7 ms·

Volodymyr Zelensky and his generals explain why the war hangs in the balance

32 points by sohkamyung 4y ago

sieabahlpark 4y ago
Galanwe 4y ago
https://archive.is/SC66C https://archive.is/SC66C
ChuckNorris89 4y ago
It's not just Ukraine in the balance, but most people don't even know about the silent war still happening 30 years on between Moldova and Russian backed separatist republic of Transnistria[1] which hosts 1500 Russian troops. The absurd thing is that Transnistria was never part of Russian territories to begin with. Hopefully we'll see a swift Russian defeat so that other countries can finally enjoy peace. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7RRJhhAEfk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7RRJhhAEfk
- DoItToMe81 4y ago
  Transnistria was created by a pro-Soviet rebellion, at a point where the Russian government was on the verge of collapse. It has a significantly higher living standard than Moldova, one of the worst nations in Europe, which its citizens do not want to join. It wasn't formed by massive arms deals and covert invasion followed by actual invasion like Ukraine's separatists. The Russian 'volunteers' were defectors with ethnic ties to the nation, who became fugitives until the Russian legal system collapsed completely, and illegal paramilitaries.
  - mpawelski 4y ago
    > It has a significantly higher living standard than Moldova, one of the worst nations in Europe, which its citizens do not want to join. citation needed?
  - thewinnie 4y ago
    Out of curiosity, I watch couple youtube videos from travel bloggers. Although its hard to tell if people actually don't want to join Europe there or they force to tell this but from financial perspective it feels like they are on the same level as North Korea.
  - himinlomax 4y ago
    The Sudetenland also once had a pro German rebellion. It was created and propped by the Third Reich, just like the "rebellions" in Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine were propped up by the Putin régime.
    - tut-urut-utut 4y ago
      Is it bad allowing a majority population to choose in which country to live only because they were ethnic Germans? I would even go as far as saying that having multi ethnic state that try to force their will upon other ethnic group is the number one reason we still have wars in 21st century.
      - himinlomax 4y ago
        > Is it bad allowing a majority population to choose in which country to live only because they were ethnic Germans? The point is that there was no significant movement there until the Nazis made one up, just like there was no significant rebellion in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine until Putin created one.
- postingawayonhn 4y ago
  I wouldn't be surprised if Ukraine eventually attacks the Russian forces there, or at least works with Moldova to permanently blockade them.
baybal2 4y ago
selivanovp 4y ago
“Russia will run out of shells” from the creators of “Russia ran out of rockets in March”.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- baybal2 4y ago
  [dead]
- mjfl 4y ago
  Also: $1 trillion Defense spending is not enough, vote more so the USA does not run out of ammo! https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraine-war-depleting-u-s-ammunition-stockpiles-sparking-pentagon-concern-11661792188 https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraine-war-depleting-u-s-ammun...
pineaux 4y ago
I really hope to see more help in arms deliveries and more advanced weapon systems. More drones and more intelligent systems. I really think the war has just started and these people need all the help they can get. Also trucks with generators would be nice. Just like the ones that film lighting companies have. They are so handy.
- lionkor 4y ago
  You hope to see more war and death?
  - eCa 4y ago
    Would you have preferred if WW2 ended with it’s 1942 borders?
    - mjfl 4y ago
      easy to say when you have no skin in the game
    - willcipriano 4y ago
      I'd let Europe solve it's own problems and not intentionally provoke Japan and then leave myself open to attack at Pearl Harbor despite intercepting messages that it would be attacked like Roosevelt did.
      - tut-urut-utut 4y ago
        How would you achieve world dominance, let’s call it Pax Americana, without war?
        willcipriano 4y ago
        By not spending a generation of lives and treasure on war, and preventing the military industrial complex from growing so large that it runs the show. A anti interventionist America wouldn't have wasted resources on Vietnam or the Middle East either. Instead of war, invest in infrastructure have the world's cheapest energy and later fastest internet as well as the lowest taxes then dominate the nations who spend those funds on bombs and bullets instead.
hackandthink 4y ago
Zelensky: “And that is why it is very important…to go to our borders from 1991.” "In private, however, Ukrainian and Western officials admit there may be other outcomes" How private is talking to journalists?
- sph 4y ago
  They probably mean that the official stance, as voiced by Zelenskyy on TV and state media, is to reconquer the whole of Ukraine, including Crimea, but everybody knows that it perhaps won't be possible to achieve this ultimate goal. It's not private, but it is not a secret either. It just isn't the official position of the government. I think it's good for the morale that Zelenskyy the strong leader of Ukrainians that will repel the bloody Russians whatever the odds, and Zelenskyy the prime minister with a terrible defensive war on his hands, to be two separate personas. One is more personable, but you need the other to win hearts, minds and the war.
  - hackandthink 4y ago
    It's amazing how well propaganda works. Maybe people are just stupid.
    - andriesm 4y ago
