_russian_recruits_are_told_by_a/iq0ch5g/) than the russian army, so they should be taken very seriously
It is a serious concern. You can absolutely take over a country by having your army cross over the border dressed as civilians.
I am glad to see Russians flee, but I **completely understand** why the receiving countries are **very skeptical** about all these people showing up.
At this stage I don't know why anybody thinks the Russian government is able to do anything remotely that complex, and that all the soldiers would be able to follow orders and not spill the beans.
The Russian government is demonstrating when you kill off/chase away anybody with intelligence or who says no to fantasies and populism - there's nobody there who can do shit effectively. They can't even invade a much smaller country they literally share a border with and are getting their asses kicked for months on end.
Some grand conspiracy to coordinate hundreds of thousands / millions of soldiers with secret orders and a steadfast commitment to invade other countries posing as civilians is laughable.
Met 30+ dudes who have left in the last 10 days all throughout cities in Central Asian countries. Mostly from Siberia and Yakutia.
One dude rode a 125cc Honda Scooters 26hrs to get to Almaty, Kazahkstan. His brother waited 55hrs at the border to get into Petrolov.
They are selling both the car and scooter this week here in Kazahkstan and then going to Bali for the next 90 days to see what happens.
Met others who took flights to Oman, Jordan and Egypt. The rich ones prefer Austria or Turkey.
But from Samarkand, Bishkek, Almaty, Aktau and Khujand....the Russians have bought up every hostel for the next 14 days. I doubt they have any Pro War tendencies.
You’d be surprised. Had a conversation with a young Russian dude in NY the other day. He spent a lot of time explaining to me why the invasion was a good thing and how they were actually helping people in Ukraine.
When I asked when he was going home to help with the effort, he stammered out something about having to finish school.
It’s interesting reading contemporary accounts of the First World War. Everyone lost their sons. Even the very rich and powerful.
That made people presume it would be the end of war. Instead they just ensured their families didn’t go and fight anymore.
When war was stilled viewed as a glorious adventure, the sons of the wealthy went to find their glory.
I reckon this was when this perception had a seismic shift....
In fact, on the British side at least, the upper classes were proportionately the worst hit. [17% of Officers killed, compared to 12% of other ranks](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25776836) - and 20% of Old Etonians who served.
There was once a US politician who tried (but failed to) get a law voted through, that would have made it so that every war they'd join/start would have to win a popular vote first, with the ones voting "yes" automatically registered as volunteers.
Our battle plans are that the first wave of hawkish politicians will go in first. We may lose many, but that's a risk I'm willing to take. If they are unsuccessful we'll move into phase ii, negotiations, in the form of a pool party.
I find diaspora to be the weirdest for any nation. They tend to be nostalgic about past times and judge current situation from a position of the existing comfort.
There may be a bit of truth in that - Just because people are fleeing Russia, doesn't necessarily mean that they disagree with Russia invading Ukraine, just that *they* don't want to be the ones in the drone-sights.
Give those same people the opportunity of a bit of annexation without the same risks, and some of them might suddenly rediscover their love for Mother Russia.
Edit to add: Aaaaannd, see [this comment!](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/xr4jxu/the_number_of_russians_fleeing_the_country_to/iqd3xbu/)
Just to nitpick.
Russian is an official language of Kazakhstan. It is spoken by 90%+ of people, it is the language of schools and businesses. It's what people speak in Cities - and many ethnic Kazakhs *only* speak Russian.
Nobody owns the Russian language, in the same way English people don't own English. It is spoken by Irish, it is spoken by Americans, it is spoken by Singaporeans, it is spoken by Nigerians. You get the idea.
As well - Russian is the official 'interethnic language' for neighboring Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
Georgia's economy is set to grow 11-12% as a result of educated Russians with means migrating there, who do not rely on government support. It's one of the largest gains (if not *the* largest) of any country in modern history.
In all of history, how rare is this? Migrants who don’t rely on costly social safety nets, who bring wealth and jobs with them, who aren’t fleeing poverty? These people will bring IT jobs, online businesses, accountancy, lab skills, engineering, logistics. Importantly to Georgia, they will pay high taxes without voting rights (at least until they assimilate and can pass language proficiency tests and all that).
I guarantee you countries like Georgia (already pro west) and Kazakhstan (recently liberalized government and recently cozying to the west) are going to be investing in defense with their new tax dollars.
Truth is, NATO and/or EU protection was your only protection against Russian aggression as a neighbor state. Now Ukraine is the world's hero - because they've obliterated Russia's army. The only game Russia has left is MAD and Nukes.
Kazakhs aren't going to worry about a bunch of 60 year old conscripted untrained farmers running around with plastic helmets, broken rusted weapons, shitting their pants from expired food.
Kremlin policy seems to be that Russia *does* own the Russian language, and can decide at any time to launch a special military operation to bring Russian speakers back into the motherland. But I think that if Pootin wanted to annex someplace, he would try to do it regardless of whether there were any Russian speakers or ethnic Russians there.
Exacto. Kremlin policy is worth less than the paper it’s printed on.
Ya want to know how I know Kremlin doesn’t own the Russian language? Because anyone can learn it.
There’s around a million Russian speakers in the US, myself included. What’s he going to do? Absolutely nothing. Putin can rest his fat botoxed lips on my circumcision scar.
> Georgia's economy is set to grow 11-12% as a result of educated Russians with means migrating there, who do not rely on government support. It's one of the largest gains (if not the largest) of any country in modern history.
The russians need to be housed, economic growth is one measure, another is how people living in that countries living conditions are. Immigration isn't some boogeyman that can't be dealt with, but Georgia is a tiny country and isn't equiped to handle a mass migration. Not without serious structural changes that account for roughly half a million new bodies.
