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Kharkiv, 25 miles to Russia. Just want to say that we are strong, we are confident about our army and I hope that everything will be fine. I'm sorry that I shar

Kharkiv, 25 miles to Russia. Just want to say that we are strong, we are confident about our army and I hope that everything will be fine. I'm sorry that I share content like this on this platform, but that's my reality

yonisto 5y ago
I'm so sorry. But the truth is that you don't stand a chance. Russia will get what it wants (it got the support of China that will offset any sanctions the the West might impose) I really hope you will stay safe.
- jevgeni 5y ago
  Russia can't even get a gas pipeline to all of its cities
- sillysaurusx 5y ago
  Everyone already knows that. It's not helpful to say it, you know.
- replwoacause 5y ago
  Ukraine will make Russia suffer though as they seem very determined to protect their country. And the rest of the world will make Russia suffer economically. So this is a lose-lose situation.
  - adventured 5y ago
    Ukraine was always going to lose, going up against Russia, as would most nations. Lose-lose is a better option for the people of Ukraine, if you accept they are desiring to defend themselves (which will entail a higher death toll); the other scenario is Russia wins (taking no losses) and Ukraine loses (nearly everything). Ukraine can make Russia suffer if the West has given them enough weapons to do so. I'm skeptical that they did in time. They had seven years after Crimea to help Ukraine, and waited far too long to do it to a great enough degree.
    - troyvit 5y ago
      That reminds me Finland's fights with the Soviet Union[1]. I can't find the quote now but at some point they said something along the lines of "We didn't win the Winter War but we came in a close second!" [1]https://nationalinterest.org/feature/how-finland-lost-world-war-ii-the-soviets-won-peace-17412 https://nationalinterest.org/feature/how-finland-lost-world-...
  - zamalek 5y ago
    All war is lose-lose.
    - coryfklein 5y ago
      For the active participants, yes. I'm not so sure this applies to the ruling class though.
- scottLobster 5y ago
  And? If bullying is unavoidable, the next best thing is to make the bully give a pound of flesh for the privilege.
- asveikau 5y ago
  Putin is alienating a lot of ordinary citizens, though. Do you think Ukrainians will peacefully consent to be governed for years after this? There is precedent in history for this kind of outcome, but that wound would be there for a long time.
- Cthulhu_ 5y ago
  > it got the support of China that will offset any sanctions the the West might impose If China does this overtly, "the west" / NATO may cut them off as well.
forlorn 5y ago
Stay safe, brother, my thoughts and prayers are with you. I'm Russian and wholeheartedly despise this outrageous war crime act of our so-called government.
- innermate 5y ago
- majgr 5y ago
  > wholeheartedly despise this outrageous war crime act of our so-called government Then, protest it on the street.
  - tetromino_ 5y ago
    Some people protested. Quite soon they got arrested. The punishment for illegal protests is up to 30 days in prison. There are posts I am seeing on Telegram about some probable protest organizers being arrested in advance. Harsh punishment and lack of organizers means no critical mass.
- paxys 5y ago
  If you are Russian in Russia right now I'd love to hear what the majority public sentiment in the country is.
  - konart 5y ago
    Depends on where people live, how much do they make etc. The general sentiment in this country for the past few decades is "it's not for me to decide". Many people do agree however that while this kind of solution is not really a great one and likely not in our best interest - something has to be done regarding the NATO problem.
    - throwaway_4ever 5y ago
      Yes, the "NATO problem". The "problem" that is actually defending countries from invasions instead of letting their people, in a country that is not even close to being in NATO, die at the hands of tyrants.
CameronNemo 5y ago
Thanks for sharing. Good luck, stay safe, and do whatever you think is right for you (which may well be inaction, flight, or that other response).
VictorPath 5y ago
agumonkey 5y ago
I wish the conflict to be ended asap with the less casualties possible. Best of luck
8note 5y ago
Good luck. I can't imagine how rough it's going to be.
warner_of_doom 5y ago
[flagged]
- Larrikin 5y ago
  The last time you posted this it was down voted https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30449994 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30449994
  - warner_of_doom 5y ago
    - TestSIM1 5y ago
      Is it too much to ask you to stop reposting this nonsense again and again. You're not contributing to the discussion (besides Putin did nothing wrong. It's all the West's fault anyway).
      - warner_of_doom 5y ago
        tablespoon 5y ago
        > Is that what I said? I'm just saying that everyone's hands are not clean here. Putin's are the filthiest and bloodiest, no doubt. But, maleficence is everywhere. That's actually a pro-Putin message. Ponder that.
        warner_of_doom 5y ago
        Done. You ponder this now: https://twitter.com/i/status/1485729483151880194 https://twitter.com/i/status/1485729483151880194 What we did was immoral. By leading Ukraine like that and controlling it subconventionally, we wrecked them.
j7m7s 5y ago
Stay strong
dainiusse 5y ago
God bless your people and army. I am so sorry, that I don't feel enough support being sent from the western world - from medicine to weapons and sanctions.
- richardfey 5y ago
  Can't neighbours send help without publicly advertising it?
  - dainiusse 5y ago
    They can as long as they do it. But lets be honest it looked kind of vague given the situation this can impose on europe and whole world
  - Cthulhu_ 5y ago
    There's international law about sending humanitarian help at least, the Red Cross and suchlike.
