Poll: Are you in favor or against U.S. doing more in Ukraine?

[enemji]

While Putin thought it might be a pawn, turned out to be at least be a Bishop, Castle or most likely a Queen.

Well, if you push a pawn all the way to the other side, you do get one.

 

[RSpanner]

And although we're just looking over the shoulders of the players, the winner of that game will want to have a match with Romania, then perhaps Finland, then perhaps Britain, then perhaps South Africa, and then might think he has a shot of ruling the world, though he'd have to get approval from Trump for that.
And I disagree. Every chess move affects the entire game.

O Tuck Frump

 

[Terminator857]

May 2, 2022 update: Russian forces did not conduct any ground attacks, although did plenty of shelling.

Institute for the Study of War

Russian forces did not conduct any confirmed ground attacks in Ukraine on May 2. The April 30 Ukrainian artillery strike on the Russian command post in Izyum may be continuing to disrupt Russian efforts on the Izyum axis. Russian troops on the

www.understandingwar.org

 

[Terminator857]

Reading from various sources, if Russia declares total war, it will bomb every piece of civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. Expect power to go out all across Ukraine. All bridges targeted, railroads, government buildings, etc...

 

[Unclepaul]

There are a ton of loyal Ukrainians living inside Russia. They speak fluent Russian as well. The damage they could do to the Russian infrastructure if motivated and released could cause Putin untold destruction. A single drone into the Onion Domes could cause huge political pressure on Putin to end the war.

 

[Terminator857]

Reading from various sources, if Russia declares total war, it will bomb every piece of civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. Expect power to go out all across Ukraine. All bridges targeted, railroads, government buildings, etc...

Institute for the Study of War

Ukrainian officials reported with increasing confidence that the Kremlin will announce mobilization on May 9. Ukraine’s Main Military Intelligence Directorate Chief Kyrylo Budanov said on May 2 that the Kremlin has begun to prepare mobilization processes

www.understandingwar.org

Quote: Ukrainian officials reported with increasing confidence that the Kremlin will announce mobilization on May 9. Ukraine’s Main Military Intelligence Directorate Chief Kyrylo Budanov said on May 2 that the Kremlin has begun to prepare mobilization processes and personnel ahead of the expected May 9 announcement and has already carried out covert mobilization.[1] Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council said that high-ranking Russian officials are trying to legitimize a prolonged war effort as the Third World War against the West ...

 

[Terminator857]

Training Ukrainian soldiers update:

DOD Leaders Say Training Ukrainian Forces Is Paying Dividends

Defense Department leaders said that the training of Ukrainian forces by Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine has paid off as Ukrainians defend their country against Russian forces.

www.defense.gov

Excerpts:
From the beginning of that training mission until January 2022, the 7th Army Training Command had trained a total of 23,000 Ukrainians in Yavoriv, ...

... to Grafenwoehr, Germany, where the unit continues to train Ukrainians on a variety of U.S. and NATO weaponry to enable them to defend their nation.

...
"They're doing really well with the training that we've given them. And I'm very confident with their abilities as they go forward, ...
[Ukrainian] soldiers are extremely competent and eager to learn the systems that we are providing them. … They're absolutely focused on the task at hand and getting back to Ukraine

 

[Terminator857]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1522577447019028481

Quote:
The chiefs of staffs of Ukraine, Finland and Sweden will take part in a meeting of the NATO Military Committee, the highest military body of the alliance.
The Military Committee will meet on May 19 in Brussels.

 

[Terminator857]

Seems like there maybe some interesting fireworks during the Russian May 9 parade.

Ньюсач/Двач

t.me

Translation:
The US Embassy in Russia urged American citizens to refrain from attending mass events in Moscow on the occasion of Victory Day.

 

[Terminator857]

Support among Europe for Ukraine joining the EU runs high.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1522890233586495490

 

[Terminator857]

Russia invaded Ukraine 8 years ago.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1522896745868537856

 

[Terminator857]

American volunteer goes on a suicide mission. Turns out to be a candy store.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1522910687441338371

Russian troop carrier found and taken:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1522908193852121088

 

[DanCar]

Pictures of tail section of used switchblade 300.