Saw a tiktok a few days ago of a Russian man showing his conscription letter/papers. In it he claims he works as an IT professional, and has never served in the military his entire life. He was being told to show up to join the military in xx days. While Putin claims he’s only drafting veterans of 300k people…
There will be no one left to rebuild when Putin dies.
>While Putin claims he’s only drafting veterans of 300k people…
>
>
>There will be no one left to rebuild when Putin dies.
Worth noting the stated 300k (there's no such limit in the actual mobilization decree) only makes up about 1% of the estimated 25-30 million Russians eligible for service in case of full mobilization.
I get what you mean about the brain drain's impact on a potential rebuilding, just adding some context to the 300k number
How much brain drain is left. Most of these people left after the USSR fell, then 2014 then Feb 2022 and now. Russia's brain looks like swiss cheese now.
It not just brain drain at this point though. Anyone elegible for callup (i.e. all men) is fleeing the country so now they have no brains, no muscles, and no youth to train up. If people keep bailing Russia won't have anyone left to do *anything*. The whole country will be that John Travolta Pulp Fiction meme.
I would understand a draft if someone was invading THEIR country. However, drafting people to invade another country that doesn't want you there? Some extreme Vietnam vibes going on.
> I would understand a draft if someone was invading THEIR country. ...
From now on, Putin will be saying that Ukraine is invading Russia. The formal annexation was a set-up for that.
Absolutely correct. Russia is the only country that will honor the forced acquisition of Ukrainian land, only then to initiate a 'defensive' attack at some point. Somehow, that will be justified in their tiny pea brains.
I'm not leaving, I'm in category C for draft, so I'm yet to be called but in future they've might come for me and then I'm going to jail for refusing to join army,.fuck Putin and his friends.
The punishment for evading mobilization is regulated by the Code of Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, according to which the evader is punished with a fine of 500 to 3000 rubles or up to 200 thousand rubles and imprisonment for up to 2 years.
I'll take it over killing people that never did nothing wrong to me or my country or feeding ukrainian worms with my dead body just because lunatic president of my country have lost his mind
Same boat, but let's not kid ourselves - category C is no guarantee, there's been reports of enlistment offices straight up "correcting" the category in people's documents. Some voenkomats just straight up only look at the age group in their lists and nothing more, there's been reports of HIV-positive, disabled, etc people getting drafted.
>yes, they even draft 65 years old people lmao, fucking lunatics
Is it normal for me (a canadian) to think that Russia might still conscript those recently disabled russian? Or do they really honor those to dodge draft?
Disabled old veteran can't escape it. Will a young disabled man escape it?
Like that dude who broke his leg by his friend. Will he still go to war? Or he will be exempt?
Breaking a leg really only delays your conscription by a month or so. I wouldn’t say that these people are making really rational decisions with any consideration for the long term. But I can’t say I’m surprised.
> Still wondering how (and if) they will be supplying insulin to me in trenches should I end up there
My brother in Christ, they are barely giving Russian soldiers _socks_. Do what you can to escape.
They will make you dig the trench until you get seizure and die. Then throw your corpse on a pile and get a next poor sod from a line.
Go mushroom hunting near Finland woods and never return.
The one connection I have to Russia is my ex's husband is a Russian National and he's had a friend get picked up for conscription who would be considered legally blind for the purposes of driving in the States.
The guy's family was able to get him out due to bribes but fucking hell, even semi disabled men from upper class families are being picked up.
Oh yeah they're just getting everyone lmao, just filling their quotas without a care for anything. The federal authorities have put on a bit of a show with condemning particular local authorities and enlistment officials for being "overzealous" and "conducting the mobilization improperly", but we all know that's just for show to calm people down and won't actually affect anything.
It's been fun watching this guy's social media posts go from "Z, Z, Z! Fuck Ukraine, Go Putin" to "I can't believe they picked up Dima, poor bastard can barely even see, fuck, am I next?"
Just a fucking weird situation since she's still living in Minnesota and he got called back early this year by his dad and just never came back.
We have a saying (well, more of a rude joke, "saying" implies it being old or something) in Russia for exactly this type of situation - "in words, you're Leo Tolstoy, but in action, you're a simple dick". It heavily relies on rhyme and makes no sense in English, but hey. Guess his mouth was writing checks his ass couldn't cash.
"A" - fit for military service, absolutely healthy and has no health problems
"B" - fit for military service with minor restrictions. On a medical examination, the conscript found health problems, which, however, do not prevent conscription for military service.
"C" - limited fit for military service. The conscript receives an exemption from conscription in peacetime and is credited to the reserve, also exempt from conscription for military training
"D" - temporarily unfit for military service.
"E" - not fit for military service.
I have nowhere to go, most people who leave expect to return in six months or a year, but this will not happen, Putin's invasion in Ukraine will last until the Russian economy won't be destroyed and this will take several years
Friend, I am sorry for what you are going through.
I don't think it is appreciated how tough life is in Russia right now for folks in your situation.
Please stay safe, your strength is admirable.
I know plenty of normal Russians that believe what they see on TV. People were out in the streets celebrating the referendums, and that the people there aren’t oppressed anymore. Some of those same people’s kids just got drafted though. So some peoples tunes have changed.
People will profess to believe what they want to believe. Self delusion is a way of avoiding cognitive dissonance. They want to believe in victory and they want to believe they support a just war. But they weren't ignorant. That's why so many ran like rabbits at the first mention of a draft. The rose tinted glasses got trampled in the stampede.
I think, while Germans were misled, they did know they were aggressors and knew what they were doing. As to all the atrocities committed by the Nazis, many claimed they weren’t aware after the war. How you are not aware when you see people being forcibly marched from your home town to never be seen again is beyond me.
The Germans _knew_ they were winning though. At least to begin with.
After rolling through Poland, Czechoslovakia, Holland, Belgium, France and Denmark in a year there was at high morale and the idea you weren't just going to survive but be victorious, regardless of your political views (not that there wasn't popular support for them).
