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[Kittehkraken]

Motherfuckers, I always wanted to see this marvel of engineering in person.

Ukrainian Officials Say the World's Largest Aircraft, Antonov AN-225, Has Been Destroyed

The plane was undergoing maintenance in an airfield near Kyiv

www.smithsonianmag.com

Edit:

A second airframe exists that's been sitting uncompleted since the 80s.

 

[Celcius]

Seeing all the destruction… how many years and how many billions is it going to cost to fix all this? (Not to mention the priceless lives lost)

 

[EverydayBeast]

Hmmm... Yes, the previous guy's hand picked successor was elected fairly back then... And over and over since then.
Nothing fishy at all about that, one guy being elected over and over for 20 years. The fact that his opposition keeps getting arrested and beaten and tortured and assassinated is just coincidence. Even when we know the government did it.

There's too many people in Russia for that to happen imagine worrying about assassinations in the next American election, let's get introduced to the next Russian president and not unnecessarily shame Putin, a president who was elected by the Russian people.

 

[Hypereides]

There's too many people in Russia for that to happen imagine worrying about assassinations in the next American election, let's get introduced to the next Russian president and not unnecessarily shame Putin, a president who was elected by the Russian people.

Да, comrade. Well put.

 

[Nobody_Important]

There's too many people in Russia for that to happen imagine worrying about assassinations in the next American election, let's get introduced to the next Russian president and not unnecessarily shame Putin, a president who was elected by the Russian people.

I have seen some seriously dumb shit on Gaf before, but this is near the top.

 

[Vestal]

not unnecessarily shame Putin, a president who was elected by the Russian people.

Are you still on about this? After everyone pointing it out to you multiple times on your previous post?? Seriously!?

 

[ManaByte]

 

[Rest]

There's too many people in Russia for that to happen

Expound. What is your reasoning for this statement?

 

[Kraz]

Musk is an ass, but this is good.

Alright you primitive Russian chuckleheads listen up!
See this?
This is America's BROOMSTICK!

 

[Nobody_Important]

Seeing all the destruction… how many years and how many billions is it going to cost to fix all this? (Not to mention the priceless lives lost)

For Ukraine? Depends how all this turns out for them. They will receive loads of help if they maintain their independence.


For Russia? A decade at minimum. The losses they have taken on the ground alone is in the billions of dollars. The economic damage at home is in the hundreds of billions. The loss of business and lack of faith in the Russian economy due to this will haunt the Russian people for years and years.

 

[Agent_Nobody]

Russian "spetsnaz" vs door.

This is the metaphor for the entire war so far.

Useless, needless, and the door works the other way dumb ass.

But that's a Ukrainian door alright…it stands up to stupidity.

 

[SleepySlippy]

But remember guys! The West isn't perfect either. We've all done some bad stuff so let's try to understand if these grievances are legitimate or not…

That's not a valid way of thinking. Our past errors should not legitimate the errors of our neighbors. Our neighbors' errors should make us repent about our errors of the past.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

This is the metaphor for the entire war so far.

Useless, needless, and the door works the other way dumb ass.

But that's a Ukrainian door alright…it stands up to stupidity.

Can't blame the Russian. Nothing is more intimidating than a vinyl door frame.

 

[GeorgioCostanzaX]

If it doesn't do anything then why do you care? If it helps them feel involved, and has an outside chance of having some influence or just makes them feel at peace about the chaos that's in their world - who gives a shit? Why are you making such a fuss.

It's mob rule based on false intel: like Russian River brewing company for example is based in California and Tito's Vodka is from Texas but some idiots are waiving pitch forks against the wrong target: it's as equally stupid as freedom fries only this time we have social media. It's no better than woke scolds taking Aunt Jemima off the shelves and tanking profits with a new name no one knows about or people trying to cancel various celebs for dumb social media comments from 15 years ago.

 

[Putonahappyface]

Not even close. CN nuclear power is tiny compared to Russian capabilities. That's why CN refuses to be a part of any nuclear agreements. Both US and RU owns like 95% of all nuclear weapons.

Currently Russia has a way more sophisticated nuclear capabilities than US too.

