• DamarcusArt@lemmygrad.ml
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    39
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    Interesting how quickly these articles have started popping up. Not even a week ago they were all “Ukraine’s super duper successful counteroffensive is about to win the war! They’ll be in Moscow by Tuesday!”

    I wonder if the libs will get whiplash from this. Hopefully it makes them actually analyse things a bit more closely so they don’t get so easily fooled. Though who am I kidding? They’ll just declare that they knew this all along and pretend they never supported Ukraine.

    • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmygrad.mlOP
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      45
      ·
      1 year ago

      I definitely expect Ukraine will get thrown under the bus and the west will say they didn’t follow their brilliant advice. There was already wapo article where they’re like Ukraine is reverting back to their old tactics instead of using the brilliant combined arms warfare we taught them. Never mind that the first two weeks of the offensive when they lost 20% of their western equipment and who knows how many people, was them using the CoMbiNeD ArMs tactics NATO taught them. The reality is that Russia has huge minefields, massive artillery superiority, and air dominance. There are no magic tactics that can defeat that.

      • DamarcusArt@lemmygrad.ml
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        27
        ·
        1 year ago

        Oh, I didn’t even think of that. You’re right, they’ll probably blame Ukraine for “fumbling” what should’ve been an “easy victory” They’ll be demoted back to “Asiatic horde” status soon enough I suppose.

        • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmygrad.mlOP
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          31
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          It’s going to be interesting to see what happens once it starts sinking in for the Ukrainians that they’re going to be discarded like a used condom by the west.

          • DamarcusArt@lemmygrad.ml
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            21
            ·
            1 year ago

            The amount of weapons shipped to Ukraine that went “missing” only to appear in the hands of various fascist groups throughout Europe is a pretty major clue as to what will happen next.

          • Shrike502@lemmygrad.ml
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            16
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            1 year ago

            Will it start, though? Look at Russian liberals. Still hasn’t clicked. Most are still blaming our issues on “Sovoks” in government and believe Putin is building USSR 2.0

            • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmygrad.mlOP
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              28
              ·
              1 year ago

              I think there’s going to be a profound psychological impact once it becomes clear that Ukraine isn’t going to win the war because the west abandoned them. There’s also going to be political motivation for whoever is in charge to cultivate this view since blaming the failure of the west to provide support will increasingly be the excuse from the regime. We’re already seeing the start of that with Zaluzhny blaming the failure of the offensive on lack of F16s and air defence.

              It’s important to recall that the reason Ukraine decided to renege on the peace deal in March was because the west said they would back them to the end whatever it takes. Ukrainians bought into the whole mythology that the west has unlimited resources, and can just give them whatever they need indefinitely.

              Now the tap is running dry, and I think Ukrainians are going to interpret it as the west not wanting to give them what they need as opposed to genuinely not being able to. It’s impossible for them to believe that Russia could possibly outproduce the west and defeat western weapons on the battlefield. This goes against the whole narrative of western superiority.

              • Shrike502@lemmygrad.ml
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                9
                arrow-down
                1
                ·
                edit-2
                1 year ago

                There’s also going to be political motivation for whoever is in charge to cultivate this view since blaming the failure of the west to provide support will increasingly be the excuse from the regime. We’re already seeing the start of that with Zaluzhny blaming the failure of the offensive on lack of F16s and air defence.

                Thing is, this type of “stab in the back” narrative would still require an unhealthy amount of nationalism (think British “lions led by donkeys” shite from WW1), and this will inevitably clash with the annexation (can’t think of a different term at the moment) of Crimea, DNR, Zaporozhye, etc.

                And frankly it won’t undo the damage already done by weapons and infrastructure destruction, nor will it help bring socialism to the region

                • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmygrad.mlOP
                  link
                  fedilink
                  English
                  arrow-up
                  22
                  ·
                  1 year ago

                  Cynically speaking, the best option for Russia will be to annex friendly and neutral areas in the east, and then leave a dysfunctional rump state in the west which will ultimately become a problem for NATO. It won’t be able to function on its own, and it will be resentful of the west. However, they’re not going to be able to let it collapse entirely either as it would create a huge immigrant crisis in the west. So, it’s just going to be an economic black hole they’re going to have to keep throwing money into at the time their own economies are being eroded.

                  I don’t think there’s much hope of bringing socialism to the region or even to Russia in the near future, but breaking western hegemony over the world will at least create the conditions for socialism in the future.

                  • cfgaussian@lemmygrad.ml
                    link
                    fedilink
                    English
                    arrow-up
                    6
                    ·
                    edit-2
                    1 year ago

                    I disagree. Any remaining rump Ukraine will be militarized to the teeth by NATO and turned into one large base from which to continue to threaten Russia in the future. It will continue to be propped up financially by the EU like the Baltics (and to some extent like Poland which due to its role as the US’ number one lackey in Eastern Europe has been heavily invested in) which without EU help would be equally dysfunctional and economically unviable as a rump Ukraine would, but are too important as a forward base against Russia. The only solutions for Ukraine are either full annexation or installation of a Russian controlled government protected by Russian forces, followed by thorough denazification and re-education over the next few decades, even if it will be uncomfortable for Russia at first. People like to say that Russia could not, would not and should not try to occupy western Ukraine, but i disagree, the Soviets managed to pacify the region eventually and it was at least as Nazified after WWII as it is today, there is no reason why Russia wouldn’t be able to suppress the terrorism and insurrection there if it really wanted to, much like they have in Chechnya. In fact it is more likely that terrorist attacks on Russian territory and Russian civilians will continue if they do not go all the way. For their own safety Russia must finish the job.