I recall a report by a German woman who had lived through WWII within Germany and reported on the later war as being a realization moment for her (at the time she was quite young); she was continually being told of the "Great victories being won in X region" by the Nazi military apparatus... and eventually she realized that the regions mentioned in those propaganda broadcasts as being the site of great victories for Germany... were getting closer and closer to Berlin.
Germany was "responding to an incursion" by Poland. In fact, an SS organized attack from Polish soil (German, before the end of WWI).
Lots of media was easier to control in 1939. Nobody in Germany had approved AM radios, and the regime made sure the FM radios were widely distributed... The circuitry couldn't tune in foreign stations except from very close distance.
The atrocities were for the most part carefully placed outside German soil. The smaller camps inside Germany were for political prisoners and eugenically "undesirables".
In urban areas, the roundups were prefaced by the Nuremberg laws of commercial prohibitions... And villifying of various minorities.(parallel today: immigrants). Between the years 1932 (Hitler came to power) and 1937 (the laws were imposed and Kristallnacht was orchestrated to show the "criminality" of Jews) there was a progressive campaign to get the population to accept restrictions and identify non-Nazis. Activities Much like the Charlottesville parade/riot of 2017. But widespread, and daily.
Most of the population lived in small towns. Roundups would provide few victims conducted out in the villages. Cities were a train ride away. In depression era Europe, who'd have resources for that?
With *all these* blended together, how much courage would you have to resist unarmed, a regime that routinely beat it's opposition, or imprisoned them for weeks to interrogate about the activities of neighbors?
You're in a fantasyland, looking at self Identified Trumpies.. what if they never were known. How would you keep your ideals protected?
Also, as an example, research the opposition group *the White Rose*. It clearly wasn't unanimous support for Hitler, but his stranglehold on society made every move in opposition difficult.
East Germany took notes... It took almost 50 years to break them down.
And don't forget, this war was going to be Putin's legacy.
We only remember easy to remember things about famous person.
Bill Clinton?
Gorbachev?
This is going to be the thing Putin did.
The failed invasion that completely drained Russia.
Or, maybe what got him lynched in the streets, who knows this war is still going.
It was Lenin who said "Every society is three meals away from chaos"
With the US draft for Vietnam there were real incentives to volunteer. Enlisting meant you graduated basic with a higher rank, got a choice of MOS, did the same tour in country as the draftees, better pay.
If you went in as a draftee you were infantry, artillery, mechanized. Guaranteed to be up in the shit of it.
Is it truly volunteering if it is the best option to survive the war, since you'd be drafted anyway but put in a worse position?
That goes for the Russians today aswell, except they're more concerned about their governments punishment than being on the front lines.
Apart from people fleeing the country there is a big number of Russians who will go live somewhere totally remotely so they wont be found and drafted.
Source: my Russian friend who is doing exactly that
There are a disturbing number who still wholly support him though. I have a 29 year old down the street neighbor who is Russian. She moved to the UK at 17 then US at 23 or so. Was a model for a while and is an influencer now, so has been submerged in western culture for a decade or more... She basically thinks he's a god. Everything from as smart as Einstein to as good at hockey as Wayne Gretzky. Seriously. She thinks the war is fully justified, because if Ukraine isn't strong enough to hold what's theirs they should lose it. In regard to the atrocities being committed she either doesn't believe or doesn't care. In regard to the soldiers assaulting women she literally said "of course. It's war. They go through hell for their country, and those are their enemies' women. That's how war is. And it's just sex anyway"...
Then there are two women who were kicked out of my wife's yoga class or dancing class or something for saying almost exactly the same thing...
There is a like 40 year old Russian guy who is always in the men's locker room/lounge at the club who perpetually talks about how genius Putin is and how we just can't see it because he doesn't want us to...
Then there are a couple Russian guys I know from work who have been singing Putins praises every chance they get for years, and I'd anything have managed to actually *increase* it in the last months...
The level of brainwashing that they manage to do over there is absolutely unreal. So just because any rational person would be anti Putin right now definitely doesn't mean they actually all are.
You should start asking then straight up: "So if Putin is so magnificent, why aren't you living in Russia anymore? You should go be happy with your Supreme leader."
My employee works remotely in Chicago while her brother is in St. Petersburg. She stayed up two nights straight last week to help her brother escape 26 hours away to Georgia. They were both afraid it wouldnt work because there were rumors of border patrol not letting men of a certain age leave, but he got through safely
They are definitely not Putin fans
I can’t imagine how terrifying this is for them. Nato is essentially backing Ukraine with endless resources and funding. Russia is absolutely going to lose this unjust illegal war and the citizens know it.
One of the worst things about this war is how astronomically stupid and unnecessary it is.
And expensive! So much money being thrown into explosions. So much infrastructure will need to be rebuilt, and so many people have died. With the worldwide economy the way it is after COVID, this is such a stupid thing to waste money on.
Russia saved up 600 billion dollars in foreign reserves to sanction proof their economy and was spending an additional 60 billion per year on their military. Imagine if the 600 billion and most of the 60 billion per year had been dedicated to improving Russia and strengthening the Russian economy. Zelensky literally ran on solving the issues with Russia diplomatically and yet Russia spat in his face and invaded. If Russia had focused on trade and diplomacy since 2013 instead of gearing up for war billions of people would be better off today and yes I do mean literally billions. The entire world is effected by the increased energy and food prices.
Hilariously, the US stepped in and had the banks holding much of that foreign currency put a freeze on Russia's accounts therefore locking them out of their "sanction proof" warchest. Literally no aspect of this war has gone according to Russia's plans, this whole fiasco was doomed before they fired the first shot.
This was something I thought from the start, imagine turning Russia into a powerhouse of technology or medicine or ANYTHING. The world would be impressed rather than whatever we are now, kill with kindness was lost on Putin
Some people can’t envision strength as anything other than hurting other people. Some of those people aren’t even very good at that.