      exactly. It works well for 95 percent, but the other 5% sees the propaganda for what it really is - lies, dishonesty and fake news.
- wrp 4y ago
  This public vs. private split goes back a ways. When the eastern regions split off in 2014, many Ukrainian political figures took the public stance of recovering those regions at all cost, while privately admitting they were glad to see them go. From a British political scientist who interviewed them: So...We can imagine that the Ukrainian leadership will continue to voice support for regaining the occupied territories, but not try very hard to actually bring it about. In interviews conducted in Kyiv in the summer of 2018, several elites asserted that while Ukraine cannot declare a policy of surrendering the territory, recent changes in law and in practice indicate a de facto policy of stabilizing the status quo rather than trying to reverse it. (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0888325418791020 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/08883254187910...)
orwin 4y ago
There is a big issue with Crimea ownership for Russia, which can in part explain the second aggression: it doesn't have freshwater, so the costs to keep it running as it was pre 2014 are way, way higher than expected for Russia once the freshwater canal was closed by Ukraine. The bridge isn't enough (it would need at least doubling the tracks), and expensive, so Russia need the land bridge. I'm pretty sure that Ukraine will stall the Crimean front is they manage to separate the two fronts.
- WastingMyTime89 4y ago
  Still, it will also be a lot harder for Ukraine to get support from their western allies when it comes to Crimea. First, it's considered vital by Russian strategists so the likelihood of Russia using a nuclear weapon if Crimea is at stake is higher than for anything else in the conflict. Secondly, historically, the claim of Ukraine to Crimea is far more tenuous than for the other area at stake. Crimea has been at odd with the Ukrainian federation regarding its independence for as long as it has existed as an entity independent of the USSR. It was rattached to Ukraine in the act acting its existence as a political entity and one of its first move was declaring independence in 1992 which Ukraine rejected. They were de facto independent and very pro-Russia until 1995 when Ukraine sent its army and forced their government into exile. It makes Crimea pretty unique in the conflict as there is a legitimate claim that it actually wants to be a part of Russia rather than Ukraine which is why the western reaction following the 2014 invasion was so muted.
  - slaw 4y ago
    Is it possible for Crimea to become independent country?
    - thewinnie 4y ago
      not possible from economic perspective. Crimea been losing money all the time with all different governments.
      - 4y ago
UltraViolence 4y ago
I fear for Ukraine if they will eventually lose the war. If that happens they'll most likely come under the Russian sphere of influence and the West will pull back leaving them to fend for themselves whilst their entire country lies in ruins. They'll be ruined both militarily and financially. The Russians will do nothing to aid them, probably accusing them of resisting and killing many of their countrymen and in reprisal taking large swaths of land and destroying their culture. I foresee many millions of Ukrainians leaving for Western Europe if that scenario becomes reality, which could destabilize Western European nations. War isn't about destroying tanks and airplanes but occupying the land of your opponent. Russia certainly has a leg up in that regards since they're sacrificing hundreds of thousands of young men to stop the Ukrainians from advancing and could even take Kiev next year. If Ukraine loses it will mean yet another huge blow to the West. And all this started because we prodded them to become NATO member. They even put their desire for NATO membership in their Constitution! I believe this was the straw that broke the camel's back and inspired Putin to invade.
- guax 4y ago
  "And all this started because we prodded them to become NATO member." When you say this in this way you're taking agency out of Ukraine. They wanted nato membership to be protected from Russian influence, they were being harrased since they became free. Of course NATO would probe them, just like a salesman will try to sell you a car if you walk in a dealership. There is existing interest.
  - UltraViolence 4y ago
    I very much hope that Ukraine wins this war, but won't lose any sleep over it if they don't. I sincerely believe the problem started when the U.S. government Think Tanks in Washington decided Russia should be split up into smaller states without nuclear capability. U.S. policy has been to turn that concept into reality by surrounding Russia with NATO states on its borders and threatening it in the hope its population would rebel and making it ripe for breakup.
    - 4y ago
fleddri 4y ago
- sph 4y ago
  > he and his "boss" Yermak Are we supposed to believe your word for it? A picture of the two together is proof that a film maker is running the country? I'm not sure what agenda you're trying to push here, and I do not see anything wrong per se in stricter media controls in time of war. Propaganda is not always negative in wartime, because counter propaganda will make sure you lose the war. What do you think intelligence services are for if not making sure everyone is playing for the same team, when the freedom of your country is at play? It is not a coincidence high treason is the most serious offence even in times of peace. Shall we blame the Ukrainian government because they're not really in the mood of letting pro-Russian sympathisers run amok? Again, I do not understand what you're trying to demonstrate.
  - deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]

