I strongly disagree with the decision to centralize all ukraine war news in a megathread.
That's not how information is consumed on a medium like Lemmy. What you're doing makes the topic invisible for the vast majority of users.
I strongly disagree with the decision to centralize all ukraine war news in a megathread.
That's not how information is consumed on a medium like Lemmy. What you're doing makes the topic invisible for the vast majority of users.
Yessssss. The mega thread returns!! Now I can delete Reddit! ❤️
Does anyone else think that being seen as weak and capitulating to Prigozhin here is basically a death sentence to Putin?
Doing that has to have just put SO MUCH blood in the water for every internal agency/power-block with aspirations of taking him down and replacing him.
Apparently all you need is 20,000 men and Putin's defenceless...
My opinion is that this is going to cause chaos.
The fact that Putin didn't have Wagner immediately atomized on the spot suggests that he wasn't powerful enough to do so. Not a statement that someone in Putin's position would want to make, I would think.
Of course we both are speculating without any proof, I am also merely speaking of my gut feeling.
I have been thinking that the rhetoric of saying Putin is weak because Prigozhin was able to momentarily rebel is kind of wishful thinking. I think weak is a pretty strong word.
If Putin is as weak as some of us think he is, Prigozhin would have continued to march towards Moscow already.
At the same time, if Putin is as strong as some of us think he is, his army would have reached Kyiv with a new regime installed already.
Hence the truth should be lying somewhere in between, for now.
I know it's not something many people want to hear because it isn't a polarized statement, for example, it's not as exciting as saying Putin is super strong and can nuke everything, we better bow down to him or Ukraine is super strong and can occupy Moscow tomorrow, let's give them F-35s.
The reality is war is a boring and extremely slow meat grinder. Sometimes you cannot stop it once it's started (because deaths can be remembered for a long time) and sometimes you cannot avoid it (forever appeasement is not far from escalating the situation and empowering the bully which is worse off). I can only wish that Ukraine winning the war can prevent the potential China-Taiwan war from happening.
When new weapons arrive on site, I expect things to change. I wish Ukraine get Crimea back.
Yes! Putin is not some superduper strongman that controls his country as his public persona pretends. He is the guy that the key leaders of Russia allow to be in charge. The moment he is unable to meet their needs is the moment he is replaced. Those key leaders just saw that Putin came this close 🤏 to losing their power to an unpredictable madman, and Putin let the guy off because that was his only option!
Putin's days are numbered. He not only left Moscow vulnerable to attack, he gave someone the power to demonstrate it on the world stage. Before Feb 2022, Russia was internationally feared as the world's second strongest military, and now, the joke is that it's the second strongest military in Russia. That someone even outed that the whole premise of the invasion of Ukraine was false, that the military is terribly messing it up, and that Russia itself is vulnerable to attack. Those key leaders want to maintain their power, and Putin is not the man to do it anymore.
I think there is nothing Putin can do short of a complete Stalin-like Great Purge to stay alive, and I think that purge is impossible with its international relations as he has made enemies with everyone in the West. Putin is rightfully scared. Prigozhin, whether purposefully or in a oblivious narcissistic rage fit, just sealed the fate of Russia. This will undoubtedly encourage other leaders to take a swing at Putin, which makes him a liability to the key leaders' power. Either Russia has to embrace a democratic revolution where power is stripped from the oligarchs (very unlikely considering opposition disorganization and the country's economic contributions to the world stage) or a new more authoritarian leader will step in place to reign in control again. Those are the options, so I forsee life in Russia for the general population getting much worse quickly.
Russian military death toll in Ukraine rises to 224,630:
Looks like nafo has moved onto Mastodon guys!
Pro-Ukrainian talk has been hampered on Twitter, so its time to just spread NAFO-like talk to Mastodon. There's no more benefit to using Twitter for this.
Ukraine war: Russia accused of planting explosives at nuclear plant, children injured in strike:
Ukraine claims 'explosive devices' planted on roof of Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility:
Russia strikes Pervomaiske with Iskander missile, injuring more than 40 – Prosecutor's Office
Lukashenko shares some more details about the day of Prigozhin's mutiny.
He reveals there were no defense lines in Russia up until 200 km from Moscow (some regions are more equal than others?) and carefully chooses words to present Putin as a strong leader, while pointing out it was Lukashenko who did all the negotiating.
Russian construction firms are reportedly being told to send their workers to fight in Ukraine or face losing lucrative contracts from the city of Moscow.