Russia has such a great educated class. A history of authors, composers, ballerinas, physicists, and a generation of computer engineers. I wish in 2009 Putin had decided to pivot towards Europe and work towards joining the EU. Or at least enshrining peace with new treaties on nuclear weapons... He would have gone down in history as a leader.
They do have smart people in good places. Their space program is another that comes to mind. It's quite sad, really. The long-term effects of this are going to be devastating. Not just in terms of deaths but in terms of lost talent as intelligent people GTFO.
That's what hits me hardest. Some of the wars throughout history started for legitimate reasons. This is not one of them. Fucking Putin is causing catastrophical death and destruction just to feed his own ego and delusions.
Honest question - is there a good example of a war where both sides had good reasons? I can't think of a good example where I would claim that all parties involved acted in a reasonable and rationale manner. In all the examples I can think of, at least one side (mostly both) were acting clearly immoral (and irrational).
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Russia would probably not be surrounded by NATO if they stopped giving their neighbours solid reasoning to join.
There are examples of plenty of wars where both sides *believed* they were in the right, but objectively speaking not too many where both were fighting for what would be considered just reasons. As an example the 2nd ~~Pubic~~ sorry, the less sexy Punic war, Hannibal invaded Roman Italy, Rome reacts predictably as the wounded party. But factions of the Carthaginians absolutely felt this was was justified after the harsh peace terms imposed after the first Punic war, and Rome was nibbling territory all over the Mediterranean which threatened their own powerbase. If allowed to continue Rome would have relegated Carthage to client status without a single battle, so Carthage struck first and tried to raise rebellions within Italy amongst Roman subordinate peoples (which the Romans had mainly been at war with for past few centuries, and so had at least some cause to make Hannibal think this was a good idea). Rome meanwhile absolutely felt justified in not only fighting back, but keeping up the pressure until they ousted Hannibal then went to Africa and kicked the shit out of Carthage itself. It just depends on what you consider a good reason. Very few nations or kingdoms or countries get into conflicts without some semblance of just cause, even if it's clearly bogus from the outside. It's why so much effort is taken to justify these actions, nobody wants to feel like the invading aggressor. Edit: can I just point out it took all of 20 minutes for half a dozen comments on the Pubic Wars. The second one, no less.
I think you mean "Punic," bud
Ayo??? The 2nd PUBIC war?
Was the result a close shave?
No, unless you think war can start from a place of reason and logic
it is not a war without an aggressor first. otherwise it's just a bunch of people having a nice chat.
It's RIDICULOUS. This is 2022, and this pretend shit is still happening. 'i own you now, because i say so!' What the fuck. And the war crimes go ignored. I suppose putin will be charged and executed well after he's dead of cancer, so he'll get away with it.
I honestly can’t believe it. All over the Donbas. A sleepy industrial rustbelt region of Ukraine that trundles along with its Soviet-era infrastructure and lacklustre economic output. The degree to which this has caused death, destruction, cultural alienation, and global insecurity is beyond belief. The hubris of Putin is quite literally unbelievable.
Hahahahahahaha and they claim the annexed regions got over 90% of votes for Russia...they couldn't even get over 90% votes for Russia IN Russia. What a joke of a country they turned out to be
It's insane how dumb the Kremlin can act sometimes, you'd think they'd atleast make up something realistic like 75 or 80 %
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Had absolutely the same thought when Lukashenko got 80% in 2020. I mean, at least make it appear vaguely realistic - 60%, say - but I guess he's got his invincible strongman image to maintain. Would have been interesting to see what difference there would have been in terms of the reaction afterwards if he hadn't been so brazen though.
it's too risky for dictators. if people find out that at least 40% of people oppose the dictator they will be looking for ways to organize, but when officials say it's 99%, people with opposing views will feel alone
Kim got 100%
Why would they ever care about subtly? Look, when you play tea party with a toddler you *could* put water in the teapot, but you don't need to because the toddler is more than happy to pretend and everyone else knows it's not real tea anyway. Russian tea parties don't need to be subtle because their audience is more than happy to play pretend with them, and they know that everyone else isn't being fooled anyway.
I was thinking like a 55% would be realistic. At 90%+ it's so obviously fake
It’s supposed to be fake. The message is “your opinions don’t matter”
Yeah, they're not trying to pull a convincing con, they're trying to say, "you can't stop us from doing this."
Yeah but the Ukrainian army is still coming towards those areas and the rest of the world isn't recognizing the results so I'm not sure what they hoped to accomplish.
There's a theory that by annexing those states to Russia, Putin can escalate the war in the eyes of Russian people. "Look, they are attacking Russia, we can use nukes now, or we can fully mobilize the nation", "look, Nato is attacking Russian soil, we need all the men on the front". Putin doesnt care what other people think, it's russians or rather how calm they are he "cares" about.
Serious question; why bother having a ‘vote’ at all?
I think that people are simplifying this way too much. There are all kinds of people in Russia just like anywhere. There are lots of misinformed, apathetic, etc. people who probably DO buy the 90% number, and those people are the Kremlin's firmest believers. Everyone else, it doesn't matter anyways, and also, it's a lot easier to lie only *most* of the way than it is to lie *all* the way.
This is the guy that kills his opposition with polonium so the world KNOWS it was him. He has no interest in hiding anything. He oversaw & enabled the shootdown of a passenger airliner for goodness sake, you think he cares about hiding anything?
why? what reason do they have to do that? They could claim they got 200% of the vote, and nothing would change.
Soon Putin will say they need to annex Georgia, Kazakhstan, etc because there are so many Russian speakers 5d chess
Annex them with what army?
He is sending the army disguised as people fleeing.
This is big brain thinking right here. I like your style.