Both in delivering the first hypersonic strike:

Why Russia's Hypersonic Missiles Can't Be Seen on Radar

The speed of hypersonic weapons are changing the way the world's military minds think about the future of great power conflicts in ways no one could have predicted.

www.military.com

And in case of retalliation even after being hit first:

Inside the Apocalyptic Soviet Doomsday Machine

The technical name was Perimeter, but some called it Mertvaya Ruka, Dead Hand.

www.wired.com

Literally a semiautomatic DOOMSDAY system. Just think about it for a moment.

We live in sobering times.

 

[Vestal]

More evidence that Russia seriously underestimated this invasion.

Throw it onto the pile.

 

[clarky]

so putin bad, west good. Anyone care to drop me an unbiased link to why putin is doing this?

 

[Vestal]

so putin bad, west good. Anyone care to drop me an unbiased link to why putin is doing this?

Read the thread, or look at Putins speeches from the last two weeks. For further information on the Ukranian people and some of the roots of this struggle go watch the Documentary "Winter on Fire" on Netflix.

At its very core it is a fight for Democracy, freedom and self determination.

 

[Loope]

so putin bad, west good. Anyone care to drop me an unbiased link to why putin is doing this?

Your first sentence kind of gives it away.

Watch his speech, it is to kill those darn neonazis. You know, when you have a fringe of a population of 40 million doing shit, other country must invade to take care of it.

It's a perfectly reasoned action according to the retards defending this on the gaming side.

 

[DeepBreath87]

so putin bad, west good. Anyone care to drop me an unbiased link to why putin is doing this?

Just to be clear, I don't have to agree with this, but this is my understanding of Russia's motives:

Putin views the Ukraine's increasingly close relationship with the US and NATO as an encroachment on Russia's territory and a threat. They have said so many times over the past decade. They have increasingly said that Ukraine joining NATO is a red line for them. Why they are OK with other border countries in NATO but not Ukraine is a question I cannot answer. I doubt they are happy about the others either.

Regardless, Russian has been explicit about how they see the Ukrainian relationship with the West as an existential threat. I guess you could compare it to the US's feeling about Cuba getting tight with the USSR.

I know there is talk of nazis in Ukraine. I personally view that as a propaganda smokescreen.

 

[Kraz]

More evidence that Russia seriously underestimated this invasion.

Throw it onto the pile.

Vova the ever victim will blame NATO for stealing them to give to the nazis.

 

[Rest]

so putin bad, west good. Anyone care to drop me an unbiased link to why putin is doing this?

Imperial conquest.
There's a post in this thread where Putin tells a reporter why the invasion is happening, it's nonsense. His address from his office is nonsense. He's doing it because he can, he wants to be seen as the guy who stood up to the west, reclaimed Russian land, and conquered his nation's rivals.

 

[Vestal]

Your first sentence kind of gives it away.

Watch his speech, it is to kill those darn neonazis. You know, when you have a fringe of a population of 40 million doing shit, other country must invade to take care of it.

It's a perfectly reasoned action according to the retards defending this on the gaming side.

Wait what?!?!!

 

[Atrus]

so putin bad, west good. Anyone care to drop me an unbiased link to why putin is doing this?

Putin isn't invading the West.

Putin is invading a poorer, less well-equipped, non-EU, non-NATO, neighbour to kill people with the same Eastern Slavic background.

The West is just giving the victims the means to self-determine their outcome.

 

[Deleted member 1159]

That's not a valid way of thinking. Our past errors should not legitimate the errors of our neighbors. Our neighbors' errors should make us repent about our errors of the past.

Of course not, it was more of a sarcastic response to those acting like there are no good actors or any people with moral high ground here. It's nonsense; past mistake or not we are obligated to do the right thing here and in the future, not sit it out because we've never been perfect either

 

[clarky]

all very interesting, but why is he doing this?

whats the end game?

 

[Jsisto]

so putin bad, west good. Anyone care to drop me an unbiased link to why putin is doing this?

Like most wars, its over power and resources. Putin wants complete control over Ukraines natural gas and commodities. Of course, no leader ever comes right out and says this…

 

[Kraz]

all very interesting, but why is he doing this?

whats the end game?

To do what the voices in his head tell him to.

 

[Loope]

Wait what?!?!!

Well not written in clear form, i only could stomach to read 2 or 3 pages of it before i left that thread for good. The amount of whataboutism and "but Ukraine also did this" it's just mindblowing.

