>

It's just them calling the 'complaint center' and airing a list of grievances that are entirely self-inflicted and anachronistically barbaric.
"We just wanted to invade as far west as we could and make it like us!"
"Why are you soo Russophobic?!"
“Inflict defeat”
Playing the victim while being the aggressor.
“Stop hitting back, you’re hurting me!” >

Typical bullying narcissist behavior to flip the morality of the situation back at the victims. 
"Stop hurting me! I'm only hurting you because I ~~love you~~ want to install a puppet government and steal your valuable lands and resources!" >

It's more sinister than being a bullying narcissist. Since Soviet times, Russia and the KGB's strategy has always been to befuddle the truth and skew any information that people get. They've been doing it for over a century.
Putin's an old KGB agent and he's using the old playbook, but I honestly think he's so old and geriatric that he doesn't understand that the world doesn't work in that same way in the modern information age. Maybe in Russia where he controls practically everything, but this sort of thing just sounds comical to the rest of us. The guy is still living in the USSR c. 1975. >


Putin's an old KGB agent and he's using the old playbook, but I honestly think he's so old and geriatric that he doesn't understand that the world doesn't work in that same way in the modern information age.

Completely agree on this one. Planning their invasion for several days just proves this. This guy definitely needs an updated OS. Unfortunately, this will never happen since his KGB school just "seals" everything he knows not leaving a chance for the update. Sad though. >

Could you please expand upon the "planning their invasion for several days just proves this" comment? Was that not enough, or too much planning? >

I wonder if they meant 'planning for an invasion that would only take a few days' - i.e. the Russians thought that they would take Kyiv in a few days, and then it would all be over? >

Yes, they literally believed the entire operation would be over in three days. And that's because Putin thought he had installed his puppets in every leadership position, and those puppets would just hand the nation over to him. That only worked in Kherson, but all the others took the money and ran. >

I'd say less the installed puppets and more that his inner circle of advisors are either completely sycophantic and assured him that Russian might would be able to steamroll to Kyiv or simply kept quiet knowing full well the true state of the military. Either way, pretty typical dictator stuff - anyone with dissenting opinions is either removed or executed and so an echo chamber forms. 
This coupled with a personal low opinion of Ukraine led Russia to believe the government would fold which they very well might had Zelenskyy decided to flee. >

I mean Putin doesn’t exactly foster an environment that is open to constructive criticism, so I wouldn’t be surprised if every “advisor” was routinely silent and just there to agree with whatever he wants to do at the moment. >

Russia can still CHOOSE to leave Ukraine and avoid defeat. >

Nah. They were defeated when they failed to hold their precious airport, failed to capture Kyiv, and poisoned themselves in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
russia is the new "This is what winning looks like." >


russia is the new "This is what winning looks like."

honestly, as someone who has studied Russian history...this has kind of always been how they promote themselves lol
it's a huge reason why Victory Day (the end of WW2) is a BIG deal. Probably the biggest holiday after New Year's. They need to tell everyone around them who cares that they were the "ultimate winners" in World war 2
if you look at their military record, it's really an ongoing clusterfuck of hilariously pathetic military botch-ups: Crimean War, Russo-Japanese War, early parts of WW1, the Invasion of Afghanistan, the first Cechen War. They obviously had some level of success since they were a world power for a while, but holy fuck have they had some major screw-ups. >

The good ol Baltic fleet journey to Japan is still my favorite Russian military misadventure >

Go on… >

They sailed their fleet from the Baltic to Vladivostok to fight the Japanese. On the way they shot at a British fishing boat because they "thought it Japanese" (in the Baltic???) which got them banned from using the Suez.
In the end, they sailed halfway around the world just to get absolutely fucking stomped by Japan in quite possibly the most one-sided naval battle ever, then had to crawl several thousand miles back home in utter defeat.
(E: As several have mentioned, there's hilarious parts I didn't recount and parts I got a little wrong just reciting the basics from memory. Look it up, the Battle of Tsushima. It's a pretty crazy moment in history.) >

