this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2023
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the_dunk_tank

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It's the dunk tank.

This is where you come to post big-brained hot takes by chuds, libs, or even fellow leftists, and tear them to itty-bitty pieces with precision dunkstrikes.

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[–] BynarsAreOk@hexbear.net 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

This is literaly that homer meme again lol.

Captured [random village here], a huge day, a great victory!

Reality:

Thousands and thousands of dead, more mobilizations including women.

FInancial times: "The idea that Ukrainian forces, lacking any air cover, would storm through Russian lines was always going to be more of a Hollywood plotline than reality."

dozens of precious "indestructible" western tanks lost,

took so long it is now the rain season so they can't advance anymore

the target was supposed to be the land bridge to Crimea and cities like Melitopol.

Don't ask what is going on near and around Kupiansk for the last 2 months.

Don't ask what is the former name for Artemvosk lol.

[–] Tachanka@hexbear.net 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

A lot of the young people fighting/dying in Ukraine right now were radicalized through NED-funded child summer camps that were covered in the international press before 2022. Even the Guardian has a video on youtube about this still.

[–] panopticon@hexbear.net 0 points 2 years ago

Oh shit they were NED funded??? 💀

[–] M68040@hexbear.net 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

How did they end up like this, anyhow? It's weird to think there isn't more animosity towards the guys who shot at their great-great-granddads or whatever.

[–] SoloboiNanook@hexbear.net 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Nationalism is a hell of a drug

[–] hexi@hexbear.net 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)
[–] DanComrd@hexbear.net 0 points 2 years ago

That is so perfect michael-laugh

[–] conditional_soup@lemm.ee 0 points 2 years ago (4 children)

Nazis are in Ukraine, and Nazis are bad people that should be stopped.

Russia is using this as an excuse for a shameless land grab.

These are not mutually exclusive statements.

IMO, it really wouldn't be all that different to the US using the cartels as an excuse to invade Mexico and slurp up some new land. And yeah, I'm aware that Republicans are already talking about it, because they just can't stop themselves from any% speedrunning the worst takes possible. To be completely frank, I wonder if Russia would keep giving a shit about the Nazis once they've taken the land. IIRC, like basically everyone else right now, Russia itself has an embarrassingly bad Nazi problem, so maybe Russia will invade Russia next.

[–] RyanGosling@hexbear.net 1 points 2 years ago

IMO, it really wouldn't be all that different to the US using the cartels as an excuse to invade Mexico and slurp up some new land.

There’s no need to make up scenarios. The US already did this with Cuba, Africa, and the Middle East. Mr. Putler is just inspired by American policies like his predecessor Hitler

[–] novibe@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 years ago (3 children)

I don’t want to put a bunch of preludes and explain myself etc.

But man, you really think Russia invaded because of a “land grab”? Does that make any sense to you?

[–] KarlBarqs@hexbear.net 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

To be somewhat fair, all of Russia's claims in Ukraine (Crimea, the Donbas) would give them unparalleled access to the Sea of Azov and the northern banks of the Black Sea. Yes, I know they control a significant portion of the Black Sea already, but this would allow them to wrap the Sea of Azov nicely.

I know Russia states they're there to kick the Nazis out of the Donbas and protect the Russian language minority in that region, but I also don't believe any nation, especially a very nationalistic, neoliberal government like Russia's, is out doing something out of the goodness of their hearts. Call me a cynic, but I think the expanded Black Sea control is more important to the government.

[–] CyborgMarx@hexbear.net 1 points 2 years ago

It's literally just to stop NATO expansion, protecting Russian speakers in Ukraine is just an incidental political benefit

The "warm port" and "land grab" theories are pure nonsense that ignore the last 8 years of Eastern European history

[–] ShimmeringKoi@hexbear.net 1 points 2 years ago

The Russian Federation, famously short on land

[–] TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee 0 points 2 years ago (3 children)

But man, you really think Russia invaded because of a “land grab”? Does that make any sense to you?

I mean, how many wars have Russians started in the past for access to a warm water port? Shit, how many times have they fought over just the Crimea? Access to the black sea has been one of the most strategically important national goals for Russia throughout history.

[–] Rod_Blagojevic@hexbear.net 1 points 2 years ago

"Access to infrastructure that allows the movement of critical goods" isn't really captured by the phrase "land grab"

[–] ShimmeringKoi@hexbear.net 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I mean, how many wars have Russians started

What, all of them, unanimously, assembling their bodies into a single collossal humanoid mass of flesh and bone? This is the problem with a nationalist worldview, you miss the actual dynamic driving the event. Which Russians?

[–] Sinister@hexbear.net 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Not the dreaded warm water port discussion. When will we ever grow as a society?

[–] TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.ee 1 points 2 years ago

Honestly, give climate change another 30-40 years and it prob won't be an issue you hear about ever again.

[–] Tachanka@hexbear.net 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Nazis are in Ukraine, and Nazis are bad people that should be stopped

Yes.

Russia is using this as an excuse for a shameless land grab.

It's much more complex than this. One must understand the civil war, NATO expansion, as well as the cultural difference between Lviv, and Donbass/Luhask. With Kyiv kind of caught in the middle politically between them. Most importantly one must understand All of the things NATO could have done to prevent this.