throw_m239339 5y ago
Hi, I have friends both in Russia and in Ukraine who live in Lvov. I'm very sorry about what is happening and pray for the lives of people in Ukraine who will suffer from yet another senseless war. I will refrain from commenting on geopolitics but Ukraine is an independent and free nation and no amount of Russian aggression will ever change that.
- dijit 5y ago
  My great grandfather was from outside L'viv, and almost as a little irony he is polish (and Poland was controlling l'viv at that time). Not to make light of the situation, but the fact that you refer to l'viv as Ukraine (yes, I know we all agree it is) is a miniature proof that things do change and the way we look at things can be modified.
  - volkl48 5y ago
    I mean, that was changed with massive forced relocations of the population (in both directions) by the Soviets. It's not that the "people of Lviv" at the time stopped seeing themselves as Polish, it's that nearly the entire Polish population of the city was forced to relocate to Poland's post-war borders.
cambaceres 5y ago
I can't even imagine what you are going through. If you need to get out, Sweden welcomes you!
- alophawen 5y ago
  I wish. Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said this 6 days ago: > If Russia enters Ukraine, it is assumed that this will lead to large numbers of refugees fleeing the country. Amnesty International warns of a humanitarian catastrophe. > But Sweden will not be a major recipient country, according to Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson. She believes that the responsibility lies with other countries. https://www.dn.se/varlden/magdalena-andersson-andra-lander-far-ta-ansvar-for-ukrainska-flyktingar/ https://www.dn.se/varlden/magdalena-andersson-andra-lander-f...
  - sergiosgc 5y ago
    Portugal's prime minister announced a simplified visa programme for any Ukrainian wishing to flee the conflict. If in need, get in touch with the Portuguese embassy in Kiev [1]. It is still staffed. [1] https://kiev.embaixadaportugal.mne.gov.pt/en/ https://kiev.embaixadaportugal.mne.gov.pt/en/
  - michalu 5y ago
    - alophawen 5y ago
      That's both racist and misleading. Sweden did accept way more refugees during Syria war than any neighbor countries and Sweden simply wish for offloading from neighbor countries. The majority of these refugees were below the age of 20.
      - CRConrad 5y ago
        > That's both racist and misleading. Could be, but above all it's true. > Sweden did accept way more refugees during Syria war than any neighbor countries Yup. And now the Prime Minister has pre-emptively declared that for refugees from a geographically, culturally, and politically much closer country, the gates will be closed. So how does that not support the thesis that Sweden's (Social Democratic / Left / Green / Centre Party) government prefers its asylum seekers to be MENA and Muslim? > and Sweden simply wish for offloading from neighbor countries. Funny how that doesn't seem to have been needed between 2015 and now, isn't it? At least I can't recall any other such pre-emptive declarations from that time span. Can you? > The majority of these refugees were below the age of 20. The majority of those refugees claimed to be below the age of 20.
sillysaurusx 5y ago
(I apologize for posting this here, but I was hoping for a one-time exception.) I am trying to help my programmer friend escape Ukraine, along with their elderly family: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30451497 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30451497 The problem is, I don’t know anything about Ukraine. I have money, and I can book an Airbnb in a neighboring country for them. But I suspect (apropos nothing) they’ll discover that there’s no way to leave the country through traditional means. Does anyone know if the buses are still running? Can they get out of the country? If not, my fallback idea is to help them plan a way to escape on foot. But which part of the border should they try to cross? What I really need is for someone local to Ukraine to DM me so that I can ask some basic questions. If you know anyone, please forward them: Twitter: https://twitter.com/theshawwn https://twitter.com/theshawwn Telegram https://t.me/theshawwn https://t.me/theshawwn -- EDIT: Apparently other people want to do this too, so I made a twitter thread to pool our knowledge: https://twitter.com/theshawwn/status/1496761074258952193 https://twitter.com/theshawwn/status/1496761074258952193 I'll tweet updates there (and I'll post them here as edits for the next hour or so.) -- Updates: - Someone DM'ed me on Telegram and mentioned that they're trying to do the same thing. They were thinking about evacuating them to Germany by "sending them an official invite, but the German embassy seems to be closed." - A twitter DM pointed out https://twitter.com/MalcolmNance/status/1496724041520095235 https://twitter.com/MalcolmNance/status/1496724041520095235: > If you know people who want to leave Kyiv, don't drive to Zhytomyr on the M06. Russian air assault will be taking cross roads. Go south to Bila Terskva to Berdichev to Vinnitsya to Kemenytsky. Fastest evac: go to Chernivsti crossing to Romania.
- connordoner 5y ago
  Can you send a tweet out sharing this message, please? I'll gladly RT it.
  - sillysaurusx 5y ago
    Good idea. Thank you! https://twitter.com/theshawwn/status/1496761074258952193 https://twitter.com/theshawwn/status/1496761074258952193
- 5y ago
csomar 5y ago
enkid 5y ago
Good luck
patrec 5y ago
> we are strong, we are confident about our army and I hope that everything will be fine I hope this correctness of this assessment has no impact on your safety and well-being. If it does, the people in this thread cheering you on who are not 25 miles away from the Russian border should be ashamed of themselves and you would be well advised to make contingency plans for alternative scenarios were everything will not be fine, say one where Ukraine faces complete military defeat within days.