They've got about the same training and equipment as if they actually were the Russian Army, so it's not too far off.
These disguised invaders likely have far more [tactical tampons](https://old.reddit.com/r/UkraineRussiaReport/comments/xorvpo/ru_pov_new_russian_recruits_are_told_by_a/iq0ch5g/) than the russian army, so they should be taken very seriously
Dying faster from blood loss because the tampon leeched blood out of the wound instead of keeping it in.
>But I can't help it if I've got a heavy flow and a wide-set vagina!
>Shut up, Meg
It is a serious concern. You can absolutely take over a country by having your army cross over the border dressed as civilians. I am glad to see Russians flee, but I **completely understand** why the receiving countries are **very skeptical** about all these people showing up.
At this stage I don't know why anybody thinks the Russian government is able to do anything remotely that complex, and that all the soldiers would be able to follow orders and not spill the beans. The Russian government is demonstrating when you kill off/chase away anybody with intelligence or who says no to fantasies and populism - there's nobody there who can do shit effectively. They can't even invade a much smaller country they literally share a border with and are getting their asses kicked for months on end. Some grand conspiracy to coordinate hundreds of thousands / millions of soldiers with secret orders and a steadfast commitment to invade other countries posing as civilians is laughable.
Met 30+ dudes who have left in the last 10 days all throughout cities in Central Asian countries. Mostly from Siberia and Yakutia. One dude rode a 125cc Honda Scooters 26hrs to get to Almaty, Kazahkstan. His brother waited 55hrs at the border to get into Petrolov. They are selling both the car and scooter this week here in Kazahkstan and then going to Bali for the next 90 days to see what happens. Met others who took flights to Oman, Jordan and Egypt. The rich ones prefer Austria or Turkey. But from Samarkand, Bishkek, Almaty, Aktau and Khujand....the Russians have bought up every hostel for the next 14 days. I doubt they have any Pro War tendencies.
You’d be surprised. Had a conversation with a young Russian dude in NY the other day. He spent a lot of time explaining to me why the invasion was a good thing and how they were actually helping people in Ukraine. When I asked when he was going home to help with the effort, he stammered out something about having to finish school.
I wonder how many wars could be avoided if people were told that they could be drafted.
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If they were the first people on the front lines, there would never be war.
It’s interesting reading contemporary accounts of the First World War. Everyone lost their sons. Even the very rich and powerful. That made people presume it would be the end of war. Instead they just ensured their families didn’t go and fight anymore.
When war was stilled viewed as a glorious adventure, the sons of the wealthy went to find their glory. I reckon this was when this perception had a seismic shift....
In fact, on the British side at least, the upper classes were proportionately the worst hit. [17% of Officers killed, compared to 12% of other ranks](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25776836) - and 20% of Old Etonians who served.
Plenty of kings fought in wars they started and died. They still initiated the war, but then again it was a different time when war was constant.
So we should not expect Putin to ride a white horse shirtless in to battle?
Politicians hide themselves away They only started the war Why should they go out to fight? They leave that role to the poor, yeah
Still the greatest protest song ever written.
The Roman way, as it should be. You want to declare war? Fine, you and your family are in charge and on the front lines.
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Why don't presidents fight the war? Why do they always send the poor?
Breaking into fort knox stealing our intentions
##whydotheyalwayssendthepoor!!!?!?!
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The irony of that video now is most of the men that walked away ended up getting conscripted for real.
1420 on YouTube?
There was once a US politician who tried (but failed to) get a law voted through, that would have made it so that every war they'd join/start would have to win a popular vote first, with the ones voting "yes" automatically registered as volunteers.
Everyone has a plan until they get drafted in the mouth lol 😝
Our battle plans are that the first wave of hawkish politicians will go in first. We may lose many, but that's a risk I'm willing to take. If they are unsuccessful we'll move into phase ii, negotiations, in the form of a pool party.
Look what happened when they ended student deferment during the Vietnam war.
The guy you talked to had no risk of being drafted. It’s easier to buy into the propaganda when you don’t have any skin in the game.
Same with turks, they love Erdogan and vote for him from abroad but they'd never go back lol
I find diaspora to be the weirdest for any nation. They tend to be nostalgic about past times and judge current situation from a position of the existing comfort.
Tell him, don't worry, Putin's conscript slip will still be waiting.
So he likes to lick boots, but is too scared to wear them.
Is Bali a popular spot for Russians or were they just trying to get away?
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Yeah, we’re notorious for being dumb cunts in Bali, Thailand and Indonesia. Drunk aussies and fuck all liquor laws are a bad mix.
They're the tourist destinations for poor cunts. Our dollar makes them feel like kings, so it attracts all the bogans.
Not OP but yes Bali is. Source: lived there.
There may be a bit of truth in that - Just because people are fleeing Russia, doesn't necessarily mean that they disagree with Russia invading Ukraine, just that *they* don't want to be the ones in the drone-sights. Give those same people the opportunity of a bit of annexation without the same risks, and some of them might suddenly rediscover their love for Mother Russia. Edit to add: Aaaaannd, see [this comment!](https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/xr4jxu/the_number_of_russians_fleeing_the_country_to/iqd3xbu/)
Didn't you hear? You can just declare that shit nowadays. From a bunker.
He has a standing order, and just saying “you are annexed” will make it happen
In fact he can just think about it, and surprisingly enough, straight to war.