Lviv was part of Poland. It became part of Ukraine when Germany/USSR both invaded Poland in 1939. It was historically Polish. Today Lviv is actually a hotbed of nazi apologia. Most of the monuments to nazi collaborators like Bandera and Stetsko are in Lviv. Many of the right wing militias are active in Lviv. Donbass Luhask was historically part of Russia, not part of Ukraine. During the early soviet period Lenin incorporated Donbass/Luhask into the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (rather than making it part of the Russian part of the USSR). During the soviet period this was fine, but after the Soviet union collapsed, and Ukraine SSR became Ukraine, the white supremacists and nazis (Groups like C14, Right Sektor, Azov Battalion, and their predecessors like the Social-National Party of Ukraine) began to push for policies against Roma, Jews, and ethnic Russians. This meant a lot of ethnic tensions with Donbass/Luhask which has a lot of people who speak Russian, as well as Roma and Jews. This led to separatist movements in Donbass/Luhask/Crimea. People in those regions who speak Russian and identify as Russian, and before Lenin, were part of the Russia rather than Ukraine, felt like they would be safer with their own Republics, or in Russia, than they would be in Ukraine. Crimea held a referendum to become part of Russia in 2014. This received over 90% support. NATO/Ukraine media said it was a rigged vote. Russian media said it wasn't. Russia then occupied Crimea to nominally enforce the referendum. This was called a land grab by NATO, it was called democratic support of a referendum by Russia. This kicked off separatist movements in Donbass/Luhask. The Ukrainian government then started a civil war against Donbass/Luhask to keep these territories as part of Ukraine. Donbass declared their own republic and so did Luhask. The Ukrainian Armed Forces committed a massacre in a trade union hall in Odessa 2014, burning a lot of separatists alive. They also began shelling separatist regions. There were a lot of civilian deaths, and Ukrainian right began to further radicalize, while receiving money/weapons/training through the NED (a CIA front) The civil war went on for 8 years.

In 2014, you also had what many believed to be a US-backed coup that put Petro Poroshenko into power. Petro Poroshenko rehabilitated a lot of the nazi collaborators from WW2, granting them hero status, and allowing more monuments to be built to them. He also cozied up with the radical right wing militias and incorporated them into the regular armed forces. He also advocated Ukraine joining NATO. Ukraine joining NATO was always Russia's "red line" since Ukraine shares a border close to Moscow, and NATO membership means the USA can build military bases in your country, train your troops, put nuclear weapons in your country, etc. Russia doesn't want American nukes right on the doorestep of its capital, and so finally, after 30 years of eastward NATO expansion, resolved to intervene in the Ukrainian civil war, to make weaken Ukraine, and make it more of a burden for NATO. This is why NATO hasn't allowed Ukraine to become a member.

There's also the matter of NATO expansion in general. Informal promises were made to Gorbachev in 1991 (which were declassified by the British much later) that NATO wouldn't expand eastward if he dissolved the USSR and the Warsaw pact. He did so. But NATO kept expanding anyway. Russia tried to join NATO in 2002 but were rejected, which could have prevented the perception, on the part of the Russian government, that Moscow is being encircled by NATO. Since they aren't allowed to be part of the collective security apparatus of the North Atlantic alliance, but the North Atlantic alliance keeps expanding to surround their borders, it was only a matter of time before they started to see this as a war-worthy provocation. Also the USSR tried to join NATO back in 1954, at the beginning of the Khrushchev thaw, but were also rejected, leading to the formation of the Warsaw pact in 1955, which was the Soviet answer to NATO. So there were a lot of changes to prevent this flare up of regional tensions. But I believe the USA never wanted to prevent tensions from flaring up. I believe the USA saw this as another war they could profit from by selling weapons, since it takes place far from their borders.

I blame Capitalism first, NATO/USA second, Russia third, Ukraine last. The nazi problem in Ukraine is (mostly) a byproduct of CIA-backed radicalization efforts in my opinion. Every country has right wing psychos, but only some of them come to power by getting money, weapons, and training clandestinely from the USA. I also view this as a European repeat of operation cyclone, which is where the USA gave money/training/weapons to Jihadists in Afghanistan to destroy the soviet-allied government there and bait the soviets into a costly occupation. I also view this as an extension of the cold war into the 21st century, except it's now an economic conflict between the imperial core and the rising 2nd world (China/Russia) rather than a conflict between Capitalism and Communism. USA was also motivated to get rid of Nordstream 2. America wants to sell its liquid natural gas to europe at exorbitant prices, but europe is getting it for much cheaper through the Russians. Even with the sanctions, Europe is still buying Russian gas through the backdoor of India.

invade Mexico and slurp up some new land.

lol wait until you find out how Texas became a US state

[–] Bnova@hexbear.net 1 points 2 years ago

This is all fair and I can't dispute it, but have you considered that all of it is Russian propaganda?

smuglord

[–] Awoo@hexbear.net 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

Nazis are in Ukraine, and Nazis are bad people that should be stopped.

This is an official regiment of the Ukrainian army.

Not just "nazis are in ukraine".

[–] Jobasha@hexbear.net 0 points 2 years ago

those are historical pagan symbols sweaty

[–] viva_la_juche@hexbear.net 0 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I saw some lib coping on twitter like “we control the village quick go grab the black sun! Come in guys the tankeez are gonna use this to say we’re nazis!” Lol

tankies will say just because you use flags designed by Himmler you're a Nazi. What if they just like him for his work as a chicken farmer

[–] bdonvr@thelemmy.club 0 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (2 children)

Every comment could be it's own post lmfao

They're not concerned that they're Nazis, they're just concerned about the public perception and how SEEING the nazi-ism makes them uncomfortable (but to reiterate they DO support them)

Edit: I didn't realize Hexbear blocked images like that.

Photo 1

Gif link

[–] BelieveRevolt@hexbear.net 0 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

”Why do they keep putting the black sun on their flags?”

Because they're Nazis, it's not that hard to figure out.

[–] Torenico@hexbear.net 0 points 2 years ago

That's right, if they're fighting fascist Russia then they better start showing Hammer and Sickle flags because, you know... the USSR and Communism kinda played a huge role in obliterating nazism back in the day.