yonisto 5y ago

I'm so sorry. But the truth is that you don't stand a chance. Russia will get what it wants (it got the support of China that will offset any sanctions the the West might impose) I really hope you will stay safe.

jevgeni 5y ago
Russia can't even get a gas pipeline to all of its cities
sillysaurusx 5y ago
Everyone already knows that. It's not helpful to say it, you know.
replwoacause 5y ago
Ukraine will make Russia suffer though as they seem very determined to protect their country. And the rest of the world will make Russia suffer economically. So this is a lose-lose situation.
- adventured 5y ago
  Ukraine was always going to lose, going up against Russia, as would most nations. Lose-lose is a better option for the people of Ukraine, if you accept they are desiring to defend themselves (which will entail a higher death toll); the other scenario is Russia wins (taking no losses) and Ukraine loses (nearly everything). Ukraine can make Russia suffer if the West has given them enough weapons to do so. I'm skeptical that they did in time. They had seven years after Crimea to help Ukraine, and waited far too long to do it to a great enough degree.
  - troyvit 5y ago
    That reminds me Finland's fights with the Soviet Union[1]. I can't find the quote now but at some point they said something along the lines of "We didn't win the Winter War but we came in a close second!" [1]https://nationalinterest.org/feature/how-finland-lost-world-war-ii-the-soviets-won-peace-17412 https://nationalinterest.org/feature/how-finland-lost-world-...
- zamalek 5y ago
  All war is lose-lose.
  - coryfklein 5y ago
    For the active participants, yes. I'm not so sure this applies to the ruling class though.
scottLobster 5y ago
And? If bullying is unavoidable, the next best thing is to make the bully give a pound of flesh for the privilege.
asveikau 5y ago
Putin is alienating a lot of ordinary citizens, though. Do you think Ukrainians will peacefully consent to be governed for years after this? There is precedent in history for this kind of outcome, but that wound would be there for a long time.
Cthulhu_ 5y ago
> it got the support of China that will offset any sanctions the the West might impose If China does this overtly, "the west" / NATO may cut them off as well.

