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[scriver]

Well I think prescriptivists should be decimated. All they are is a fancy label for the ackchyually guy. The remaining 10%(!) can be left alone to pen lugubrious manifestos on how they were mistreated by linguistic plebs and everyone else is wrong to be understanding each other just fine.

in before: Gentlemen, you can't fight in here. This is the WWIII thread.

Actually, it was the descriptivist Laterigrade who actuallied this time

[Robsoie]

[..]
Finally, 40-mile-long convoy is about to be encircled.

Hmm, i wonder what kind of gigantic massive amount of soldiers you would need to really encircle a 40 miles long convoy.
Unless by encircling they only mean there are troops ahead and behind such convoy ?

[andrea]

Well, the convoy can't really leave the road, so ahead and behind is all you need.

More seriously, such a convoy is extremely vulnerable if it loses the support it needs to keep enemies away. They are in a massive traffic jam, not yet in battle order

[bloop_bleep]

I would like to say, the Ukrainian people have always had this kind of determination and I have seen it; it is just being displayed on a world stage, to the whole globe, now.

[TamerVirus]

Allegedly a key bridge was blown up by the Ukrainians which stalled the convoy in a big way

[Svarte Troner]

Anyone here actually in Ukraine? I remember some years ago there were at least a couple Ukies around here. Not expecting a response really, idk if I'd be posting on bay12 if I were there.

Also isn't this Russophobic backlash kinda a bit startling to anyone else?
This university in Italy was going to 'postpone' a course on Dostoyevsky because he was Russian ffs.
Liquor stores are refusing to sell Russian vodka..
Hollywood refuses to open its biggest films in Russia
I mean... I hate Putin and his mafia-state kleptocrat buddies as much as anyone else with a brain but this is reminding me of the burst of anti-Asian hate that cropped up at the beginning of the pandemic. I get the idea of sanctions is to get the 'common folk' to the point where they'll supposedly rise up and topple the government, but when has this ever worked? The west has been sanctioning Venezuela for how long, a decade? Cuba has been under sanctions for over half a century. It only leads to more suffering and immiseration. It seems pretty clear that this war has very little support from normal Russians, what else is expected to happen?

That said, I hope Putin catches a bullet and all Russian soldiers drop their guns and head back home.

[heydude6]

I'm a Ukrainian, but not in the country. My mom is in touch with family members who are there. According to her, my Aunt and her son have evacuated to Romania (try to guess where the Uncle is), but my grand parents have chosen to remain in their city inside a bomb shelter. I'm sad to hear that bombs were dropped on their city.

Can't say I know much more than that though.

Also isn't this Russophobic backlash kinda a bit startling to anyone else?

.... this is reminding me of the burst of anti-Asian hate that cropped up at the beginning of the pandemic.

The Italy story is an example of how virtue signaling can wrap around and become racism again, but the liquor and hollywood story are both legit acts of protest by corporations (as legit as their pride-month flags are at least). The Vodka ban got a lot of laughs from the Ukrainians at the last protest I went to, the hilarity of it was a great morale boost, but when you stop treating it as a joke I guess it kind of sucks. I can't say I have much sympathy for an importer who uses hammer and sickle imagery in their marketing though. Those are like Swastikas to us.

Make no mistake, all of this is being done to avoid getting cancelled for "profiting off of Russia" and we all know how good cancel culture is at making actual positive change /s


As for the sanctions, we seem to be doing things differently this time. Rather than target the common people, we're aiming them directly at the Oligarch's ruling the country by seizing the assets they own outside of Russia. Who knows if it will work, but at least there's a chance for once. It's like pressuring America by placing sanctions on billionaires at Wall Street. Since they're the ones who actually run the country they might be more motivated to stop the president from running unnecessary wars.

Putin has more power than our president though so I can't say with confidence that he'll actually buckle to that pressure. Especially since a lot of Russia's economic future is riding on its ability to eliminate its rival (or its Oligarchs, but guess who they'll choose...).

Ninjaed:

It seems pretty clear that this war has very little support from normal Russians, what else is expected to happen?

And here you are wrong. Of course, normal Russians wanted a short victorious war, not THIS. But average Russian is an imperialist who views Ukraine as nothing but a breakaway territory that should be brought back.

+1!

[Laterigrade]

Well I think prescriptivists should be decimated. All they are is a fancy label for the ackchyually guy. The remaining 10%(!) can be left alone to pen lugubrious manifestos on how they were mistreated by linguistic plebs and everyone else is wrong to be understanding each other just fine.

in before: Gentlemen, you can't fight in here. This is the WWIII thread.