32 points by sohkamyung 4y ago

sieabahlpark 4y ago

Galanwe 4y ago

https://archive.is/SC66C https://archive.is/SC66C

ChuckNorris89 4y ago

It's not just Ukraine in the balance, but most people don't even know about the silent war still happening 30 years on between Moldova and Russian backed separatist republic of Transnistria[1] which hosts 1500 Russian troops. The absurd thing is that Transnistria was never part of Russian territories to begin with. Hopefully we'll see a swift Russian defeat so that other countries can finally enjoy peace. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7RRJhhAEfk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7RRJhhAEfk

DoItToMe81 4y ago
Transnistria was created by a pro-Soviet rebellion, at a point where the Russian government was on the verge of collapse. It has a significantly higher living standard than Moldova, one of the worst nations in Europe, which its citizens do not want to join. It wasn't formed by massive arms deals and covert invasion followed by actual invasion like Ukraine's separatists. The Russian 'volunteers' were defectors with ethnic ties to the nation, who became fugitives until the Russian legal system collapsed completely, and illegal paramilitaries.
- mpawelski 4y ago
  > It has a significantly higher living standard than Moldova, one of the worst nations in Europe, which its citizens do not want to join. citation needed?
- thewinnie 4y ago
  Out of curiosity, I watch couple youtube videos from travel bloggers. Although its hard to tell if people actually don't want to join Europe there or they force to tell this but from financial perspective it feels like they are on the same level as North Korea.
- himinlomax 4y ago
  The Sudetenland also once had a pro German rebellion. It was created and propped by the Third Reich, just like the "rebellions" in Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine were propped up by the Putin régime.
  - tut-urut-utut 4y ago
    Is it bad allowing a majority population to choose in which country to live only because they were ethnic Germans? I would even go as far as saying that having multi ethnic state that try to force their will upon other ethnic group is the number one reason we still have wars in 21st century.
    - himinlomax 4y ago
      > Is it bad allowing a majority population to choose in which country to live only because they were ethnic Germans? The point is that there was no significant movement there until the Nazis made one up, just like there was no significant rebellion in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine until Putin created one.
postingawayonhn 4y ago
I wouldn't be surprised if Ukraine eventually attacks the Russian forces there, or at least works with Moldova to permanently blockade them.

baybal2 4y ago

selivanovp 4y ago

“Russia will run out of shells” from the creators of “Russia ran out of rockets in March”.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
baybal2 4y ago
[dead]
mjfl 4y ago
Also: $1 trillion Defense spending is not enough, vote more so the USA does not run out of ammo! https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraine-war-depleting-u-s-ammunition-stockpiles-sparking-pentagon-concern-11661792188 https://www.wsj.com/articles/ukraine-war-depleting-u-s-ammun...

pineaux 4y ago

I really hope to see more help in arms deliveries and more advanced weapon systems. More drones and more intelligent systems. I really think the war has just started and these people need all the help they can get. Also trucks with generators would be nice. Just like the ones that film lighting companies have. They are so handy.

lionkor 4y ago
You hope to see more war and death?
- eCa 4y ago
  Would you have preferred if WW2 ended with it’s 1942 borders?
  - mjfl 4y ago
    easy to say when you have no skin in the game
  - willcipriano 4y ago
    I'd let Europe solve it's own problems and not intentionally provoke Japan and then leave myself open to attack at Pearl Harbor despite intercepting messages that it would be attacked like Roosevelt did.
    - tut-urut-utut 4y ago
      How would you achieve world dominance, let’s call it Pax Americana, without war?
      - willcipriano 4y ago
        By not spending a generation of lives and treasure on war, and preventing the military industrial complex from growing so large that it runs the show. A anti interventionist America wouldn't have wasted resources on Vietnam or the Middle East either. Instead of war, invest in infrastructure have the world's cheapest energy and later fastest internet as well as the lowest taxes then dominate the nations who spend those funds on bombs and bullets instead.

hackandthink 4y ago

Zelensky: “And that is why it is very important…to go to our borders from 1991.” "In private, however, Ukrainian and Western officials admit there may be other outcomes" How private is talking to journalists?