Wagner chief Prigozhin returns to Russia, fate unclear (video):
The US will provide cluster munitions to Ukraine as part of a new military aid package: AP sources
Wagner boss Prigozhin is in Russia, Belarus ruler Lukashenko says:
Is Russia purging Wagner Group troops in Africa?
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/vladimir-putin/russia-purging-wagner-group-troops-africa-rcna93183
Hi all ... kind of a meta non-news question.
I've been thinking about getting a person who writes great Russia-Ukraine threads over on Mastodon to post their threads here. I've got a general post about the possibility here: https://lemmy.ml/post/1528973.
I've also pestered @sabbah@lemmy.world via DM.
Just wondering what your thoughts are on whether there'd be a good fit here.
The main point is to make it as easy as possible for them by allowing them to post from mastodon still. So the ideal would be that they would create new posts here and create a thread within that post, to which people would be free to comment on of course.
Except that doesn't seem to fit within the rules here, especially rule [1.1] Submissions must be links to news articles..
Thing is, this person's threads are full of citations of or links to Telegram sources from within Russia or the region, basically a thread of primary sources that the author is compiling into a digestible narrative. It might really be something people here would appreciate, especially as I discovered them through links provided in a megathread on here.
Sooo ... I'm wondering what you think and whether there might be some scope to alter the rules and allow for this sort of thing ... the idea would be that it's something like a journalist live reporting.
Russian losses per 04/07/23 reported by the Ukrainian General Staff
+770 men
+2 tanks
+9 APVs
+32 (!) artillery pieces
+6 MLRS
+3 AD systems
+29 UAVs
Wagner: Leaked images show Prigozhin 'disguised as Libyan commander':
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/wagner-leader-prigozhin-leaked-images-disguise-libya-commander
New aid package to Ukraine from Australia announced
*"70 additional vehicles will include 28 armoured trucks, and 28 M113 armoured vehicles, taking the total gifted to 56. It also includes 14 special operations vehicles. It will also fund additions to artillery ammunition, and $10m to the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs.
“This is about helping the Ukrainian people with shelter, health services, clean water and sanitation,” prime minister Albanese says.
This additional support will make a real difference, helping the Ukrainian people who continue to show great courage in the face of Russia’s illegal, unprovoked and immoral war. It is sobering that 16 months on from Russia’s invasion, its brutal conflict continues."*
Ukraine wins Turkey’s backing for Nato membership but Biden urges caution on timing:
In Russia, they've begun to destroy cemeteries of dead fighters of the Wagner PMC.
https://bird.makeup/users/wartranslated/statuses/1675801252586766336
Video with translations
*Ukrainian forces widened their control at Lobkove/P'yatykhatky and reached the outskirts of Robotyne.
Furthermore, Russians have deployed their reserves to stop the Ukrainian advance while Ukrainians still haven't deployed their main force.
#Ukraine #Counteroffensive #Zaporizhzhia * https://newsie.social/@Tendar/110651371008698222
The Dnipro river at Zaporizhzhia city before and after the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam.
#Zaporizhzhia #Ukraine #Dnipro
That's some post global warming looking stuff.
This morning the Moscow region was attacked by unknown drones. An explosion is reported on the territory of a military unit in Kubinka, the neighboring Vnukovo airport has stopped accepting aircraft.
https://mastodon.social/@noelreports@mstdn.social/110654348854138696
‘We need a lot more’: Lack of firepower hampers Ukraine’s advance on Zaporizhzhia front line As Ukraine’s top army general has put it, every metre of ground in the country’s counteroffensive is being won “with blood”. The Ukrainian soldiers’ progress is particularly gruelling in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region. FRANCE 24’s Gwendoline Debono reports from the front line, where Russian forces are giving Ukraine’s artillerymen no respite.
Russian strike against Kherson kills 2
https://kyivindependent.com/russian-strike-against-kherson-kills-2/
Russian attacks kill 9, injure 34 over past day
Latest article from former Australian Army General Mick Ryan
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-04/war-russia-is-ukraine-military-strategy-on-track/102554712
Russian Militia Linked to American Neo-Nazis, Anti-Trans Figures:
https://theintercept.com/2023/07/08/american-neo-nazis-ukraine-war/
Ukraine Promises Inquiry into Banned Landmine Use
https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/06/30/ukraine-promises-inquiry-banned-landmine-use
Russia’s kidnapping of Ukrainian children is not unique – Putin and others have long used children as political pawns:
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