It was the Baltic (no casualties) and the North Sea (2 british fishermen were killed and an unnarmed fishing boat sunk at the cost of a russian orthodox priest and at least one russian sailer also being killed by friendly fire), with the latter costing them access from the Suez >

So their k/d was 2/2 against an unarmed opponent? Damn lol >

The whole voyage is odd. If they made a movie out of it. No one would believe it. >

I could see Wes Anderson pulling it off >

Nothing escapes the keen inquiring minds at the Kremlin >

Russia: Nothing goes over my head. My reflexes are too fast. I would catch it. >

I, too, am extraordinarily humble. >

Do not EVER call me a thesaurus! >

I’ve mastered the ability of standing so incredibly still that I become invisible to the eye. >

I have Famously huge turds! >

That's what you get from eating so many zargnuts. >

People, be careful. Don’t give Putin Drax ideas or he will kidnap Kevin bacon. >

Who names their child after a food? That would be very confusing at breakfast. >

It would be a great comedy show with a cook who took everything literally >

Yes. That's the point. You fucking idiots. >

It's only been 30 years, did they already forget how the Cold War worked? >

I think Cold War 2.0 really has surprised them. Just a few years ago they had a US President, a number of his staff, and several Senators and Congressmen in their back pocket. They also had a former German Chancellor literally on the payroll, an oligarch's son nominated for a position in the English House of Lords, allies in growing far-right parties throughout Europe, and what they thought was a reliable puppet government in Hungary that could block any NATO action even in the worst case scenario everything else failed. Europe was heavily dependent on Russian oil. They probably thought that they had enough diplomatic, clandestine, and financial leverage to march in unopposed, and once that didn't happen it triggered shocked Pikachu faces. >


Just a few years ago they had a US President, a number of his staff, and several Senators and Congressmen in their back pocket.

Also at least one highly-placed counterintelligence agent in the FBI, from the looks of things. Allegedly. >

Again.  FFS. >

Yeah but look at our intelligence so far on this war.  It looks like we’ve got quite a few paid informants as well.  Such is life in the spy world. >

Pretty surprising tbh, didn’t the last president give a bunch of names or something like that? >

The counterintuitive thing about spies, and the only reason they work, is they are insanely easy to replace.
Nearly anyone,  and everyone in a strategic field, or location is a potential spy. >

Exactly. Some people think of Russian spies as highly trained KGB operatives, when in reality the most successful Russian spies of all time were 5 British citizens who were recruited during their time at Cambridge University. They went on to hold positions in Parliament, MI6 etc. It's just regular people who are willing to pass on sensitive information. >

Actual intelligence officers don't infiltrate organizations and steal intel.  They convince people with access to the intel, and no ties to their agency, to pass the intel to them.  Most countries have a good idea of who the foreign intelligence officers in their country are.  Almost all of them have diplomatic credentials, and it is more effective to allow them to operate in your country and attempt to shadow them than it is to kick them out. >

West: *sends weapons to defeat russia*
Russia: YOU'RE SENDING WEAPONS TO DEFEAT US!
West: Yes? >

Also west: sends 20 year old leftover junk and cripples mighty Russian army >

A lot of the equipment actually is Cold War designs, so it's more like 40 year old stuff. >

No sir you forgot the 70s we're 30 years ago easy mistake to.... Oh God. >

Every damn time >

Literally every time! How are we all still so stuck in the aughts??? When someone asks me how old I am I'm like "Twelv...uh, wait, uh...almost 30".
Edit: I a word >

The aughts all sort of blend together as a bland smear of economic hardship and terrible music. >

Are you telling me you aren't a die-hard Black-eyed Peas fan? >

Tonight's gonna be a good night to whack my ears with a wooden mallet. >

Putin said Russian weapons are "decades ahead" of anything NATO has, so why are they fussed about a few dozen tanks? >

Because in reality they are using cold war weapons just to get by and the Kremlin knows they don't stand a chance in a real boots on ground style war. >

until they invaded Ukraine, the west was fearful of their army.  now, the west laughs.  hell, the Canadian Army could likely tell Moscow within a week at this point >

Don't fuck with the Canadians. They might seem nice on the surface but give them a hockey stick and it's game over for you >