Actually, it was the descriptivist Laterigrade who actuallied this time

I didn’t intend to ackshully!
(but this is far off-topic)

yes, I think the Russian hate is way out of line. For sure the Russian troops, and even their commanders, are getting lied to, and believing the lies doesn’t make them bad people. It’s the people at the top who are at fault.

[Strongpoint]

yes, I think the Russian hate is way out of line. For sure the Russian troops, and even their commanders, are getting lied to, and believing the lies doesn’t make them bad people. It’s the people at the top who are at fault.

Seriously?
Do you mean that Russian pilots who drop unguided munitions on cities are just... misguided? Do you mean that MLRS crews that unload cluster munitions on residential areas are doing so because of some lie that turned their brains off and they can't know the result of their actions?
Do you mean that those Russians who celebrate Ukrainian civilian deaths on social networks are, in fact, decent people?

[Ulfarr]

Do you mean that those Russians who celebrate Ukrainian civilian deaths on social networks are, in fact, decent people?

No one questions whether such people are decent or not. They question how representative of the general population they are.

[Folly]

Okay, I support Ukraine, and I really do want to see them win this thing. Still, I feel like I have to play Devil's Advocate for a minute, and call out Zelensky.

Before the war started, the rest of the world were all saying that war was about to break out, but Zelensky kept telling his people that it was business as usual and Russia would never actually attack. So when the war came, the people of Ukraine were caught completely off guard, most in disbelief that it was actually happening even as the missiles started flying.
After the war started, Zelensky tells his people that they are definitely going to win. I understand patriotism and optimism, but most of these people are completely oblivious to the sheer degree to which they are outnumbered and outgunned, swearing that victory is just around the corner.
And now Zelensky is blaming NATO for failing to implement a no-fly zone, saying that without Russia's air advantage the war would be all but won for Ukraine. He completely omits the fact that if NATO poke Russia it would ignite a nuclear war which would exponentially increase the number of casualties, and even if that didn't happen and the no-fly zone somehow failed to provoke any response, Ukraine would still be left massively outnumbered and outgunned on the ground.

Honestly, the fake news in Ukraine is almost as bad as the fake news in Russia, and I just felt the need to call that out.

[da_nang]

Supposedly, the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (that was on fire) is back under Ukrainian control.

[martinuzz]

You can't blame Zelensky for not believing Putin has gone completely insane, and giving peace a chance. 90% of the world with him didn't think Putin would actually invade.
What you're doing there, Folly, is like a guy blaming a raped girl for going out at night.

[andrea]

I'll play the devil's advocate to the devil's advocate.
Zelensky had to keep business as usual and make no overt mobilization.
Sure, he could have mobilised reserves, started preparations, evacuate civilians, start warning people of incoming war. This has two effects:

On one hand, those things are the same things you would do before an aggressive war. They could have been easily spun by Russia as a credible provocation, emboldening their domestic opinion and weakening foreign support of Ukraine, now seen as a part of escalation. In addition, the mounting provocation would allow the Russian army to start mentally preparing for the invasion a few days before it happens. As it actually happened, Ukrain is seen as a defenseless victim of unprovoked aggression and to maintain the pretense of training the Russian soldiers were kept in the dark till the moment they crossed the border with utter mismatch between the justification used and the reality on the ground with devastating effects on morale and logistics.

On the other, domestic, hand being caught by surprise makes losing territory politically acceptable. Had the military been fully mobilised and geared for war, there would have been pressure to engage in direct confrontation at the border, which would have been lost breaking defender morale. Likewise trying to retreat after mobilization sends the message that you can't win and also destroys morale. But being caught by surprise makes it palatable to cede territory for time, which they sorely needed to galvanize international response and let the Russian offensive bog down. Meanwhile, domestic will to fight is also at an all time high.

So, you see, being caught by surprise is Ukraine's biggest advantage and Russia's greatest disadvantage, another thing that makes this war insane.

Ukraine prepared for war, but not the kind of war with armies directly clashing holding the border. here is a nice blog post on the kind of asymmetrical warfare Ukraine is engaging in, which is the only kind they can win.

[delphonso]

Yeah, I'll support Laterigrade there - I've seen far too many posts from Americans that are effectively 'All Russians are murderers', which only swaps out the actors in the 'us vs them' oversimplification. The soldiers themselves, all the way up to Putin are victims in one way or another. That does not excuse their actions, but is worthy to point out, lest you fall for something similar.

Edit: missed a page of updates