• @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    1211 months ago

    Surprise move by Ukraine! Watch Russia nuke their own territory to be able to use a nuke to look strong, dangerous and unpredictable and not get in trouble for it.

    (This is a joke)

    • Flying Squid
      link
      fedilink
      English
      4911 months ago

      Some Tankie argued with me about that because he told me to find a quote from Putin where he literally said that. Like, does that matter? That was the general Russian sentiment.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        4711 months ago

        I don’t think Putin publicly said it to br fair. It’s something that was said by Russian propagandists and there was a leaked FSB report claiming that Putin also believed it.

        Clearly things are not going according to plan for Russia though, regardless of they thought it’d take three days or three months. Their actions in the initial hours and days of the war also seemed to indicate they were aiming for a quick decapitation.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          511 months ago

          Apparently Lukashenko said the “Kyiv in three days” part. I can’t find a good source to link, though.

        • Flying Squid
          link
          fedilink
          English
          2111 months ago

          I don’t think he did either, but it’s a silly request to make because it was very obvious that, even if the ‘three days’ thing wasn’t literal, they expected the war to be over very quickly and they would roll into Kyiv with little resistance.

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            English
            1211 months ago

            Very true. It’s really frustrating having a discussion with those people because they never seem to argue in good faith. I honestly don’t think they can possibly believe some of the unhinged stuff they say.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    25911 months ago

    It’s time for Russia to concede territory and end the war for the sake of all Russians.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      2311 months ago

      I mean there are Ukrainian people living there right now. According to the argumentation in the past this area basically belongs to Ukraine now. They could make a referendum about this topic 🤔

  • RubberDuck
    link
    fedilink
    English
    1111 months ago

    And they will dig in probably, forcing Russian troops to use their destroy and advance tactic on their own villages.

  • BarqsHasBite
    link
    fedilink
    English
    29
    edit-2
    11 months ago

    350 sq km, to compare to the previous headline I saw of 200 sq km.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    81
    edit-2
    11 months ago

    Ukraine should immediately and publicly offer peace terms with Russia:

    • Both countries reset to *1991 borders. Each nation immediately leaves others’ territory
    • Return any captured Ukrainian men, women, and children
    • Russian reparations for people, land, equipment destroyed or stolen
    • Kremlin leaders responsible for invasion to face an international tribunal

    This would show that Ukraine is reasonable but still allowed to defend itself. But more importantly, it would shut up the boot-licking tankies who muddy the waters and falsely claim that bOtH SiDeS are invading each other…

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    5711 months ago

    Oh shit, they’ve actually captured the area and are holding it? That’s pretty significant! If they can keep this up, then maybe they can force Russia to concede? …Though any russian deal to end the war obviously won’t be honoured, which does make it a bit of a conundrum. Still, this is a good thing.

    • Tar_Alcaran
      link
      fedilink
      English
      48
      edit-2
      11 months ago

      Russia’s border defense turned out to be mostly conscripts who got the fuck out of the way and/or surrendered the minute the fighting got remotely serious. And behind them is a whole lot of nothing until they hit the secondary lines which are, one would assume, a little more solid and based on natural obstacles like rivers and cities.

      The contract soldiers are better, but they’re also on the frontline.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        1811 months ago

        So what about going around the rear and attacking Donbass from the russian side? I have no further knowledge, just spitballing here

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          2211 months ago

          That’s the kind of military plan hitler would order after a bit too much meth, to get to Rostov Ukraine would need to go hundreds of miles behind enemy lines with no logistics

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            English
            111 months ago

            Hitler also used the largest invasion force in history (3.8 million troops, vs 3 million for the Nazi invasion of France or 2 million for the allied invasion France). And still failed so badly he lost the entire war.

            Though it is hard to compare them because the contexts are so different. Russia isn’t as motivated this time as USSR was in the 1940s.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          1111 months ago

          There’s no way they realistically hold or capture any of this. They just don’t have the logistics. But it’s an amazing opportunity to create a dilemma for Russia. They either 1) ignore it and let Ukrainian forces rampage around in Russian territory unopposed or 2) they redeploy forces from the front to defend Russian territory.

          The Ukrainian forces should stay nimble either way, and retreat without too big a fight back to their own territory in the latter case, hopefully having caused enough of a diversion for a counteroffensive where they need it.

