Day 7 of war in Ukraine.
54f63cca-a3fc-42be-8044-f451144c9cc2.jpegTo be honest I was not sure if I should write this, if I should say anything about the ongoing conflict. This is a place for gamers from all around the world and discussing politics never really was a good idea in an online community due to the many colliding points of view.
It is also true that it is hard to write something without getting strong feelings involved. It is really hard. Everyday new video footage appears showing the intensity of the conflict, the pain and suffering of the people.
However, I think this topic needs to be addressed... without the emotional aspect of it.
No member of this community is responsible for any shit that currently happens. We are here because we are gamers, because we like the games we play and the people we play with, regardless of their country of origin, their skin color or religion.
I don't want to put the blame on people which actually had nothing to do with the decisions that did lead to this terrible situation. That would be just wrong and I believe that both sides are suffering from this conflict.
My point of view is a bit biased due to the fact that I live in a western country. I experienced the very early part of my life growing up in a country dominated by soviet rulership but I think that this does not matter much at all.
Today I consider the Russian government an aggressor that is destabilizing the world (or at least tries to).
At this point I need to clearly point out that my critics on Russia do not mean that I am ok with all the actions and policies of western countries (especially the USA). I think that seperate topics need to be viewed and discusses seperately, therefore let's just stick with the recent events.
I most certainly will make the mistake to name Russia or Russians in general on the following lines while I actually mean the Russian government. I apologize beforehand.
The reasons for the offensive war against Ukraine in my eyes are all bullshit.
Russian state TV delivered reason for the so-called military "operation", pointing out how evil the Ukrainians are.
An open source fact check however shows that these reasons were fabricated. There are plenty of articles online dealing with this topic (if you are actually interested). Russian TV faked a lot and they did not even fake in a professional way.
One potential true reason for Russian intervention might be the security of Russian people. Afterall there is the seperatist movement in east Ukraine. But in my eyes... if security is the concern then you would try to end the fights instead of delivering weapons. A peaceful solution should have been top priority in the past 8 years. Russian and Ukraine failed to deliver here. I am not too much into this topic to make a true judgement about this but really would like to know what happens when Putin decides to "defend" the Russians living here in Germany (we have several millions living here).
I think that this is all bullshit. If you would ask the civilians in these Ukrainian regions they probably wouldn't really care if they belong to Ukraine or Russia as long they can live in peace.
Then we have NATO as reason for war. This is Putins most favorite explanation.
NATO is bad... because... yeah because of what? What does Russia fear?
NATO is a defense alliance. All NATO does is to guarantee support if a non-NATO country attacks a NATO member state. Other than that NATO does nothing. It is not designed to be an alliance to invade other countries. Its sole purpose is defense. So unless you decide to be the asshole that starts a devastating war against another country you don't need to worry about the NATO at all. Fun fact: if you are that asshole country you are the source of the evil aggression, not somebody else.
Russia did not have to fear NATO at all... unless its intention was to attack other countries anyways. In that case the source of evil is to be found in Kremlin.
And while talking about that. Russia has no right to tell Ukraine or any other sovereign country what to do and what not to do. The Ukraine has the right to make its own decisions and that includes the decision to join the EU and/or the NATO. This right is based on international law and on treaties that btw. were signed by Russia in the years after the collapse of soviet union.
Furthermore Putin loves to make claims about agreements that NATO would not expand to the east that were done when east and west Germany were unified again. Interestingly the 2+4 Treaty Putin refers to does not contain such an agreement. A fact that btw. does not surprise me because that treaty was signed in 1990, which was one year prior the collapse of the Warsaw Pact. Nobody at that even knew that any of the other former soviet countries would gain their independence therefore nobody even bothered to put any agreement about NATO into that treaty.
Putins claim therefore is wrong. No treaty was violated and NATO can expand IF the sovereignty of the new member states is not violated. International law on the other side allows countries to make own decisions and forbids any intervention from other countries.
Russia's invasion/war is an illegal intervention.
Every reason Putins regime gave for what they do is absolute bullshit.
Nuclear thread from NATO?
Hmmmk.
It was not NATO which publicly tested their nuclear missiles one week prior invading Ukraine. It was not NATO which mobilized their nuclear arsenal (NATO has not even reacted on this change of the thread level). It also was not NATO which did threat the country that support the Ukraine with nuclear devastation.
NATO for gods sake has stayed out of this escalation spiral. NATO is not under attack yet (which btw. proves my previous point that NATO is solely a defense alliance of member states).
A few words about the war itself.
And let's stick with right that... a WAR. Russian state media calls it an "operation" to liberate people in the Ukraine. Funny enough that the civilian people which stop the tanks (peacefully) do not want to be "liberated" it is a disgusting example how truth is being twisted to fit a narrative. If troops are being sent into another country to attack the military, the infrastructure and even the civilian population then this is an offensive WAR and as such it should be named.
If the media can not even be honest about this little detail then how many other lies are being fed to the people day by day?
Talking about liars.
Back in 2008 Putin already lied when invading Georgia.
