Russia - threadbanned users in OP

scottser

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122030308#Comment_122030308

EHX tubes are still made by Sovtek in Russia. Their quality is excellent in fairness. I've had an EHX 6L6 in my VHT Special 6 for the last 4 years and not a bother on it.

Danzy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122030181#Comment_122030181

Putin is a cuddly teddy bear compared to any Soviet Social Socialist leader, including Gorbachev, who killed about 2 million civilians in Afghanistan and lots more besides.

Putin is a vile orick but the depth and savagery of the USSR is not fully appreciated or ever discussed.

Russians had it better than others but every one was shi7 on the shoe.

zerosquared

Missile factory on fire in Moscow

https://twitter.com/igorsushko/status/1780343524963086481

Tank factory under water in Urals

But hey I am sure this will do wonders to the self reported economic figures by time it reaches Putin’s desk and forwarded onto the spinsters

Poon Tang

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122030045#Comment_122030045

And yet Russia are still standing strong.

Does your worn out "Slava Ukraini" jibe have any actual meat behind it? That and giving a big wad of cash isn't going to cut it… Ukraine are going to need far more commitment from the west to have any hope in this conflict.

If Putin and Russia really are this grave threat to Europe and perhaps the world, that the propagandists have tried to convince us, why then are more westerners not eagerly signing up in their millions to help fight off this terrible tyrant? Have we lost our metal as a culture? Have we gone a bit soft in the gut? Or have we been fed a load of baloney, and most citizens are aware of this? (even if they don't openly admit it)

Jinglejangle69

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122030566#Comment_122030566

How can Russia still have the technology and factories to build these weapons?

In a country best known for the lada ffs.

timmyntc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122030629#Comment_122030629

Lada were selling to the impoverished Russian people, not the government and oligarchs, hence the disparity.

Weapons manufacturers can make (relatively) technologically advanced stuff because the government funnel money into it, instead of investing in things that help the masses.

Anything they need to import they just pay a premium and someone gets it shipped to Uzbekistan and rolls it over the border to evade sanctions

keeponhurling

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122030566#Comment_122030566

A report by TASS state news agency sought to portray the reported fire as a drill but other accounts indicated there had been a fire at the key Putin defence plant. There were claims that smoke at the scene was in fact not real.

“To bring the exercise conditions as close as possible to combat ones, pyrotechnic smoke devices were used in the premises,” a spokesman was quoted as saying. 

Nothing to see here, move along…..fake news, fake smoke…

Paddigol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122029534#Comment_122029534

"still standing strong"… "robust"… You do realise they are the invading force, not the defenders? Your descriptions don't apply to the aggressor in a conflict. This was a 'special military operation' Putin thought would be over in a heartbeat. The fact that they're still in Ukraine, having faced no more than the Ukrainian military, is not something to be overly boastful about.

Hopium indeed… keep dreaming because your arguments on here are deluded.

Edit: I'm loathe to call anyone a troll (even one with such strong views on the war but who has miraculously only signed up to discuss in the last week), but since you pick and chose which replies to engage with and refuse to back up your comments when challenged - numerous times now - I've no interest in engaging with you any further on this thread.

zerosquared

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122030629#Comment_122030629

Having to import weapons from North Korea and Iran should give one an indication of how far Russia has fallen industrially from the Soviet days

Paddigol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122030629#Comment_122030629

Painting Russia as a nation of lazy, uneducated, vodka drinking inepts as many posters on here have done over the past couple of years is a silly thing to do. Anyone with a grasp of history or who works in IT will appreciate that Russia produces incredibly smart and capable graduates in the science and technology fields. For all its poverty and faults it continues to be one of the world leaders in space exploration. You don't do that if the Lada is the best you can come up with.

People really need to separate their view of Putin from that of the average educated Russian.

ToweringPerformance

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122030795#Comment_122030795

I've travelled through Russia on my motorbike back in 2003 on my way to Vladivostok. Wonderful warm people outside of Moscow anyway. Couldn't do enough to help you.

