Russia invades Ukraine

[Raphael]

Ah, thank you!

[Torco]

thing 1 really underlines how feudaloid the russian elite is.

[hwhatting]

The fact that nobody has seen Prigozhin or heard of him for a couple of weeks now makes it likely that he has indeed been disappeared or killed.

[hwhatting]

Looks like he's still alive, if the mentioned video is not fake.

[Raphael]

Oh, great. Even more reasons to get worried:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66347370

[Raphael]

So, is Belarus under instructions to start a war against Poland now?

[KathTheDragon]

Poland is in NATO so they'd be morons to.

[Torco]

So, is Belarus under instructions to start a war against Poland now?

na, sounds more like the ramblings of a conservative. OUR ENEMIES ARE GOING TO DESTROY US THROUGH FORCING US TO LET POOR PEOPLE IN. THIS IS THE BEGGINING OF THE DEGENERATION OF THE NATION THROUGH BLOOD MIXING AAAAA

of course i don't mean that it's *not* a good idea. were I putin you can bet your ass i'd have a couple dozen agents inside poland. sabotage important trains, provide intel on troop movements and cultural vibes, contact potential defectors, that's all part of the game. russia is also likely full of american spooks.

[Raphael]

I really resent the way how, these days, when I get a breaking news alert on my cellphone, and then I look at that breaking news alert, and I see that it's about a horrible disaster somewhere that killed a number of people, but it has nothing to do with international tensions, my first emotional reaction is relief.

[Raphael]

If this was a fiction writing assignment, you'd have to subtract a lot of points for predictability and lack of originality now.

[hwhatting]

If this was a fiction writing assignment, you'd have to subtract a lot of points for predictability and lack of originality now.

Sorovikin and Prigozhin out of the game on the same day, and on a 23rd - just shows that Putin has read his Godfather.

[Raphael]

Sorovikin and Prigozhin out of the game on the same day,

I've seen people doubt that they were really both on that plane, precisely on the grounds that they'd be unlikely to be that dumb.

[hwhatting]

Sorovikin and Prigozhin out of the game on the same day,

I've seen people doubt that they were really both on that plane, precisely on the grounds that they'd be unlikely to be that dumb.

Huh? Surovikin (sorry for the typo) wasn't killed, he was just removed from his post.

[Raphael]

Sorovikin and Prigozhin out of the game on the same day,

I've seen people doubt that they were really both on that plane, precisely on the grounds that they'd be unlikely to be that dumb.

Huh? Surovikin (sorry for the typo) wasn't killed, he was just removed from his post.

Oh, then I confused him with that Nazi who founded Wagner.

[Torco]

he read his godfather, or watched his star trek. served cold blabla

[rotting bones]

So, how competent do you guys think Putin's handling of this little Horus Heresy interlude was? Has he finally finished calculating and decided that the risk of pissing off Wagner is worth it, or does he think Prigozhin's moment has passed and that it's finally safe to off him?

[hwhatting]

So, how competent do you guys think Putin's handling of this little Horus Heresy interlude was? Has he finally finished calculating and decided that the risk of pissing off Wagner is worth it, or does he think Prigozhin's moment has passed and that it's finally safe to off him?

The latter. It looks like he has used the last two months to disperse and neutralize Wagner as an organization and to snuff out sympathizers in the arned forces. But honestly, the thing was over the moment Prigozhin decided to stop his march on Moscow and to meet with Putin. Obviously, Prigozhin didn't read the Godfather or he didn't take in the lesson - you don't get let off the hook for old times' sake.

[Raphael]

But honestly, the thing was over the moment Prigozhin decided to stop his march on Moscow and to meet with Putin. Obviously, Prigozhin didn't read the Godfather or he didn't take in the lesson - you don't get let off the hook for old times' sake.

Yeah, I keep asking myself what exactly Prigozhin thought would happen. Perhaps he was simply not a very bright guy, and things got out of hands?

[Raphael]

So, is Russia going to attack Moldova now?

[Torco]

Honestly why not ? it doesn't seem like his grasp on power has been diminished, the level of NATO support for ukraine has been dropping, and though Kiev looks totally outside of his reach the russians haven't lost much ground since the initial offensive. the ukranian war looks to be in a stalemate, and new conquests elsewhere would help his narrative of saving more and more russians and pro-russians that got stranded in the new countries that arose from the fall of the soviet union. plus what's the west going to do about it, sanctions and sending hardware to moldova? Plus, if trump wins (which seems likely) he can expect a lot less opposition from the US.

edit: oh, and russia would only need odessa, kherson and mikolaiv in order to cut off kiev from the black sea and have a continous corridor from transnistria to mainland russia.

sorry, almost forgot. before anyone gets angry. putin is bad and I'm not saying any of this is anything to be happy about.