 

[Vestal]

Well not written in clear form, i only could stomach to read 2 or 3 pages of it before i left that thread for good. The amount of whataboutism and "but Ukraine also did this" it's just mindblowing.

 

[clarky]

Putin isn't invading the West.

Putin is invading a poorer, less well-equipped, non-EU, non-NATO, neighbour to kill people with the same Eastern Slavic background.

The West is just giving the victims the means to self-determine their outcome.

sounds very familiar.

 

[Celcius]

all very interesting, but why is he doing this?

whats the end game?

He wants to rebuild the USSR

 

[Guilhermegrg]

 

[clarky]

If we all think hes that much of a cunt then we need to put our balls on the line and stop fucking about. cutting his credit card up doesnt cut it.

 

[Rentahamster]

all very interesting, but why is he doing this?

whats the end game?

Nationalism - restore territory and former glory of the USSR and restore its status as a superpower to be feared and respected.
Security - create a buffer zone between NATO and Russia that makes staging missiles harder for NATO and limits the avenues for invasion into Russia.
Natural resources - control more areas that either contain petroleum resources or provide a pathway to selling those resources at maximum profit for Russia.

Basically the most common reasons for imperialist war and expansion since forever ago.

 

[GeorgioCostanzaX]

He wants to rebuild the USSR

At a certain point his motivations don't matter: a normal rational person does not become a dictator so their motives are often nonsense or insane. Look at Hitler after operation Barbarossa which was even more of a colossal failure. From invading Russia in winter in the first place to his not going straight for Moscow and instead getting bogged down in Stalingrad it was military blunder after blunder : the assassination attempt where all that saved him from death was pure luck of a briefcase bomb being placed incorrectly was a direct result of his not listening to common sense advice of his generals.

 

[clarky]

Just to be clear, I don't have to agree with this, but this is my understanding of Russia's motives:

Putin views the Ukraine's increasingly close relationship with the US and NATO as an encroachment on Russia's territory and a threat. They have said so many times over the past decade. They have increasingly said that Ukraine joining NATO is a red line for them. Why they are OK with other border countries in NATO but not Ukraine is a question I cannot answer. I doubt they are happy about the others either.

Regardless, Russian has been explicit about how they see the Ukrainian relationship with the West as an existential threat. I guess you could compare it to the US's feeling about Cuba getting tight with the USSR.

I know there is talk of nazis in Ukraine. I personally view that as a propaganda smokescreen.

perfect thats how i understood it as well

 

[JayK47]

This whole conflict seems off to me. Some of the videos I am seeing really paint Russia as inept. I really do find it hard to believe they are that badly organized and trained. So many abandoned vehicles and what appears to be stray vehicles that are lost and alone. That goes against common sense military tactics. As ex-US Army myself, seeing these lone vehicles is suspicious to me. Like they are hoping to get destroyed or captured. A proper combat unit has a mix of different units, which cover each other's weaknesses, and behind the combat units are support units. I was part of a support unit in the US Army, and we followed about a mile behind the action. You could see the battle in the distance. We would pick up any broken down vehicles and would also provide fuel and other supplies.

It looks more like a video game BF battle, where a tank spawns and some guy just grabs it and gets it stuck and then runs off on foot. Or gets disconnected from the server. It just looks so sloppy and ridiculous. And yet the Russians do appear to be capturing more territory and advancing. So maybe everything I am seeing is very Ukrainian biased.

 

[Kraz]

He wants to rebuild the USSR

you don't know how lucky you are boy

 

[Romulus]

If we all think hes that much of a cunt then we need to put our balls on the line and stop fucking about. cutting his credit card up doesnt cut it.

The US and allies would stomp the absolute shit of this 1980s Russian military in a conventional war. Putin would have to respond another way. But the guy has like 7000+ nukes.

 

[clarky]

Nationalism - restore territory and former glory of the USSR and restore its status as a superpower to be feared and respected.
Security - create a buffer zone between NATO and Russia that makes staging missiles harder for NATO and limits the avenues for invasion into Russia.
Natural resources - control more areas that either contain petroleum resources or provide a pathway to selling those resources at maximum profit for Russia.

Basically the most common reasons for imperialist war and expansion since forever ago.

i think that argument goes both ways.

 

[Insane Metal]

Damn poor Russia guys stop trying to cancel them

 

[Gp1]

More evidence that Russia seriously underestimated this invasion.