Dohnjoe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122030606#Comment_122030606

Russia since '22 has become heavily sanctioned, had hundreds of billions in assets frozen, lost their largest and more lucrative energy customers, currency has lost approx 30% of it's value, hundreds of thousands of their troops have been killed/injured (and thousands of tanks, vehicles and craft), countless numbers of skilled workers have fled the country, they have been shut out of the most lucrative financial systems and have become global pariahs

Putin is currently attempting to invade a European country (after annexing territory and sparking a proxy war in the region). Plans have been leaked that Belarus, Transnistria and other areas were next in line. He has run a potent disinfo and propaganda campaign for years, meddled in international elections, had no qualms using nerve agent in foreign nations to assassinate people, evening TV news hosts regularly talk of invading and attacking other European countries and cities. Putin by his actions very much wants to destablise and fracture Europe and the West as well invade areas by force

The people who think he will "stop" with Ukraine were similar to those who said he would "stop" with Crimea, and then said he would "stop" with Donbas. In my experience these individuals are most likely to believe Kremlin propaganda whilst projecting that anything to the contrary is "propaganda" (which is also on page one of the Kremlin's playbook)

zv2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122030562#Comment_122030562

I think Gorbachev was a good man. He had to go along with the Afghanistan thing if he was to remain in power and end the Soviet Union.

thomil

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122030795#Comment_122030795

It's definitely a fair point, and one that's worth being expanded to Russia's military as well. There has to be a certain number of competent and even skilled officers in the Russian Armed Forces, otherwise the whole force would have fallen apart by now due to a complete lack of logistics and leadership. All those artillery shells need to get to the front somehow.

I do feel though as if Russia has fallen behind the USSR in terms of its scientific and technical abilities, even compared to the later Brezhnev era. For all its many faults, the Soviets appreciated science, even if only as another front in the cold war. There was a much freer flow of scientific papers into and out of the country back then than there is today, and the country didn't shy away from testing out advanced and sometimes crazy concepts such as the Ekranoplans and other ground effect vehicles. Meanwhile, much of the output of the Putin era seems to be a rehashing of Soviet era research and systems. They still haven't been able to get a replacement for the Soyuz capsule in place despite working on it for ages. I can't shake the feeling that the modern political apparatus that Putin has built is much "better" at smothering bright minds than the Soviet system was,

Also, it's worth pointing out that Russia has suffered a significant brain drain for much of its post-soviet existence, with loads of the brightest people ending up in Silicon Valley (Sergey Brin of Google fame, anyone)? So while it is undoubtedly true that there are still loads of brilliant minds in the country, as well as a wealth of institutional knowledge, it is nowhere near the juggernaut it once was.

thomil

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122030871#Comment_122030871

Just on that, it was never his plan to end the USSR. He was a communist through and through. His aim was always to reform the country, basically do what China had been doing for years at that point. The collapse of the USSR came about after Chernobyl laid bare just how fragile the system had become.

eightieschewbaccy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122030606#Comment_122030606

Given the fact it was supposed to take a few days to invade the nation, going pretty terribly. You seem to be a bit of a fan of Putin's goal of genocide though.

jmreire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122030850#Comment_122030850

They are that…I lived there for several years, and if Putin was gone, I go back in a heartbeat.

rogber

Another day, another Russian war crime, another shrug of the shoulders or maybe a few "thoughts and prayers" from Ukraine's so-called allies in the West. Tragic, shameful, infuriating

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68833833

eightieschewbaccy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122030941#Comment_122030941

It was always on my to visit countries but the general political situation always concerned me a bit. Did have the opportunity to visit Kiev a few years back and glad I had that chance. Beautiful looking city and just a pretty pleasant experience. There was still some concerns even back then about invasions though.

rogber

Our responsibility:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/17/kharkiv-at-risk-of-becoming-second-aleppo-without-us-aid-mayor-ukraine-russia

Field east

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122030941#Comment_122030941

hold on. We have been warned by a number of posters on here that Putin’ s replacement will be a ‘ much harder. Man’ so be very careful what you wish for !! . They say that Putin wil be seen as the proverbial poodle compared to what’s coming down the track

