Russian military vehicles roll through outskirts of Donetsk after Putin orders troops into Ukraine

[Godfather]

US confirmed Ukraine shot down 2 Russian IL-76's. Those are big friggin jets, usually carrying 150-250 paratroopers who aren't just cannon-fodder troopers, they're well trained and armed. Small number in the grand scheme but still, wow. Significant loss of life happening.

[Godfather]

Canada stopped selling Russian vodka today It's a small symbolic step, and it makes you think that corporations can really make an impact too. Facebook already said they'd disallow monetized posts and ads from the Russian government. Take it a big step further... have SAP, Oracle, MS, etc all disable their shit in Russia. They'd send them back to pens and paper (though I suppose that's harder to hack/track).

Anyone else get the feeling that Zelenskyy knows exactly what he's doing? Feeding on Putin's ego to intentionally pull them into the Kyiv?

Fair to assume that he has a plan, and urban combat is notoriously difficult for the invaders as we know. Zelenskyy has been incredibly impressive so far every time I've seen him speak. Russians do have experience with urban warfare from Chechnya and elsewhere though, I was reading about how they sieged a city of 150k in Chechnya for 3 months.

[perrhaps]

I don't understand why the Ukrainians don't destroy the Russian pipeline that runs through The Ukraine.

[lost in melb.]

I don't understand why the Ukrainians don't destroy the Russian pipeline that runs through The Ukraine.

I agree, but also it would piss off their Western allies who want the gas (eventually)

[Pony]

Ukraine is LOADED with natural resources, Oil, Nat gas, Coal and tons of minerals. Will Russia really care about a few little sanctions when they are looking at a goldmine of resources?

[RBP]

As the world’s eyes were trained yesterday on the events unfolding in Ukraine, Americans turned to cable news channels such as CNN to stay updated on the bombing over the capital city of Kyiv. Little did viewers know that they were about to experience what it sounds like when the cacophony of war is punctuated by the chorus of “Chicken Fried” by the Zac Brown Band, part of a disastrously ill-timed commercial spot for Applebee’s.

[Godfather]

We live in a weird world eh.

[Godfather]

This is a fascinating read.

[Godfather]

Here's video of 5am run on ATMs in Russia.

A former Russian Central Bank official also predicted Monday would be a 'catastrophe' on the Russian currency market.. Maybe sanctions FTW after all (not to diminish strong Ukrainian morale and superior intel via NATO)?

В Москве и других городах России перед банкоматами собираются огромные очереди. Фото сделано в 5 часов утра. pic.twitter.com/lpSrIM4Ao9

— Oles Filonenko ����*♂️ (@taxfreelt) February 27, 2022

[Godfather]

Things are heating up in Kharkiv today. Ambush of Russians here

[Teh One Who Knocks]

From Fox News this morning:

Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the alert status for his nuclear forces to "special regime of combat duty" as Russia and Ukraine battle for the fourth day.

Putin ordered the Russian defense minister and the chief of the military's General Staff to put the nuclear deterrent forces in a "special regime of combat duty." The move signals tensions could boil over into a nuclear war.


https://www.foxnews.com/world/putin-...-on-high-alert

[DemonGeminiX]

He's insane.

[Godfather]

From what I've read he doesn't have sole control over the nukes, it's a 3-man requirement including someone from the military. I just pray they're not his dogs.

[Godfather]

Credit to Wikipedia, their maps of the conflict are perhaps the best large scale view we can get of what is happening and where.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Amy Kellogg | Fox News




Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader, calls on Russian President Vladimir Putin to step it up in Ukraine.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko warns of Ukraine becoming a "meat grinder" in a couple days’ time.

Putin himself asks his Defense Minister and Chief of General Staff on the occasion of "Special Forces Day" to put his "strategic forces" (read: nuclear weapons) in the status of "combat readiness."

Russian opposition figure in exile Mikhail Khodorkovsky via Instagram implores Russians — against the background of these comments — to take to the streets.

They are taking to the streets, but they get pushed back or arrested nearly as quickly as they come out. Protests are illegal. Police are out in numbers looking for rule breakers. According to reports, 1,500 had been arrested across Russia by sundown on Sunday.

One woman in Yekaterinburg said she had taken to the streets because she was so upset.

"And I am especially upset," she said, "because the aggressor is my country. In war, the one who starts it is guilty. And I am guilty. I voted for this government. I didn't actually vote for Putin but I couldn't do anything."

Outbursts like that, from conversations and social media posts, are representative of how many Russians feel inside.

But many people are afraid to comment frankly, either way. Weighing in on one side or the other involves risk. A lot of others prefer to just put their heads in the sand. It is too much to bear.

Social media, for now, is the forum of choice for commentary.

The Gorbachev Foundation put out a statement that read, in part, "We declare the need for an early cessation of hostilities and the immediate start of peace negotiations. There is and cannot be anything more valuable in the world than human lives. Only negotiations and dialogue based on mutual respect and consideration of interests are the only possible way to resolve the most acute contradictions and problems."

The language of the man who brought us "glasnost" must have a lot more to say than that. Even while inviting the Ukrainians to talk in Belarus, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko continued with harsh rhetoric.

He said: "What's going on now is a bed of roses. If it continues like this it will bloom. And there will be no bunker (for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy) to hide in--not with the Americans not with anyone else. I wouldn't call this a war yet, it's a conflict. In a day or two it will be a war."