If you want to learn some fun info, look up Canadian troops reputations in WW2 >

Now I'm curious. Any highlights you could share? >

Just off the top of my head, about 1.1M Canadian troops served in WW2. Had a reputation for being hella tough and getting things done when no one else could. Vimy ridge, Juno beach... Even in WW1, Battle of the Somme, when German troops, astonished by the bravery and the speed of the Canadians, started calling them Sturmtruppen (storm troopers). 
The Netherlands still sends over a couple million tulips every year to our capital city for Canadians liberating the country from Nazis.
Edit: when I say things "off the top of my head" I get WW1 and 2 mixed up >

This makes a lot more sense. >

A badly paraphrased joke from Zelenksy himself!
"2 russian friend meet at a bar after a year apart. One of them, a priest has been away on a religious mission the last year.
He asks his friend who remained in Russia, what on earth is going on, I hear there is a war?
His friend replies, yes, we're at war with NATO! We've lost thousands of tanks, tens of thousands of soldiers and our economy is tanking!
Oh shit exclaims the priest and what about NATO?
"They haven't showed up yet" >

That is a damned good joke >

wasn't he a comedian before becoming a politician? >

He voice acted Paddington in the Ukrainian adaptation >

Which also adds to the prestige. >

Hey, you can always get the fuck out and call it a tie, you know?
It'll still be embarrassing as shit, but probably better than what's coming. >

It worked for the US after Vietnam
Edit: this comment put me over 69,000 karma so I'm obliged to say nice >

This actually did work for the US. Today, Vietnam and the US have cordial relations, arguably much closer than Vietnam and China. The US turned a bitter military defeat into a resounding diplomatic victory by swallowing their pride.
Russia doesn't have the humility to do the same. >

The Vietnamese absolutely love Americans these days. Maybe government to government it’s just cordial, but the people are very pro-America >

They hate China and the French. They defeated America so there's no sour grapes. >

If they had kept their shabby, rapist, looting, civilian killing army at home there would have been no sanctions, no dead soldiers. And they could still threaten and bluster, but not now that we see what a shit show they are.. >

The bluff has been called. >

Russia for the last ten years - "We're at war with the West!!!"
Russia now - "Stop trying to defeat us!!" >

This is key. Putin has made it absolutely clear - for more than a decade - he views NATO as a strategic challenge and wanted to overturn  the US dominated world order. More recently, the Russian government has framed the war as being against NATO and barely acknowledged Ukraine as an adversary with its own national and strategic interests. Now they feign shock that NATO aims to defeat them by supporting Ukraine. Welcome to the Russian world. A crumbling  former imperial with an economy the size of Spain seeking to dictate Ukraine‘s political future and redimension the world order to suit their purpose. >

100% agree. 
I just always wonder when I see such comments if (in this case, Spain) sees these comparisons and says “Our economy is as big as Russia’s!”, or if they’re more like “C’mon, guys, you’re making us feel like crap over here.” >

"hurr durr the west sending tanks won't change anything, we will still destroy Ukraine"
"Wait why did you send them tanks? thats not fair!!!" >

"We have already destroyed 200 of the 100 tanks the West has sent into Ukraine that are unfairly beating the shit out of us." >

Arming Ukraine with back room weaponry has been probably the cheapest way for NATO and “the west” to effectively cut the Russian military at their knees. And they’re doing so without sending a single soldier or firing a single round. >

And a lot of that gear is stuff they consider "old" from my understanding. That's the wild thing to me. >

The Leopard and Abrams tanks are from the 70s and 80s while HIMARS are from the 90s. Even the Patriot missile defense system is from the 80s. Mind you, all of that tech has been upgraded over the years but the original foundations are decades old. >

The Leopard 2A6 they are sending now is from around 2000 though >

Still 20+ years! >

My SUV drives just fine, thank you. >

This statement from Russia is dumb even by Russian standards. Like, what did they think the world was doing? Secretly supporting Russia by sending weapons to Ukraine???? 
It’s almost like they put out the first thing that comes to their minds becuase they’ve run out of anything important to say and just want to post to stay relevant.