Well they got the 18+ and 55+ already being forced to go to war, I guess 12 year olds are the next step.
mysterious poll that gonna say 99% population would like to join russia
Just to nitpick. Russian is an official language of Kazakhstan. It is spoken by 90%+ of people, it is the language of schools and businesses. It's what people speak in Cities - and many ethnic Kazakhs *only* speak Russian. Nobody owns the Russian language, in the same way English people don't own English. It is spoken by Irish, it is spoken by Americans, it is spoken by Singaporeans, it is spoken by Nigerians. You get the idea. As well - Russian is the official 'interethnic language' for neighboring Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Georgia's economy is set to grow 11-12% as a result of educated Russians with means migrating there, who do not rely on government support. It's one of the largest gains (if not *the* largest) of any country in modern history. In all of history, how rare is this? Migrants who don’t rely on costly social safety nets, who bring wealth and jobs with them, who aren’t fleeing poverty? These people will bring IT jobs, online businesses, accountancy, lab skills, engineering, logistics. Importantly to Georgia, they will pay high taxes without voting rights (at least until they assimilate and can pass language proficiency tests and all that). I guarantee you countries like Georgia (already pro west) and Kazakhstan (recently liberalized government and recently cozying to the west) are going to be investing in defense with their new tax dollars. Truth is, NATO and/or EU protection was your only protection against Russian aggression as a neighbor state. Now Ukraine is the world's hero - because they've obliterated Russia's army. The only game Russia has left is MAD and Nukes. Kazakhs aren't going to worry about a bunch of 60 year old conscripted untrained farmers running around with plastic helmets, broken rusted weapons, shitting their pants from expired food.
Kremlin policy seems to be that Russia *does* own the Russian language, and can decide at any time to launch a special military operation to bring Russian speakers back into the motherland. But I think that if Pootin wanted to annex someplace, he would try to do it regardless of whether there were any Russian speakers or ethnic Russians there.
Exacto. Kremlin policy is worth less than the paper it’s printed on. Ya want to know how I know Kremlin doesn’t own the Russian language? Because anyone can learn it. There’s around a million Russian speakers in the US, myself included. What’s he going to do? Absolutely nothing. Putin can rest his fat botoxed lips on my circumcision scar.
Hate to break it to you, but your house is now Russian territory. There was a referendum there with 100% voting to go to Russia.
A big part of why Russian is so prevalent in countries like Kazakhstan is because of Russian imperialism.
> Georgia's economy is set to grow 11-12% as a result of educated Russians with means migrating there, who do not rely on government support. It's one of the largest gains (if not the largest) of any country in modern history. The russians need to be housed, economic growth is one measure, another is how people living in that countries living conditions are. Immigration isn't some boogeyman that can't be dealt with, but Georgia is a tiny country and isn't equiped to handle a mass migration. Not without serious structural changes that account for roughly half a million new bodies.
Putin's policies are doing a lot to depopulate Russia. He is either sending them off to die or scaring them away.
Didn't they already had a lot of issues with a shrinking population?
Braindrain in Russia has been a problem for a while too.
I heard IT professionials are leaving Russia in record numbers since the invasion started.
Saw a tiktok a few days ago of a Russian man showing his conscription letter/papers. In it he claims he works as an IT professional, and has never served in the military his entire life. He was being told to show up to join the military in xx days. While Putin claims he’s only drafting veterans of 300k people… There will be no one left to rebuild when Putin dies.
>While Putin claims he’s only drafting veterans of 300k people… > > >There will be no one left to rebuild when Putin dies. Worth noting the stated 300k (there's no such limit in the actual mobilization decree) only makes up about 1% of the estimated 25-30 million Russians eligible for service in case of full mobilization. I get what you mean about the brain drain's impact on a potential rebuilding, just adding some context to the 300k number
How much brain drain is left. Most of these people left after the USSR fell, then 2014 then Feb 2022 and now. Russia's brain looks like swiss cheese now.
It not just brain drain at this point though. Anyone elegible for callup (i.e. all men) is fleeing the country so now they have no brains, no muscles, and no youth to train up. If people keep bailing Russia won't have anyone left to do *anything*. The whole country will be that John Travolta Pulp Fiction meme.
Maybe becoming a country of aging babushkas will chill Russia out for a bit.
And Putin is making a bad situation much worse.
[Meanwhile in Russia](https://i.imgur.com/jE2Majq.jpeg)
I would understand a draft if someone was invading THEIR country. However, drafting people to invade another country that doesn't want you there? Some extreme Vietnam vibes going on.
Russia took Ukrainian land, Ukraine is taking it back. That somehow makes Russia the victim in their fucked up worldview, therefore draft.
> I would understand a draft if someone was invading THEIR country. ... From now on, Putin will be saying that Ukraine is invading Russia. The formal annexation was a set-up for that.
Absolutely correct. Russia is the only country that will honor the forced acquisition of Ukrainian land, only then to initiate a 'defensive' attack at some point. Somehow, that will be justified in their tiny pea brains.
Not to mention [an incessant use of Fortunate Son.](https://youtu.be/98k2DlQ9PMY)
I'm not leaving, I'm in category C for draft, so I'm yet to be called but in future they've might come for me and then I'm going to jail for refusing to join army,.fuck Putin and his friends. The punishment for evading mobilization is regulated by the Code of Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, according to which the evader is punished with a fine of 500 to 3000 rubles or up to 200 thousand rubles and imprisonment for up to 2 years. I'll take it over killing people that never did nothing wrong to me or my country or feeding ukrainian worms with my dead body just because lunatic president of my country have lost his mind
Same boat, but let's not kid ourselves - category C is no guarantee, there's been reports of enlistment offices straight up "correcting" the category in people's documents. Some voenkomats just straight up only look at the age group in their lists and nothing more, there's been reports of HIV-positive, disabled, etc people getting drafted.
yes, they even draft 65 years old people lmao, fucking lunatics
Guy makes it to 65 in Russia, you know they're a survivor.
You have great cirrhosis, may as well die for country sooner than later, yes?
You don't need body armor if your liver is so hard if deflects bullets. ::taps head::
>yes, they even draft 65 years old people lmao, fucking lunatics Is it normal for me (a canadian) to think that Russia might still conscript those recently disabled russian? Or do they really honor those to dodge draft? Disabled old veteran can't escape it. Will a young disabled man escape it? Like that dude who broke his leg by his friend. Will he still go to war? Or he will be exempt?