          • toofpic
            link
            fedilink
            English
            511 months ago

            To add to that, on a map it all looks small, so you can imagine: go here, get there. But to actually “cross the front in the opposite direction into Donetsk region” they would need to cover about 300 km - quick, unprotected and without any logistical support, or slow but sure, but this is what they might plan anyway. They will probably try to widen the gap and dismantle the border defences

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            English
            111 months ago

            There’s an interesting possibility 3 …. Not that I have any idea about what is realistic in this war, but what if the goal is actual fighting? The active front is dig in and fatal to anything that moves: advancing is next to impossible. However western weapons were meant for speed, maneuverability. What if they draw Russia out to a fight on Western terms?

        • Cethin
          link
          fedilink
          English
          411 months ago

          They could probably pull some gorilla attacks off behind their lines, but there’s no way they have the logistics to do a full assault on the rear. The best option would probably be to harass Russian supply lines.

          • @[email protected]
            link
            fedilink
            English
            311 months ago

            Flanking attacks snowball when you collapse the fortified lines and link up with your own forward deployed troops.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        211 months ago

        mostly conscripts who got the fuck out of the way and/or surrendered the minute the fighting got remotely serious.

        Who said that there weren’t any wise people in the Russian army?

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        2211 months ago

        So basically the same quality defenses that rolled over when the Wagner guy started his march to Moscow…

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          2011 months ago

          That guy was such a moron. Once you start something like that, you’d best see it through or die trying (rather than die a short time later on other people’s terms).

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      1411 months ago

      Last I checked it looked like they had breached some major lines of defence, which means they may be past the worst of minefields etc. If they have room to manoeuvre for real by the time the russians send more forces the russians are going to have a real bad time trying to respond to this.

    • Justin
      link
      fedilink
      English
      5911 months ago

      Ukraine is not dug in, but it definitely seems like Russia’s front line around Kursk is collapsing, and Ukraine has the initiative here.

    • Sibbo
      link
      fedilink
      English
      1411 months ago

      I strongly believe that Russia is preparing a more serious response. They just were not prepared for this, so didn’t have defenses in place. Better to retreat and cede some territory than wasting troops in a losing battle. Since their land is so large, they can still come back later and reconquer.

      Also, Ukraine can’t use that many troops to actually fortify the region, given that they are also under heavy pressure at the more southern fronts.

      And, 130 square miles is tiny compared to all the territory that Russia got so far.

      Well, I believe the biggest win about this is for morale. Russians get scared because the war is now in their country, and Ukrainians get a buffer zone.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        1311 months ago

        Yeah, I assume this is a dual purpose morale booster and demoralizerm Ukraine shows that Russias defenses are a paper tiger because they relied on threats and it will force Russia to respond with troops, either by pulling from the front lines or reinforcements. Either way it moves the fighting to Russian land and that will demoralize support in Russia.

        Plus they can disrupt more supply lines and war manufacturing locations by going around the border defenses. They don’t even need to hold ground, just be a thorn in Russia’s side.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        611 months ago

        Also, Putin may need to divert resources from Ukraine and halt advances there earlier than intended.

        Of course, if Putin drops a tactical nuke inside of Russia’s internationally-recognized boarders, will the world care? And if so, how much? Could backfire on Ukraine a bit in the short-term.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          1411 months ago

          Of course, if Putin drops a tactical nuke inside of Russia’s internationally-recognized boarders, will the world care?

          Yes, they will care about nuclear fallout blowing across Europe at a minimum.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          1411 months ago

          I believe any live use of a nuclear weapon would result in near universal sanctioning, including by Beijing

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    5
    edit-2
    11 months ago

    Don’t get cocky, everyone. Remember nuclear warfare has been flirted with.

    I don’t think there’s much that can be done for Russia using nuclear missiles on their own territory and that would be why Ukraine’s in an area of value, protecting them from that happening. They won’t be controlling territory much larger while an Su-35 with a nuclear loadout is waiting for them to stray enough kilometres away from the critical infrastructure.

    Consider it a siege attempt on resource, not a counter attack for territory.

    Edit: Holy shit. I’m clearly referring to the tactical nukes. How did y’all forget that, gloss over the rest of the comment, and go straight to silo level atomic bombs decimating the region and spreading fallout across EU? Fucking hell, this place some times…

    Edit Edit: See?

    Putin mouthpiece says Kremlin wants to NUKE own country as rattled Vlad reels from blitz into Russia, claims Ukraine)

    Escalating Russian Tactical Nuclear Drills Now Include Forces Involved in Ukraine War

    Brains. Use them. What kind of nuke did people think an SU-35 could even carry?

    • Cethin
      link
      fedilink
      English
      3
      edit-2
      11 months ago

      Copied from my other reply to a similar message:

      Their nukes probably aren’t even operational. They weren’t maintaining their other equipment, so odds are they aren’t maintaining the nukes, which if they use they already lost, so are effectively worthless except as a threat.