      • cfgaussian@lemmygrad.ml
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        22
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        Meanwhile Ukraine itself and it’s most hardline supporters in the West are blaming Western governments for not giving them enough weapons or taking too long to do so. The recriminations are already starting. Remember that old saying: victory has many fathers but defeat is always an orphan. Nobody wants to admit it was their fault, everyone blaming everyone else, and in the end what we will see is a stab-in-the-back type myth forming and the Nazis seeking to take revenge on the West for this perceived betrayal after they are defeated by Russia. A wave of terrorist attacks by extremely radicalized people with combat experience and NATO provided weapons will sweep Europe at some point in the next few years.

        The amount of explosives, small arms, drones, ammo and even stuff like handheld anti-armor and anti-air rocket systems that has already been lost track of and has entered black market circulation is likely to be absolutely staggering and i suspect we will all be shocked when we learn decades from now just how bad the leakage has been. And that is the kind of stuff that sadly - and i really fucking hope this doesn’t happen but we have to be prepared for the worst - will be used to attack a crowded event or take down a passenger plane by some crazed lunatic shouting “Slava Ukraini”. What the West has done in arming these psychopaths has been utterly criminal, and it will be Europeans, not Americans an ocean away, who will suffer and are suffering the worst blowback.

        I’m not sure we can avoid this anymore but the least we can do is stop this insanity asap and turn off the fucking weapons faucet already. But that won’t happen because this is far too profitable for the defense contractors and European leaders have collectively worked themselves up into a blind, frothing-at-the-mouth-type, Russia-hating frenzy of anger and fear with their only solution to every setback being more escalation, pressing harder still on the gas pedal despite heading for a solid brick wall. They are now more gung-ho about the war than even their Washington masters are, truly a tail wagging the dog situation. And while we all understand that ultimately it was the US who started this and who bears the greatest responsibility, Europeans should under no circumstances be absolved because they have been enthusiastic accomplices.

        • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmygrad.mlOP
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          29
          ·
          1 year ago

          Yeah, I very much expect that’s what’s going to happen in the near future. Once these people realize they got used, they’re going to bite the hand that feeds them. Given that something like 70% of the weapons the west was sending disappeared, we can imagine that a lot of these weapons are all over Europe at this point.

      • Shrike502@lemmygrad.ml
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        19
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        CoMbiNeD ArMs tactics NATO taught them

        They forgot the most important element of the combination in these “combined arms” - bribing the everliving crap out of enemy leaders and fostering fifth columns.

        Not that there weren’t attempts, but hardly to the degree of Iraq

    • Addfwyn@lemmygrad.ml
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      25
      ·
      1 year ago

      It’s absolutely an intentional metered roll out to ease the public into it. I give it two years max before they start writing about fascist elements in Ukraine (again) and wringing their hands over “nobody could have seen this coming”. Minus all of us who saw it coming.

      Once they got people used to that, they can just scapegoat Ukraine for everything else too. They already did for the nordstream bombing.

      Considering this has happened a dozen times by now, no they won’t analyze things a bit more closely.

      • DamarcusArt@lemmygrad.ml
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        21
        ·
        1 year ago

        Yeah, it’ll probably just claim that Ukraine “tricked” the west, and austerity measures pushed onto whatever rump state remains will be justified with “they tricked us, so it is ok to basically have them as slave labour, they have different values to us.”

    • rjs001@lemmygrad.ml
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      19
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      I’m finally starting to see more people in real admit Russia is in the right. People were very angry at me when the war started over saying that and now we hear many people say that

      • DamarcusArt@lemmygrad.ml
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        20
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        I wouldn’t say they are “in the right” just that they have reasonable wants and have tried every diplomatic option already. The west backed them into a corner and they stood their ground. At least more people are realising that this war isn’t just Frodo taking the ring to Mordor to defeat Sauron. (Do libs read LOTR? I guess they’ve watched the movies.)

        • rjs001@lemmygrad.ml
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          18
          ·
          1 year ago

          Fair enough. I guess I should have specified they are in the right compared to Ukraine and NATO and when it is understood Russia was facing western aggression

          • DamarcusArt@lemmygrad.ml
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            15
            ·
            1 year ago

            Yeah, they already call us “red fash” and try to lump us in with PatSocs. The semantics are annoying, but it is important to clarify our positions and resist easy answers.

            • rjs001@lemmygrad.ml
              link
              fedilink
              English
              arrow-up
              11
              ·
              1 year ago

              Yeah, you are correct. I guess I was thinking the second comment in my head an assumed the asterisked part was self-explanatory but I do need to make a point of remembering to fully explain what I mean

              • DamarcusArt@lemmygrad.ml
                link
                fedilink
                English
                arrow-up
                13
                ·
                1 year ago

                Right now at least there are a fair few lib lurkers. They’ve been told we’re all evil Putin puppets who hate freedom and love violence. We need to clarify our positions for the sake of the “audience” I guess. (Only if you feel like it though, this is just my personal perspective on how to deal with the reddit influx).