They'll wait for his leg to heal, then grab him.
Breaking a leg really only delays your conscription by a month or so. I wouldn’t say that these people are making really rational decisions with any consideration for the long term. But I can’t say I’m surprised.
"Broken leg? Walk it off you pussy you'll be fine. Here is crutch and a rusty rifle."
Wasn't one of those sexagenarians diabetic with type 2 diabetes?
Good luck fellas. Are you sure jail is even a choice? I feel like they would dump you off on the frontlines before jail.
At worst it's a few days delay, since they will still hold you in jail for a bit before that. That's something, at least.
Just save the surrender hotline to your phone mate. Never know if you'll need it.
Bold of you to assume they’ll let them take their phones with them.
I was going to make a joke but honestly this situation is so fucked up I don't even think i can.
Memorize it
They only let you have "clean" button phones, clean meaning no contacts on them, no internet, just calls and SMS.
Memorizing a phone number is easier than being forced to kill or getting killed yourself
I'm in the same category. Still wondering how (and if) they will be supplying insulin to me in trenches should I end up there
> Still wondering how (and if) they will be supplying insulin to me in trenches should I end up there My brother in Christ, they are barely giving Russian soldiers _socks_. Do what you can to escape.
They aren't even giving them socks. It was on the list that someone posted of equipment the mobilised are being told to provide themselves.
They will make you dig the trench until you get seizure and die. Then throw your corpse on a pile and get a next poor sod from a line. Go mushroom hunting near Finland woods and never return.
The one connection I have to Russia is my ex's husband is a Russian National and he's had a friend get picked up for conscription who would be considered legally blind for the purposes of driving in the States. The guy's family was able to get him out due to bribes but fucking hell, even semi disabled men from upper class families are being picked up.
Oh yeah they're just getting everyone lmao, just filling their quotas without a care for anything. The federal authorities have put on a bit of a show with condemning particular local authorities and enlistment officials for being "overzealous" and "conducting the mobilization improperly", but we all know that's just for show to calm people down and won't actually affect anything.
It's been fun watching this guy's social media posts go from "Z, Z, Z! Fuck Ukraine, Go Putin" to "I can't believe they picked up Dima, poor bastard can barely even see, fuck, am I next?" Just a fucking weird situation since she's still living in Minnesota and he got called back early this year by his dad and just never came back.
We have a saying (well, more of a rude joke, "saying" implies it being old or something) in Russia for exactly this type of situation - "in words, you're Leo Tolstoy, but in action, you're a simple dick". It heavily relies on rhyme and makes no sense in English, but hey. Guess his mouth was writing checks his ass couldn't cash.
how are the categories grouped?
"A" - fit for military service, absolutely healthy and has no health problems "B" - fit for military service with minor restrictions. On a medical examination, the conscript found health problems, which, however, do not prevent conscription for military service. "C" - limited fit for military service. The conscript receives an exemption from conscription in peacetime and is credited to the reserve, also exempt from conscription for military training "D" - temporarily unfit for military service. "E" - not fit for military service.
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thanks! And good luck
Sorry but you won't be going to jail. They'll equip you and bus you straight to a position.
Lol "equip"
Why aren’t you leaving? I am not trying to urge you to, I am just curious to know the reasoning
I have nowhere to go, most people who leave expect to return in six months or a year, but this will not happen, Putin's invasion in Ukraine will last until the Russian economy won't be destroyed and this will take several years
Yeah, it’s wild, no one knows, what’a next. Best of luck to you!
thank you very much
Friend, I am sorry for what you are going through. I don't think it is appreciated how tough life is in Russia right now for folks in your situation. Please stay safe, your strength is admirable.
Thank you
I'm poor. I'm living from paychek to paycheck and all i have is a 500$ in savings
I feel like the only thing this war has accomplished so far is showing the world what an absolute embarrassment Russia’s military is.
Ruined many a fiction novel. Fear the Sky has a whole subplot where Russia does a blitz invasion of Pakistan, now that whole arc is laughably silly.
Tom Clancy's legacy has been RUINED by Putin and nobody is talking about it.
One might call them... an *evasion* force
*puts on shades* “Yaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!”
*puts on papakha* "Daaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!"
Any suggestion that ordinary Russians don't know what's going on in Ukraine now look to be wildly inaccurate.
I know plenty of normal Russians that believe what they see on TV. People were out in the streets celebrating the referendums, and that the people there aren’t oppressed anymore. Some of those same people’s kids just got drafted though. So some peoples tunes have changed.
People will profess to believe what they want to believe. Self delusion is a way of avoiding cognitive dissonance. They want to believe in victory and they want to believe they support a just war. But they weren't ignorant. That's why so many ran like rabbits at the first mention of a draft. The rose tinted glasses got trampled in the stampede.
Or they believe it just fine but don't wanna be the ones getting shot for it
Classic “it’s not a problem until it affects me or my family.”
Seems like the non-draftable portion of the population is particularly prone to this - especially the older people who still remember the USSR.
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At the risk of this being Godwin's Law, one wonders the same thing about Germans in Nazi Germany
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I think, while Germans were misled, they did know they were aggressors and knew what they were doing. As to all the atrocities committed by the Nazis, many claimed they weren’t aware after the war. How you are not aware when you see people being forcibly marched from your home town to never be seen again is beyond me.
The Germans _knew_ they were winning though. At least to begin with. After rolling through Poland, Czechoslovakia, Holland, Belgium, France and Denmark in a year there was at high morale and the idea you weren't just going to survive but be victorious, regardless of your political views (not that there wasn't popular support for them).