forlorn 5y ago

Stay safe, brother, my thoughts and prayers are with you. I'm Russian and wholeheartedly despise this outrageous war crime act of our so-called government.

innermate 5y ago
majgr 5y ago
> wholeheartedly despise this outrageous war crime act of our so-called government Then, protest it on the street.
- tetromino_ 5y ago
  Some people protested. Quite soon they got arrested. The punishment for illegal protests is up to 30 days in prison. There are posts I am seeing on Telegram about some probable protest organizers being arrested in advance. Harsh punishment and lack of organizers means no critical mass.
paxys 5y ago
If you are Russian in Russia right now I'd love to hear what the majority public sentiment in the country is.
- konart 5y ago
  Depends on where people live, how much do they make etc. The general sentiment in this country for the past few decades is "it's not for me to decide". Many people do agree however that while this kind of solution is not really a great one and likely not in our best interest - something has to be done regarding the NATO problem.
  - throwaway_4ever 5y ago
    Yes, the "NATO problem". The "problem" that is actually defending countries from invasions instead of letting their people, in a country that is not even close to being in NATO, die at the hands of tyrants.

CameronNemo 5y ago

Thanks for sharing. Good luck, stay safe, and do whatever you think is right for you (which may well be inaction, flight, or that other response).

VictorPath 5y ago

agumonkey 5y ago

I wish the conflict to be ended asap with the less casualties possible. Best of luck

8note 5y ago

Good luck. I can't imagine how rough it's going to be.

warner_of_doom 5y ago

[flagged]

Larrikin 5y ago
The last time you posted this it was down voted https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30449994 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30449994
- warner_of_doom 5y ago
  - TestSIM1 5y ago
    Is it too much to ask you to stop reposting this nonsense again and again. You're not contributing to the discussion (besides Putin did nothing wrong. It's all the West's fault anyway).
    - warner_of_doom 5y ago
      - tablespoon 5y ago
        > Is that what I said? I'm just saying that everyone's hands are not clean here. Putin's are the filthiest and bloodiest, no doubt. But, maleficence is everywhere. That's actually a pro-Putin message. Ponder that.
        warner_of_doom 5y ago
        Done. You ponder this now: https://twitter.com/i/status/1485729483151880194 https://twitter.com/i/status/1485729483151880194 What we did was immoral. By leading Ukraine like that and controlling it subconventionally, we wrecked them.

j7m7s 5y ago

Stay strong

dainiusse 5y ago

God bless your people and army. I am so sorry, that I don't feel enough support being sent from the western world - from medicine to weapons and sanctions.

richardfey 5y ago
Can't neighbours send help without publicly advertising it?
- dainiusse 5y ago
  They can as long as they do it. But lets be honest it looked kind of vague given the situation this can impose on europe and whole world
- Cthulhu_ 5y ago
  There's international law about sending humanitarian help at least, the Red Cross and suchlike.

throw_m239339 5y ago

Hi, I have friends both in Russia and in Ukraine who live in Lvov. I'm very sorry about what is happening and pray for the lives of people in Ukraine who will suffer from yet another senseless war. I will refrain from commenting on geopolitics but Ukraine is an independent and free nation and no amount of Russian aggression will ever change that.

dijit 5y ago
My great grandfather was from outside L'viv, and almost as a little irony he is polish (and Poland was controlling l'viv at that time). Not to make light of the situation, but the fact that you refer to l'viv as Ukraine (yes, I know we all agree it is) is a miniature proof that things do change and the way we look at things can be modified.
- volkl48 5y ago
  I mean, that was changed with massive forced relocations of the population (in both directions) by the Soviets. It's not that the "people of Lviv" at the time stopped seeing themselves as Polish, it's that nearly the entire Polish population of the city was forced to relocate to Poland's post-war borders.

cambaceres 5y ago

I can't even imagine what you are going through. If you need to get out, Sweden welcomes you!