Throw it onto the pile.

I'm seeing some analyst discussing about this. The Russians are burning their tactical cruise missiles (their "Tomahawk" equivalents, like the Iskander, Kalibr, etc.) at a enormous pace without achieving anything relevant.

Some time in a near future they will have to resort to conventional artillery because this things aren't cheap.

 

[clarky]

The US and allies would stomp the absolute shit of this 1980s Russian military in a conventional war. Putin would have to respond another way. But the guy has like 7000+ nukes.

right ok. the guy is not solid. this has been war gamed to death. so whats his end game?

 

[funkygunther]

right ok. the guy is not solid. this has been war gamed to death. so whats his end game?

Ukraine

 

[Kraz]

This whole conflict seems off to me. Some of the videos I am seeing really paint Russia as inept. I really do find it hard to believe they are that badly organized and trained. So many abandoned vehicles and what appears to be stray vehicles that are lost and alone. That goes against common sense military tactics. As ex-US Army myself, seeing these lone vehicles is suspicious to me. Like they are hoping to get destroyed or captured. A proper combat unit has a mix of different units, which cover each other's weaknesses, and behind the combat units are support units. I was part of a support unit in the US Army, and we followed about a mile behind the action. You could see the battle in the distance. We would pick up any broken down vehicles and would also provide fuel and other supplies.

It looks more like a video game BF battle, where a tank spawns and some guy just grabs it and gets it stuck and then runs off on foot. Or gets disconnected from the server. It just looks so sloppy and ridiculous. And yet the Russians do appear to be capturing more territory and advancing. So maybe everything I am seeing is very Ukrainian biased.

Corruption, perhaps. Nepotism, money, sycophants promoted to positions of authority while most everyone competent removed for ideological reasons.

 

[SleepySlippy]

Of course not, it was more of a sarcastic response to those acting like there are no good actors or any people with moral high ground here. It's nonsense; past mistake or not we are obligated to do the right thing here and in the future, not sit it out because we've never been perfect either

Oh oops sorry, didn't see the irony.

 

[DeepBreath87]

This whole conflict seems off to me. Some of the videos I am seeing really paint Russia as inept. I really do find it hard to believe they are that badly organized and trained. So many abandoned vehicles and what appears to be stray vehicles that are lost and alone. That goes against common sense military tactics. As ex-US Army myself, seeing these lone vehicles is suspicious to me. Like they are hoping to get destroyed or captured. A proper combat unit has a mix of different units, which cover each other's weaknesses, and behind the combat units are support units. I was part of a support unit in the US Army, and we followed about a mile behind the action. You could see the battle in the distance. We would pick up any broken down vehicles and would also provide fuel and other supplies.

It looks more like a video game BF battle, where a tank spawns and some guy just grabs it and gets it stuck and then runs off on foot. Or gets disconnected from the server. It just looks so sloppy and ridiculous. And yet the Russians do appear to be capturing more territory and advancing. So maybe everything I am seeing is very Ukrainian biased.

You have to remember a couple of things. First Russia engages differently than the US. They do seem more disorganized because they are. The US is really good at war. Better than anyone has ever been.

Second, Ukraine isn't a pushover. The US steamrolled Iraq and Afghanistan. It wasn't really a war anymore than you beating up an 8 year old would be a fight. This is going to be messy because wars are usually messy.

Third, what we see online is a snapshot. You know how if you know what you're doing, you can take a picture of the hottest woman on earth and make them look horrible? That can happen here too. Don't buy into whole narratives being built on the basis of individual photos or video clips. This is a huge war in a big country. It's hard to wrap your arms around it in real time. Especially if you're relying on intel from Twitter.

 

[Jsisto]

Yea I'm really not buying the crazy/unhinged Putin narrative anymore. With covid winding down it's time for the next round of fear porn to blast onto western screens for ratings and clicks. Evil and power hungry? Absolutely. But he knows exactly what he's doing and this is probably the culmination of his plans years in the making. What he seemingly didn't account for is the strong Ukranian resistance and just how far the west would go to isolate Russia. He's probably the last person that wanted this to escalate beyond Ukraine.

 

[Rossco EZ]

If we all think hes that much of a cunt then we need to put our balls on the line and stop fucking about. cutting his credit card up doesnt cut it.

see you on the front line then mate?