Looks like Ukraine has recaptured the Kharkiv region.

Pro Russia bloggers that are critical of the regime called for mass mobilization months ago, and are rubbing it in now. Mobilization would make more manpower available, but would require a declared war, not a special operation. There are political risks in doing so, but it seems that there are political risks in the whole enterprise falling apart as well.

Pro regime propaganda has stopped emphasizing the necessity of destroying the Ukrainian language and have transitioned to talking about brotherhood and shared historical glory. Is there a decent English language account that explains the Russian cause that makes any sense?

Edit: this might be related.



Kinda hilarious authoritarian Russia still has a crossfire type format well after Jon Stewart identified it as a format hurting our country.

They don't have the material to do mass mobilization. They're going to send these poor kids unarmed & undressed (for winter) straight in the meat grinder.

Russia has been shockingly restrained during this whole thing and it's cost them a lot.

How so? They've burned through a significant portion of their cruise missiles attacking civilian infrastructure well behind the front lines.

Any 'restraint' in using their air power is because they have failed to achieve air superiority, otherwise they'd be dropping barrel bombs on Kyiv.

Greenwald and guys like this don't bother explaining the cause of the war, which Russia cannot provide a compelling case for either. If you assume Zelensky is a Western Puppet then sure, it makes some sense. Ukrainians suffer from false consciousness, basically in this line of argument.

The only vague demands Russia has made are "denazification", which means what exactly? And demilitarization. So every Ukrainian who ever held political office has to go to a Russian prison? Everyone that speaks Ukrainian? Totally unclear.

There's more Bucha stories coming out from the liberated parts (and worse), but please tell me how we should have sacrificed that land to the Russians.

Firstly, I appreciate we have the same twitter feed.


Russia didn't hit water/power sites in major cities outside their land grabs to my knowledge.

This only came to mind after I thought of the stolen people that have been shipped to Eastern Russia. But sure, let's analyze this conflict in terms of America's efforts and interests only.

Wagner's been torturing random civilians in Africa as well, apparently Russians can't prosecute a war without a little torture, as a treat.

It's difficult. Would those people still have been victimized had Ukraine surrendered the land before the invasion started?

Yes, they have textbooks in schools there deleting the Ukrainian language and culture. They have deoprted kids to Russian families in various places.

And why would Ukraine even consider giving up the land? It’s their land, and now they have recaptured it.

It’s that bad. They’re fucked.

NAFO is about as grassroots and organic as a World Economic Forum meeting in Davos.

I know all five types. So this is indeed accurate.

Why be annoyed by it tho? It's an effective meme, and the Russians are literal mask off villains.

They (NAFO) allude to it all the time, denying the existence of the CIA.

I have trouble believing US govt can do positive acts in the world, but maybe they get it right every once in a great while.

The only caveat I can agree to is filming English speakers in the Kharkiv offensive and the existence of Malcom Nance were propaganda failures.