alophawen 5y ago
I wish. Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said this 6 days ago: > If Russia enters Ukraine, it is assumed that this will lead to large numbers of refugees fleeing the country. Amnesty International warns of a humanitarian catastrophe. > But Sweden will not be a major recipient country, according to Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson. She believes that the responsibility lies with other countries. https://www.dn.se/varlden/magdalena-andersson-andra-lander-far-ta-ansvar-for-ukrainska-flyktingar/ https://www.dn.se/varlden/magdalena-andersson-andra-lander-f...
- sergiosgc 5y ago
  Portugal's prime minister announced a simplified visa programme for any Ukrainian wishing to flee the conflict. If in need, get in touch with the Portuguese embassy in Kiev [1]. It is still staffed. [1] https://kiev.embaixadaportugal.mne.gov.pt/en/ https://kiev.embaixadaportugal.mne.gov.pt/en/
- michalu 5y ago
  - alophawen 5y ago
    That's both racist and misleading. Sweden did accept way more refugees during Syria war than any neighbor countries and Sweden simply wish for offloading from neighbor countries. The majority of these refugees were below the age of 20.
    - CRConrad 5y ago
      > That's both racist and misleading. Could be, but above all it's true. > Sweden did accept way more refugees during Syria war than any neighbor countries Yup. And now the Prime Minister has pre-emptively declared that for refugees from a geographically, culturally, and politically much closer country, the gates will be closed. So how does that not support the thesis that Sweden's (Social Democratic / Left / Green / Centre Party) government prefers its asylum seekers to be MENA and Muslim? > and Sweden simply wish for offloading from neighbor countries. Funny how that doesn't seem to have been needed between 2015 and now, isn't it? At least I can't recall any other such pre-emptive declarations from that time span. Can you? > The majority of these refugees were below the age of 20. The majority of those refugees claimed to be below the age of 20.

sillysaurusx 5y ago

(I apologize for posting this here, but I was hoping for a one-time exception.) I am trying to help my programmer friend escape Ukraine, along with their elderly family: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30451497 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=30451497 The problem is, I don’t know anything about Ukraine. I have money, and I can book an Airbnb in a neighboring country for them. But I suspect (apropos nothing) they’ll discover that there’s no way to leave the country through traditional means. Does anyone know if the buses are still running? Can they get out of the country? If not, my fallback idea is to help them plan a way to escape on foot. But which part of the border should they try to cross? What I really need is for someone local to Ukraine to DM me so that I can ask some basic questions. If you know anyone, please forward them: Twitter: https://twitter.com/theshawwn https://twitter.com/theshawwn Telegram https://t.me/theshawwn https://t.me/theshawwn -- EDIT: Apparently other people want to do this too, so I made a twitter thread to pool our knowledge: https://twitter.com/theshawwn/status/1496761074258952193 https://twitter.com/theshawwn/status/1496761074258952193 I'll tweet updates there (and I'll post them here as edits for the next hour or so.) -- Updates: - Someone DM'ed me on Telegram and mentioned that they're trying to do the same thing. They were thinking about evacuating them to Germany by "sending them an official invite, but the German embassy seems to be closed." - A twitter DM pointed out https://twitter.com/MalcolmNance/status/1496724041520095235 https://twitter.com/MalcolmNance/status/1496724041520095235: > If you know people who want to leave Kyiv, don't drive to Zhytomyr on the M06. Russian air assault will be taking cross roads. Go south to Bila Terskva to Berdichev to Vinnitsya to Kemenytsky. Fastest evac: go to Chernivsti crossing to Romania.

connordoner 5y ago
Can you send a tweet out sharing this message, please? I'll gladly RT it.
- sillysaurusx 5y ago
  Good idea. Thank you! https://twitter.com/theshawwn/status/1496761074258952193 https://twitter.com/theshawwn/status/1496761074258952193
5y ago

csomar 5y ago

enkid 5y ago

Good luck

patrec 5y ago

> we are strong, we are confident about our army and I hope that everything will be fine I hope this correctness of this assessment has no impact on your safety and well-being. If it does, the people in this thread cheering you on who are not 25 miles away from the Russian border should be ashamed of themselves and you would be well advised to make contingency plans for alternative scenarios were everything will not be fine, say one where Ukraine faces complete military defeat within days.