Russia and its “Special Operation” in Ukraine

[trekka]

3 minutes ago, magnkarl said:

Zelensky holding what looks like a Q&A in a Kyiv subway station. 

The PR battle in this war was lost on day one by Russia. Zelensky is a brilliant communicator and he’s clearly got extremely clever people around him.

It has been going on for quite some time too (at least an hour now).   He is talking passionately and is calling out people in the crowd to ask questions from as many countries as possible.  

[blandy]

13 minutes ago, magnkarl said:

The PR battle in this war was lost on day one by Russia

That depends where you live. In Russia the PR battle is won by Putin, albeit with the help of not allowing any other message than his own.

What Zelensky has done brilliantly is rally support from allies and, as you say, communicate so well with his population. He’s going to have to do a lot more of it, but he looks in much better shape to do so than does Putin, who looks quite ill. I guess people will have seen the video of him grasping the corners of his desk in the manner of someone trying to hold himself together.

[bickster]

3 minutes ago, blandy said:

That depends where you live. In Russia the PR battle is won by Putin, albeit with the help of not allowing any other message than his own.

What Zelensky has done brilliantly is rally support from allies and, as you say, communicate so well with his population. He’s going to have to do a lot more of it, but he looks in much better shape to do so than does Putin, who looks quite ill. I guess people will have seen the video of him grasping the corners of his desk in the manner of someone trying to hold himself together.

Have you seen the one of him and his hand shaking in a very uncontrolable Parkinsons manner?

He appears to be holding the table like that because he needs to stop the involuntary movements

[trekka]

 

[trekka]

This thread on Twitter is great by the way

 

[blandy]

21 minutes ago, trekka said:

 

He looks like he’s doing an impression of Mark E. Smith, about to break into a version of “Tommy Shooter” after his pre gig pharmaceuticals

”See the clouds are darkening

with wings of chickens

They’re coming home to roost

I’m telling you my friend“

 

[magnkarl]

Seems like Ukraine is allowing Russia to advance only to counter attack behind them. Ukraine estimates that they’re knocking out 100 armoured vehicles per day, including the crews. How many qualified tankers are left in Russia?

[Xann]

33 minutes ago, blandy said:

... Putin, who looks quite ill...

A sudden death is the best possible scenario.

He's an unwelcome distraction with a nuclear arsenal, and there's a couple of flavours of catastrophe due anyway.

Realistically he's only getting more angry imho. He started a vanity war, and looks like a tit.

If he does a Frank Williams and hangs on for ages, the numbers favour him getting more bitter, more twisted.

[sne]

That picture has a certain Weekend at Bernie's quality to it.

Or even

Edited April 23, 2022 by sne

[sidcow]

Parkinsons is a horrible disease and you wouldn't wish it on anyone, but if someone whose sent thousands of innocent people to their deaths and ruined literally millions of peoples lives for absolutely no reason whatsoever suffers from it, it seems like a kind of poetic justice to me. 

Edited April 23, 2022 by sidcow

[magnkarl]

Just now, sidcow said:

Parkinsons is a horrible disease and you wouldn't wish it on anyone, but if someone whose sent thousands of innocent people to their deaths and ruined literally millions of peoples lives for absolutely no reason whatsoever it seems like a kind of poetic justice to me. 

Parkinson is too mild for someone like Putin tbh. You can live with it for far too long in his case.

[bickster]

32 minutes ago, magnkarl said:

Seems like Ukraine is allowing Russia to advance only to counter attack behind them. Ukraine estimates that they’re knocking out 100 armoured vehicles per day, including the crews. How many qualified tankers are left in Russia?

Soviet era tanks are designed to be learned by conscripts in weeks. Yes I know I know … they won’t be very good but there’ll still be plenty more for the slaughter

[sidcow]

2 minutes ago, bickster said:

Soviet era tanks are designed to be learned by conscripts in weeks. Yes I know I know … they won’t be very good but there’ll still be plenty more for the slaughter

I have wondered about the number of Tanks the Ukrainians have captured in working order is due to the crew just scarpering as soon as they take any kind of hit. 

I know a lot have probably run out of fuel but you would think they'd be put out of order by the crew if it's an orderly abandonment. 

Edited April 23, 2022 by sidcow

[Awol]

3 hours ago, bickster said:

SKY

The pilots will be dining out on that one for a while. 
 

Video of landing at Rzeszow, the primary NATO airhead for supplies going into Ukraine. Patriot SAMs everywhere.

Getting SAMs like this into Odesa, Lviv, Kyiv, etc. is the only way to really protect them from cruise missile and air attack.

[Zatman]

6 hours ago, sidcow said:

Parkinsons is a horrible disease and you wouldn't wish it on anyone, but if someone whose sent thousands of innocent people to their deaths and ruined literally millions of peoples lives for absolutely no reason whatsoever suffers from it, it seems like a kind of poetic justice to me. 

I do think he has been diagnosed with something and started a war to have a legacy in history but has been a complete **** up from his end

[magnkarl]

10 hours ago, bickster said:

Soviet era tanks are designed to be learned by conscripts in weeks. Yes I know I know … they won’t be very good but there’ll still be plenty more for the slaughter

By all means, putting rookies into a tank that even Russia’s professionals got hammered in and sending them into an opponent armed to the teeth will probably make the tanks go forward, but will it change the outcome?

Word is that Russia hasn’t breached the Donbas contact line in one place, they’ve only ‘taken’ some small villages, gotten counterattacked and lost another bunch of equipment and manpower.

[magnkarl]

Danish, UK, Dutch and Norwegian anti air systems doing work?

I’m no expert, but the starstreak, mistral and other systems now trickling in from the Northern NATO members is surely making the air war into a nightmare for Russian planes and helicopters?

[Rds1983]

12 hours ago, sidcow said:

Parkinsons is a horrible disease and you wouldn't wish it on anyone, but if someone whose sent thousands of innocent people to their deaths and ruined literally millions of peoples lives for absolutely no reason whatsoever suffers from it, it seems like a kind of poetic justice to me. 

Having watched my Gran spend years deteriorating from Parkinsons to the point where she was a physical and mental wreck (mind/memory completely gone to the point she didn't remember my Grandad had died 20 years earlier), and seeing how this affected not only her but the whole family I wouldn't wish it on anyone. 

Having said that, Putin can do one. 

[sidcow]

5 minutes ago, Rds1983 said:

Having watched my Gran spend years deteriorating from Parkinsons to the point where she was a physical and mental wreck (mind/memory completely gone to the point she didn't remember my Grandad had died 20 years earlier), and seeing how this affected not only her but the whole family I wouldn't wish it on anyone. 

Having said that, Putin can do one. 

Sorry to hear that. We can only pray that scientists eventually defeat this heinous disease. 

[mjmooney]

6 minutes ago, Rds1983 said:

Having watched my Gran spend years deteriorating from Parkinsons to the point where she was a physical and mental wreck (mind/memory completely gone to the point she didn't remember my Grandad had died 20 years earlier), and seeing how this affected not only her but the whole family I wouldn't wish it on anyone. 

Having said that, Putin can do one. 

If it's true that Putin's got it, the question how fast will he deteriorate mentally? What is he likely to do in a mentally affected state? And at what point do his staff step in and remove him?