sph 4y ago
They probably mean that the official stance, as voiced by Zelenskyy on TV and state media, is to reconquer the whole of Ukraine, including Crimea, but everybody knows that it perhaps won't be possible to achieve this ultimate goal. It's not private, but it is not a secret either. It just isn't the official position of the government. I think it's good for the morale that Zelenskyy the strong leader of Ukrainians that will repel the bloody Russians whatever the odds, and Zelenskyy the prime minister with a terrible defensive war on his hands, to be two separate personas. One is more personable, but you need the other to win hearts, minds and the war.
- hackandthink 4y ago
  It's amazing how well propaganda works. Maybe people are just stupid.
  - andriesm 4y ago
    exactly. It works well for 95 percent, but the other 5% sees the propaganda for what it really is - lies, dishonesty and fake news.
wrp 4y ago
This public vs. private split goes back a ways. When the eastern regions split off in 2014, many Ukrainian political figures took the public stance of recovering those regions at all cost, while privately admitting they were glad to see them go. From a British political scientist who interviewed them: So...We can imagine that the Ukrainian leadership will continue to voice support for regaining the occupied territories, but not try very hard to actually bring it about. In interviews conducted in Kyiv in the summer of 2018, several elites asserted that while Ukraine cannot declare a policy of surrendering the territory, recent changes in law and in practice indicate a de facto policy of stabilizing the status quo rather than trying to reverse it. (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0888325418791020 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/08883254187910...)

orwin 4y ago

There is a big issue with Crimea ownership for Russia, which can in part explain the second aggression: it doesn't have freshwater, so the costs to keep it running as it was pre 2014 are way, way higher than expected for Russia once the freshwater canal was closed by Ukraine. The bridge isn't enough (it would need at least doubling the tracks), and expensive, so Russia need the land bridge. I'm pretty sure that Ukraine will stall the Crimean front is they manage to separate the two fronts.

WastingMyTime89 4y ago
Still, it will also be a lot harder for Ukraine to get support from their western allies when it comes to Crimea. First, it's considered vital by Russian strategists so the likelihood of Russia using a nuclear weapon if Crimea is at stake is higher than for anything else in the conflict. Secondly, historically, the claim of Ukraine to Crimea is far more tenuous than for the other area at stake. Crimea has been at odd with the Ukrainian federation regarding its independence for as long as it has existed as an entity independent of the USSR. It was rattached to Ukraine in the act acting its existence as a political entity and one of its first move was declaring independence in 1992 which Ukraine rejected. They were de facto independent and very pro-Russia until 1995 when Ukraine sent its army and forced their government into exile. It makes Crimea pretty unique in the conflict as there is a legitimate claim that it actually wants to be a part of Russia rather than Ukraine which is why the western reaction following the 2014 invasion was so muted.
- slaw 4y ago
  Is it possible for Crimea to become independent country?
  - thewinnie 4y ago
    not possible from economic perspective. Crimea been losing money all the time with all different governments.
    - 4y ago

UltraViolence 4y ago

I fear for Ukraine if they will eventually lose the war. If that happens they'll most likely come under the Russian sphere of influence and the West will pull back leaving them to fend for themselves whilst their entire country lies in ruins. They'll be ruined both militarily and financially. The Russians will do nothing to aid them, probably accusing them of resisting and killing many of their countrymen and in reprisal taking large swaths of land and destroying their culture. I foresee many millions of Ukrainians leaving for Western Europe if that scenario becomes reality, which could destabilize Western European nations. War isn't about destroying tanks and airplanes but occupying the land of your opponent. Russia certainly has a leg up in that regards since they're sacrificing hundreds of thousands of young men to stop the Ukrainians from advancing and could even take Kiev next year. If Ukraine loses it will mean yet another huge blow to the West. And all this started because we prodded them to become NATO member. They even put their desire for NATO membership in their Constitution! I believe this was the straw that broke the camel's back and inspired Putin to invade.

guax 4y ago
"And all this started because we prodded them to become NATO member." When you say this in this way you're taking agency out of Ukraine. They wanted nato membership to be protected from Russian influence, they were being harrased since they became free. Of course NATO would probe them, just like a salesman will try to sell you a car if you walk in a dealership. There is existing interest.
- UltraViolence 4y ago
  I very much hope that Ukraine wins this war, but won't lose any sleep over it if they don't. I sincerely believe the problem started when the U.S. government Think Tanks in Washington decided Russia should be split up into smaller states without nuclear capability. U.S. policy has been to turn that concept into reality by surrounding Russia with NATO states on its borders and threatening it in the hope its population would rebel and making it ripe for breakup.
  - 4y ago

fleddri 4y ago

sph 4y ago
> he and his "boss" Yermak Are we supposed to believe your word for it? A picture of the two together is proof that a film maker is running the country? I'm not sure what agenda you're trying to push here, and I do not see anything wrong per se in stricter media controls in time of war. Propaganda is not always negative in wartime, because counter propaganda will make sure you lose the war. What do you think intelligence services are for if not making sure everyone is playing for the same team, when the freedom of your country is at play? It is not a coincidence high treason is the most serious offence even in times of peace. Shall we blame the Ukrainian government because they're not really in the mood of letting pro-Russian sympathisers run amok? Again, I do not understand what you're trying to demonstrate.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]