First recorded use of Switchblade 300 kamikaze in Ukraine

bulgarianmilitary.com

 

[Terminator857]

Snipers ready in Moscow for May day parade.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1523159634806456320

 

[Terminator857]

U2 to perform in Kyiv.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1523264383065141250

 

[Terminator857]

In the 1940's the U.S. helped liberate Ukraine from an authoritarian regime.
80 years later history repeats itself.

To give you an idea how important is the lend lease act, below is what the U.S. gave Russia during WW2:

World War II Allies: U.S. Lend-Lease to the Soviet Union, 1941-1945

Even before the United States entered World War II in December 1941, America sent arms and equipment to the Soviet Union to help it defeat the Nazi

ru.usembassy.gov

• 400,000 jeeps & trucks
• 14,000 airplanes
• 8,000 tractors
• 13,000 tanks
• 1.5 million blankets
• 15 million pairs of army boots
• 107,000 tons of cotton
• 2.7 million tons of petrol products
• 4.5 million tons of food

Stalin commented that they couldn't have won the war without the U.S. help. U.K. received more than that.

 

[Stuart Watson]

The war in Ukraine is a very difficult geopolitical problem, perhaps the most difficult one since the Cuban missile crisis.

If we get involved too much to help Ukraine, we risk a direct war with Russia which would basically mean WW3. Certainly, direct military intervention would mean war with Russia. Even a no-fly zone would likely mean war with Russia since a no-fly zone would very likely require NATO planes to shoot down Russian planes. And Putin has said that a no-fly zone would be viewed as an act of war. Providing indirect military assistance to Ukraine, like giving Ukraine weapons, get close to the line. Putin could view it as an act of war. Putin has even said the economic sanctions are equivalent to an act of war. If we impose sanctions that are too harsh and crush Russia's economic too hard, Putin could be forced to retaliate. For obvious reasons, NATO wants to avoid war with Russia since we both have nukes.

On the other side, Putin's war on Ukraine is causing a tragic humanitarian crisis. We are also seeing over 1M refugees pour into Poland and other countries. And Ukraine borders NATO territory. We don't want to see a democracy friendly to Europe and so close to Europe's borders fall under Russian authoritarianism. Furthermore, Ukraine is incredibly brave and will resist to the last man but they are weaker than Russia. If Ukraine continues to fight alone, it is likely that Ukraine will eventually fall to Russia. So if we do nothing, we could watch the slow decimation of a country, the deaths of countless innocent lives. And we might still end up with Russia on NATO's borders, threatening another country. So even doing nothing could still lead to war and we let an entire country get wiped out.

So the trick is to do just enough to help Ukraine successfully resist Russia's invasion without crossing the line and starting a war with Russia.

I don't know what the perfect answer is. I do think we should help Ukraine as much as we can without actually going to war with Russia (if we can help it). But I hate seeing what is happening to the people in Ukraine. I do think that Putin is determined to rebuild the Russian empire by force. He will not negotiate. He will crush Ukraine until they submit and rejoin Russia. And I don't think he will stop at Ukraine. If he really wants a new Russian empire, he will want the Baltic states like Latvia too.

This

John McCain and meddling back in 2014 started the whole mess.

Zelensky is a sock-puppet President

 

[Stuart Watson]

U2 to perform in Kyiv.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1523264383065141250

Imagine my f£ing surprise.

Tax dodging bunch of hypocrites.

 

[Terminator857]

Ukraine says it is receiving a lot of help from U.S. but it is not enough. It needs better air defense systems.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1523775664805249024

 

[daniel]

The poll only allows us to pick one option. I would pick several:

Yes, we should do more to help Ukraine.
Yes, let's do more to help the refugees.
Yes, we should support letting Ukraine join NATO immediately.

Not in the poll: We should impose an immediate and total embargo on all trade with Russia.
Not in the poll: We should not merely freeze the assets of Russian kleptocrats ("oligarchs"), but we should confiscate all their assets.

At the risk of invoking Godwin's law: Vladimir Putin is Hitler. Not literally, of course, but he's a sociopath who will not stop invading his neighbors until he is stopped. Appeasement didn't work against Hitler and it won't work for Putin. Allowing him to get more land bit by bit will not satisfy him. He is a liar, a murderer, and a war criminal. We should do everything in our power to aid Ukraine and stop Russia's Hitler.