Russian 'news' is claiming Ukrainian Nazis are massacring ethnic Russians. They don't need a legitimate excuse.

Anyway, most Russians probably thought this was all bluster by the West and Russia wasn't going in. They need to know they're engaged in an actual war.

this. Not sure why this comment is downvoted. For anyone not speaking Russian, just head to Google News (with Chrome), pick the Russian news and translate into English and read the headlines (or if you're too lazy open this URL under Chrome https://news.google.com/topstories?hl=ru&gl=RU&ceid=RU:ru).

The comment above is a pretty accurate picture: protecting Ukrainian civilians, soldiers defecting to Russian side without even a fight, military generals telling success stories of their daily peace keeping operations and other face palming tales such as indeed a repeated idea that they fight against nazis to protect motherland under threat from evil NATO and the Americans.

Especially given that Ukranian President Zelenskiy is Jewish.

I mean, do you deny that the Ukrainian army has been shelling civilians in the separatist regions? A fellow countryman moved there since no one of the press bothered to report over the years and she confirmed it. And even apart from that, it's not like reports from the OSCE and UN aren't available. Furthermore, considering that the Ukrainian government enacted language and racial laws (can be easily looked up) and employs right-wing extremist military groups like the Azov Battalion as National Guard...it should give you something to think about. But well, most just blindly consume US(-controlled) media without doing some basic fact-checking even, let alone engage in critical thinking.

There is a serious issue with neo-nazi's in Ukraine who the U.S. supports because they are anti-russia. (I feel like I am living during the beginning of the Iraq war all over again.)

The press have been reporting the fighting in Donetsk and Luhansk since it started 8 years ago, what are you talking about?

Depends on which country you are from. There wasn't exactly reporting from it (at best only at the beginning) here which is why she moved there. Additionally, now the general tenor is that "Putin" invaded Ukraine basically without any reason even though there were several said by him. He even warned the Ukraine of consequences should they continue with the aggression when Russia formally acknowledged the separatist regions. In response, the Ukraine even increased the aggression (shelling etc).

He pumped money into the seperatists for years, destabalising the region even further than it would have been. There is no excuse for what he's doing.

You mean like paying social benefits (pensions etc)? Possibly. After all, Ukraine was supposed to do that according to Minsk II but they violated the agreement in more than enough points. Personally, I see the NATO sending weapons and establishing bases...ah, they don't call them "bases" but "mission" instead to train military and the like as destabilizing factors.

(Then there is also the interesting issue of American biolabs in Ukraine (and other countries bordering Russia). There were reports of what the US does there but we will see whether the Russians can still find anything or whether it's too late.)

Anyway, it's pretty much already over and the West won. Putin/Russia got painted as the baddies + more sanctions (e.g. Nord Stream II suspended, so now the US can sell their shitty, overpriced fracking stuff to the EU). The Ukraine got screwed over/played by the West but they had already achieved a lot of goals (getting access to all the rich soil + controlling it for example as well as dividing brothers and sisters by supporting nationalists to the point where we now have those language/racial laws). But hey, apparently a lot of Western people support such a government. "Slava Ukraini/Heil Ukraine", as they say.

I love that HN has all sorts. To read a pro-dictator, pro-invasion, pro-authoritarianism argument is still a surprise, but at least it's something new to read.

U ok hun?

> Really, how much defensive value does this have for Ukraine?

No defensive or tactical advantage whatsoever.

It just means that they have nothing to fight with. Internet field marshals that are doing last minute squeaking towards Russia. They are at best reactionary attacks which are predictable and easily mitigated against.

It is the job of the Russian people to stand up and refuse to participate in this conflict. Anything that makes their lives harder so they are more likely to do that, as opposed to just sitting around on their ass, is a good thing. The Russians need to band together and topple their dictator state, they are acting unethically and there needs to be a groundswell of support to oust someone like Putin. Simple democracy will not work there to change things like it could in the U.S. (voters were able to get rid of Bush for being a war monger).

Would you say the same for the Americans and USA's warmongering? Or for the Jewish people and the situation at Gaza?

Voters got rid of Bush but this did not stop the unjust American wars.

The Russian citizens are people just like us, powerless and with their own peace to protect.

Voters in fact did not get rid of Bush. Unless you mean HW.

Maybe they're giving the US credit for not giving Bush more terms than he was legally allowed to serve, which is more than you can say for Russia/Putin.

It's the job of the Canadian people to stand up to oppression and fight the governmental overreach... etc etc

Yes. It is. What's your point? If the truckers of Canada try to shut down the country over a vaccine mandate, seems the Russians should consider this a reason to do their best to shut down Russia.

My point is _look how well it went for them in an incredibly non authoritarian regime_. Look how effectively they changed policy! Look how little personal cost it has had!

People like to act as though they'd be the person in the crowd who would rush a lone gunman first. Sure - you'll die, but the group will get the gunman and everything will be better. They definitely love to proclaim that some other bugger in that situation should be willing to take the bullet.

I, personally, hope I never have to make the decision between dying doing the right thing and living doing the easy thing. I've no intention of judging those who do.

Yeah but it was a very small minority that were protesting. Why? Because they were protesting a vaccine mandate which isn't literal evil. Every Russian that isn't a piece of shit should be protesting this and shutting down the entire country.

Please see my other comment in this thread. Either there is some hypocrisy involved or you just called basically everyone here (probably including yourself) a "piece of shit" for not shutting down the USA during its various invasions in the last 20 years.

Just because a country claims to represent you, you don't have the moral obligation to oppose it while risking your personal wellbeing.

> in this conflict

They don't know there's a war going on.