      Assuming their nukes work, they can’t nuke Ukraine. The reason why nukes aren’t used is because the damage is uncontrollable. The fallout would effect large portions of Russia too. Think about how much the Chernobyl event effected Russia, and it wasn’t a weapon. If Ukraine is nuked then they damage themselves as well as all surrounding nations, which would bring NATO into the fight. If they can’t beat Ukraine they sure as hell don’t stand a chance against NATO.

      Basically, the nuke threat is a bluff. Stop worrying about it and stop spreading their propaganda. Spreading fear of nukes is spreading Russia’s message. Please use your brain and stop fearing it. It’s not worth considering.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      811 months ago

      I don’t think there’s much that can be done for Russia using nuclear missiles on their own territory

      It’s a great way for Russia to instantly lose the war. How fast do you think the EU gets involved when they have radiation on their borders?

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        311 months ago

        I believe, and my memory in this is a little hazy, that Poland already said they’d trigger article 5 if they got screwed with radiation so I suppose the answer to your question is either

        1. Approximately 0.3 seconds later or
        2. Depends on the prevailing winds
    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      911 months ago

      Nuclear bombs would have fallout that blows across Europe.

      Ukraine doesn’t need to defend any territory it has taken, it just needs to be a constant thorn in Russia’s side.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        1311 months ago

        Also, some countries have stated that they would consider fallout blowing into their country as a trigger to invoke NATO Article 5.

  • peopleproblems
    link
    fedilink
    English
    911 months ago

    This wouldnt have been related to the F-16s in action now would it?

    I know they are wicked overpowered comepared to a lot of Russian aircraft, but do they have this sort of range?

      • peopleproblems
        link
        fedilink
        English
        311 months ago

        Ok. I see why that is silly yes.

        I don’t know how far away from the border the fighters take off from. I also don’t know how altitude plays into the whole combat and range thing. For all I know, they take off 300 miles away from the border, cruise at 30k feet, fly lower, drop some bombs, fly back up at 30k and head another 300 miles back.

        I don’t actually know if 600 miles is a long distance for an F-16 but it is a small plane.

        I also don’t know how big Ukraine is thinking about it.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          English
          211 months ago

          Yep.

          The range is both very important and not applicable to your question. Ukraine fighters will always reach the war zone, whatever range they have, because fighters with less capacity will take-off closer to it and thus be more at risk.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    3611 months ago

    Am area the size of Philly. Whew that’s gonna worry Russia.

    IIRC it’s to smash the gas pipelines. If they want to actually hold this they’re gonna have a hard time. Maybe they can turn it into a flanking move or something, otherwise it has the makings of a “high water mark” moment like Gettysburg.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        511 months ago

        Russia is having a hard time because everyone working for Putin is a con man grifter. Some are, in addition to being frauds, also dumb as fuck.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      2911 months ago

      IIRC it’s to smash the gas pipelines.

      It’s to make Russia either destroy the facilities in order to dislodge the UAF and retake the area or show weakness and allow the capture to stand for a period.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      1511 months ago

      Those gas pipelines run through Ukraine, don’t they? If they wanted to cut off the pipeline they didn’t need to cross the border to do that.

  • @[email protected]
    link
    fedilink
    English
    611 months ago

    don’t use nukes don’t use nukes don’t use nukes don’t use nukes don’t use nukes don’t use nukes don’t use nukes don’t use nukes don’t use nukes don’t use nukes don’t use nukes don’t use nukes

    • Cethin
      link
      fedilink
      English
      911 months ago

      Their nukes probably aren’t even operational. They weren’t maintaining their other equipment, so odds are they aren’t maintaining the nukes, which if they use they already lost, so are effectively worthless except as a threat.

      Assuming their nukes work, they can’t nuke Ukraine. The reason why nukes aren’t used is because the damage is uncontrollable. The fallout would effect large portions of Russia too. Think about how much the Chernobyl event effected Russia, and it wasn’t a weapon. If Ukraine is nuked then they damage themselves as well as all surrounding nations, which would bring NATO into the fight. If they can’t beat Ukraine they sure as hell don’t stand a chance against NATO.

      Basically, the nuke threat is a bluff. Stop worrying about it and stop spreading their propaganda. Spreading fear of nukes is spreading Russia’s message. Please use your brain and stop fearing it. It’s not worth considering.

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      English
      18
      edit-2
      11 months ago

      You are being bullied by Russia into fear. Bullies need to be crushed, not be feared.