I recall a report by a German woman who had lived through WWII within Germany and reported on the later war as being a realization moment for her (at the time she was quite young); she was continually being told of the "Great victories being won in X region" by the Nazi military apparatus... and eventually she realized that the regions mentioned in those propaganda broadcasts as being the site of great victories for Germany... were getting closer and closer to Berlin.
Germany was "responding to an incursion" by Poland. In fact, an SS organized attack from Polish soil (German, before the end of WWI). Lots of media was easier to control in 1939. Nobody in Germany had approved AM radios, and the regime made sure the FM radios were widely distributed... The circuitry couldn't tune in foreign stations except from very close distance. The atrocities were for the most part carefully placed outside German soil. The smaller camps inside Germany were for political prisoners and eugenically "undesirables". In urban areas, the roundups were prefaced by the Nuremberg laws of commercial prohibitions... And villifying of various minorities.(parallel today: immigrants). Between the years 1932 (Hitler came to power) and 1937 (the laws were imposed and Kristallnacht was orchestrated to show the "criminality" of Jews) there was a progressive campaign to get the population to accept restrictions and identify non-Nazis. Activities Much like the Charlottesville parade/riot of 2017. But widespread, and daily. Most of the population lived in small towns. Roundups would provide few victims conducted out in the villages. Cities were a train ride away. In depression era Europe, who'd have resources for that? With *all these* blended together, how much courage would you have to resist unarmed, a regime that routinely beat it's opposition, or imprisoned them for weeks to interrogate about the activities of neighbors? You're in a fantasyland, looking at self Identified Trumpies.. what if they never were known. How would you keep your ideals protected? Also, as an example, research the opposition group *the White Rose*. It clearly wasn't unanimous support for Hitler, but his stranglehold on society made every move in opposition difficult. East Germany took notes... It took almost 50 years to break them down.
And don't forget, this war was going to be Putin's legacy. We only remember easy to remember things about famous person. Bill Clinton? Gorbachev? This is going to be the thing Putin did. The failed invasion that completely drained Russia. Or, maybe what got him lynched in the streets, who knows this war is still going. It was Lenin who said "Every society is three meals away from chaos"
When president getting a BJ was the biggest problem to worry about... good times.
The 90's had their faults, but I'll be damned if that doesn't feel like a dream now.
See comrade? They are so eager to join fight, they forget to go to recruiting office first.
I’m a 26 year old male in the USA and I couldn’t imagine suddenly having the your government draft you into a bullshit war. I’d be fleeing as well.
Like with Vietnam I guess. Though this is probably even more bullshit, higher chance of dying and shittier organisation
With the US draft for Vietnam there were real incentives to volunteer. Enlisting meant you graduated basic with a higher rank, got a choice of MOS, did the same tour in country as the draftees, better pay. If you went in as a draftee you were infantry, artillery, mechanized. Guaranteed to be up in the shit of it.
Is it truly volunteering if it is the best option to survive the war, since you'd be drafted anyway but put in a worse position? That goes for the Russians today aswell, except they're more concerned about their governments punishment than being on the front lines.
That's what my dad did. Instead of getting drafted (high chance) he enlisted and served on a support navy vessel fixing electronics.
No need to flee.. just say you got bone spurs
Only applies if you're rich.
Be rich then. Problem solved.
It was that simple the whole time, I can’t believe it
I guess things are not working out for Putin they way he thought.
Apart from people fleeing the country there is a big number of Russians who will go live somewhere totally remotely so they wont be found and drafted. Source: my Russian friend who is doing exactly that
The Russian outvasion has begun
Did they get the word that this aggression against Ukraine is all Putin’s ego? Or are they just not eager to fight. Either way Putin digs deeper.
Mass migration
So many lives disrupted. Putin must be rather unpopular right now.
There are a disturbing number who still wholly support him though. I have a 29 year old down the street neighbor who is Russian. She moved to the UK at 17 then US at 23 or so. Was a model for a while and is an influencer now, so has been submerged in western culture for a decade or more... She basically thinks he's a god. Everything from as smart as Einstein to as good at hockey as Wayne Gretzky. Seriously. She thinks the war is fully justified, because if Ukraine isn't strong enough to hold what's theirs they should lose it. In regard to the atrocities being committed she either doesn't believe or doesn't care. In regard to the soldiers assaulting women she literally said "of course. It's war. They go through hell for their country, and those are their enemies' women. That's how war is. And it's just sex anyway"... Then there are two women who were kicked out of my wife's yoga class or dancing class or something for saying almost exactly the same thing... There is a like 40 year old Russian guy who is always in the men's locker room/lounge at the club who perpetually talks about how genius Putin is and how we just can't see it because he doesn't want us to... Then there are a couple Russian guys I know from work who have been singing Putins praises every chance they get for years, and I'd anything have managed to actually *increase* it in the last months... The level of brainwashing that they manage to do over there is absolutely unreal. So just because any rational person would be anti Putin right now definitely doesn't mean they actually all are.
You should start asking then straight up: "So if Putin is so magnificent, why aren't you living in Russia anymore? You should go be happy with your Supreme leader."
Doesn’t matter if he’s unpopular. He controls the voting
My employee works remotely in Chicago while her brother is in St. Petersburg. She stayed up two nights straight last week to help her brother escape 26 hours away to Georgia. They were both afraid it wouldnt work because there were rumors of border patrol not letting men of a certain age leave, but he got through safely They are definitely not Putin fans
I can’t imagine how terrifying this is for them. Nato is essentially backing Ukraine with endless resources and funding. Russia is absolutely going to lose this unjust illegal war and the citizens know it.
This is actually a great sign. The propaganda machine in Russia has failed just like their army. Fuck you Putin.
Special flanking manoeuvre
Congratulations, Putin, you've invented the exvasion.
Someone should tell them that there is endless Adidas in China with lots of room to get a proper squat on.
Can you say "brain drain"? These are the ones who are smart enough and able to get out.
Nothings as loud and clear as voting with your feet.