jmreire

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122030606#Comment_122030606

Oh, don't you worry your pretty little head about such things as manpower on the EU side Poon, when the time comes, they will be ready and waiting. But you can start worrying instead about how Putin's next mobilisation will go… because he'll need it you know. The economy is already suffering from manpower shortages due to the current mobilizations. And there's limits' to how many Countries will allow you to use their citizens as cannon fodder, although I guess Kim Jong Un (who needs the money) will still allow some to go and fight for Putin. The way the Russian dams and bridges everywhere are collapsing, is very good idea of just how strong your Russia really is. And speaking of dams and bridges, heres a Russian news article for you…Residents of flooded Orsk draw water from puddles or hand buckets outside their windows during rain - Russian media. There has been virtually no tap water supply in the city for 12 days already due to floods.
"Water is now worth its weight in gold in Orsk. Drinking water is delivered by volunteers, and there are huge queues for it. The water flows out of the tap intermittently and is dirty. My son, owing to forgetfulness, used this water while brushing his teeth. The result was a fever of 40°C and vomiting for three days. He was poisoned," local resident Anna told the newspaper.
According to Orsk mayor Vasily Kozupitsa, the wells will be put into operation when the floods recede because if flood waters get into the wells, the drinking water will be contaminated.

Strong Russia Poon??? Yeah.

EltonJohn69

Saturday is the big day, Congress will vote on the aid package. I think I will be watching that.

zerosquared

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122030850#Comment_122030850

I am sure the people of Germany in 1919 were as friendly in 1940 too, except for that small detail where their fascist government started a war that killed 73 million people, minor detail, nothing to worry about.

My point is that people and societies change, the kindest best meaning people could be brainwashed, suppressed, and prosecuted and repressed in an authoritarian fascist system that Russians have embraced.

There is a strange effort to somehow absolve ordinary Russians of all the rape and murdering and kidnapping and pillaging in Ukraine, but whichever way your try to spin it it’s Russians who are doing these acts and supporting the war indirectly not Putin on his own.

At best all the “nice” well meaning Russians can do is keep their heads down, but all that does is further empower the regime to commit unspeakable acts in their names.

aidanodr

Speaker Mike Johnson announced Wednesday he is sticking with his plan to put a series of foreign aid bills on the floor, including funding for Ukraine, after facing significant pressure from hardliners.

Johnson said in a note to members that they will vote on these Saturday evening.

We may have some good news coming our way about US aid to UKRAINE perhaps?

I was often wondering could Johnson have been playing a quiet game to push through this aid for Ukraine, in the background balancing the fckery going on with the MAGA wing in the GOP? I am sure there is alot we just dont see and have not seen going on in the background.

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/17/politics/mike-johnson-ukraine-aid

Dohnjoe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122031077#Comment_122031077

Not going to hold onto hope here, but have all my fingers crossed for this.

zerosquared

That’s second article in as many days in a major publication about China distancing itself from Russia

https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/4/17/is-china-growing-tired-of-russias-war-in-ukraine

The kites are being sent up

aidanodr

More news on this vote saturday

New House GOP proposal -

-$61 billion for Ukraine & regional partners ($23B will go to replenishment of U.S. stockpiles.) Bill also covers repayment of econ support
-$26 billion for Israel.
-$8 billion for Indo-Pacific
-$95 billion total

Per House Appropriations Committee

( 2nd tweet ) The Israel package also includes more than $9.1 billion for humanitarian relief

https://twitter.com/bresreports/status/1780639964847313139

Wibbs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122030795#Comment_122030795

Very true, there are a lot of very talented Russians out there. Though they've had an ongoing brain drain over the last decade plus as quite the number of graduates and highly skilled people moved overseas for better opportunities. Putin well knows it too. Last year he increased the number of years required for university degrees. The flagwavers claimed this was to improve results, but what they failed to mention was by doing so and withdrawing from international standards he also stymied, or hopes to stymie, young Russian's abilities to leave for greener pastures.

On Space; yes they were real top of the line and hold many, if most of the firsts in Space exploration and did so during Soviet times when pretty much everything had to be inhouse and homegrown. An incredible set of achievements. More latterly and sadly imho given their history they're very much behind the curve. Incremental tweaks to their decades old(though bloody good) Soyuz launch vehicles paid to ferry to the ISS has been most of it. Now Space-X has largely taken over with a far more up to date and cheaper alternative to LEO. Even NASA far from its glory days and operating on a fraction of their 60's budget has probes across the solar system and even managed a manned flight capable vehicle shot around the Moon, planning for a manned flight in the next few years. Russia's Lunar probe landing failed. India's got there and China got theirs down safe including a rover.

aidanodr

Utter poison and poisonous. MTG is a Putin mouth piece

https://twitter.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1780642249342132475