In 2014 Putin lied when he said that no Russian soldiers are involved in the fights in east Ukraine. He also lied when he claimed he does not want to invade the Ukraine shortly before his troops took Crimea. He lied many times about the reason of the Russian involvement in the Syria conflict. He lied about his troops not attacking civilian targets back then even though video footage showed the opposite. Putin lied prior invading Ukraine about his intentions and he is lying to the world and his people every single day.
I say it the way it is. Russia currently is controlled by liars, murderers and a terrorist regime. There are no doubts about it any longer.
"Let us do what we want or we will bomb you with nuclear weapons" that is Putins threat towards all countries opposing his despicable actions.
His method used is mirroring exactly what Nazi Germany did to start world war two. Spreading misinformation, inventing war reasons and then doing his version of a blitz krieg, which fortunately was poorly executed.
The Russian solders are poorly informed what they are actually doing in Ukraine, the logistics suck and the resistance is much stronger than expected. Putins plan did not work and I hope that the entire invasion comes to a halt.
Young men were sent into a war believing to free the people of a country and I really hope these soldiers will realize that they are in the invaders instead and that they will do the right thing, return to Russia, unharmed and without harming further Ukrainian people.
Russia acknowledged the death of ~500 of its soldiers today. Ukrainian forces speak of at least 6000 dead Russian solders and many videos on the web show huge amounts of destroyed Russian vehicles and footage of shot down aircraft. I tend to believe that the true number of losses is somewhere between these unconfirmed numbers.
I definitely do no believe in Putins propaganda when the modern world holds the tools to document the truth and share it with the entire world. I don't know how much the Russian people actually have access to such information. Certainly much is restricted and of course we are all human beings that way too often are too lazy to investigate and fact check. It is so much easier to turn on the TV and believe in what is presented to us.
No Russian state media will show the footage of dead Russian solders, destroyed convoys or the bombing of residential areas of Ukrainian cities with internationally condemned weaponry. What you can see day by day are war crimes done by the so called peacekeeping "operation". So much peace that more people than ever before die.
children.pngPutins intentions are exposed now. The whole world can see what a vile little man he is.
His methods of terror can no longer be denied. He took the world hostage, threatened many of us with annihilation and has put the existence of mankind at risk.
His minions exposed themselves by lying for him, hiding the truth about a regime that does not tolerate a different opinion.
Thousands of Russians protesting for peace were arrested. How can a protest for peace be reason for police forces act in such a way? How can a country tolerate this any longer?
This is not east vs west, NATO vs Soviets. This is Putins terror regime vs the rest of the world.
(clarification on the linked picture: this is about a relative new article that showed up today which if true is totally disgusting BUT fact checking it today turned out to be difficult so take it with a grain of salt. Enlarge if you want to know more about it. If you have further info feel free to share.)
Brutal mercenaries were sent into the war trying to eliminate the Ukrainian government.
Civilian are getting killed by the so called "precision strikes" of the Russian forces. Dunno if cluster bombs in residential areas can be considered "precision strikes". Either you lack a huge amount of precision there or you are a fucking monster.
Ransomware groups sided with Russia and that alone speaks volumes about what hideous forces join Putins side. These groups even attack hospitals and risk the lives of the people there just to press money.
Then we have these threats to let the ISS crash onto Europe or North America. FFS, the ISS has been the symbol of peace and cooperation between the nations. To use this as a threat alone must come from a total mad man.
The Russian demands for peace sound like enslaving 40 million people under Russian rulership. What a great deal.
The United Nations today made a historic vote to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 141 nations took a clear position against Russia, 35 remained neutral and only 5 seem to side with Putins regime. Longstanding allies of Russia are no longer willing to support this kind of terror.
Many countries all around the world have decided to establish sanctions against Russia. Most major companies have stopped their business with Russia. To a very large degree Russia has been cut off payment and trade systems. Embassies have been closed, people evacuated. Russian assets in most countries have been frozen and confiscated. Air space over many countries was restricted and sea passages closed for Russian traffic.
Russia is to a large degree isolated.
If that is good or bad depends on how far Putin is willing to go.
Russia's economy might crumble under that pressure and the citizen will pay the price of one mans fatal mistake. Eventually it will get even worse for all of us if Putin sees no way out.
The thing is, the world has seen his true face now and won't forget what happened.
He might loose the war in Ukraine... he might even win it. No matter what that will not change how the world sees Russia now. The sanctions and the isolation will remain until Putin is gone and a better government has been established.
This is Putins endgame... and we are waiting for the snap.
While the end credits are running you are of course free to ignore my spelling mistakes. I am not in the mood to proof-read.
And yes, I have to admit. I could not get it done without emotions involved. I also have to admit that I am biased. Not because I live in a western country but because my moral compass tells me that everything with this situation is just wrong.
I had to make this statement now because I think it really had to be said. These are my personal views on this fucked up situation and now that this is done I partly feel a relief.
This however does not change my opinion on the great people of this community. I made friends here and that won't change. Like I initially said, I don't judge people by their country of origin, their skin color or religion. All that does not matter as long we treat one other respectfully and have joy for what we do together.
Last but not least I intend this to be my only statement about this topic. I will respect other opinions on this matter but will not debate about anything since I think that this could lead down a path I don't wish to go.
This thread remains open until somebody decides to break the terms of use of this website. If you have something to add, stay polite (probably more than I was).
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