• pingveno@lemmy.ml
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    3 years ago

    And here I was being told that Russia was just dropping by a couple of separatist regions by invitation and wasn’t going to invade. I’m getting ready for those goalposts to move like lightning. Oh no, that’s not imperialist bullying, merely a light shelling.

    • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmy.ml
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      3 years ago

      Personally, I didn’t see what angle there would be for Russia to actually invade Ukraine. Recognizing Donetsk and Luhansk was justified, but going further than that takes away any legitimacy from Russian position.

      • abbenm@lemmy.ml
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        3 years ago

        It’s unfortunate that literally everyone you were arguing with apparently was able to see the trajectory of events more clearly than you.

        Hopefully some self-reflection will be in order and you can see if the same errors of judgment are compromising your ability to evaluate subsequent events in Ukraine and make excuses, and if your counterparts making the same arguments as you are similarly blind.

        Nina Khrushcheva, a professor at the New School, spoke to NPR this morning. Like you, she was dismissing talk of an impending invasion as Western-driven hysteria. She confessed on the air that this was a major embarrassment for her, which I found to be a nice moment of accountability. Surely you can follow her example.

        • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmy.ml
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          3 years ago

          I base my assessment on the available facts. At the time I did not see the benefit for Russia to invade Ukraine since they were getting what they wanted by being measured. Clearly events worked out differently, and we’re in a new situation now. I’m not sure what self-reflection you’re suggesting I should be doing here. Are you suggesting that I shouldn’t evaluate events based on the available facts?

          • abbenm@lemmy.ml
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            3 years ago

            Totally obtuse answer. I’m saying that your assessment of what counted as “the facts” and your interpretation of them was completely wrong, and possibly driven by biases that you may want to examine further, and I gave you the example of another person who, in a similar case took ownership of their mistake.

            If you think a JV debate team game where you try and twist my words into “oh, so you didn’t want me to look at ThE fAcTs?!”, that’s just a signal in favor of the conclusion that you have been and are continuing to be completely disingenuous. These are just not adult answers.

              • abbenm@lemmy.ml
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                3 years ago

                We’ll get to that, if you want an hour long tedious point by point debate where you constantly argue definitions and split differences.

                But first, what I’m telling you now is that “oh, so you didn’t want me to look at the facts” is a totally obtuse and disingenuous paraphrase and a signal that nobody on Lemmy should bother trying to reason with you, because you aren’t willing to try.

                Somehow the rest of the world, including everyone you were arguing with, were able to see it from the same set of “tHe FaCtS” and see the obvious and you weren’t, and you don’t want to do any self-reflection unless lead by the nose through god knows how many tedious paragraphs of details, fighting every step of the way. More responsible people, such as Nina Kruscheva are able to do that on their own.

                • ☆ Yσɠƚԋσʂ ☆@lemmy.ml
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                  3 years ago

                  What I’m telling you is that Russia was getting what they wanted without the need to invade. The facts are that western powers were engaged in active diplomacy with Russia, and that Ukrainian economy was crashing. Simply recognizing Donbas republics and waiting would’ve worked in Russia’s favor in the long term. Please explain to me what specifically you claim to be at odds with the facts in that assessment.

                  Actually invading Ukraine will clearly destroy any chance for diplomacy between Russia and Europe and help galvanize NATO. I personally don’t see how this is to Russia’s benefit, but again perhaps you can explain to me why I was deluded to think that.

                  Despite all your bloviating here, you haven’t actually said a single thing of substance. You just keep repeating how “ThE ReSt Of tHe WoRLd” came to a different conclusion, without explaining the basis for it.

                  • abbenm@lemmy.ml
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                    3 years ago

                    Replying to me by saying “oh so you didn’t want me to look at the facts” is a completely disingenuous and juvenile equivocation over ordinary terminology.

                    It’s a signal that you are not even trying to engage in good faith. If people on Lemmy saw nothing other than this chain of comments it would be sufficient reason to never engage with you.

      • pingveno@lemmy.ml
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        3 years ago

        It seems like recognizing the Donbass region as separate republics was always going to be a stepping stone to attacking the rest of Ukraine.

          • abbenm@lemmy.ml
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            3 years ago

            I know you are being sarcastic, but there were a handful of people across Lemmy insisting there was no invasion coming.

            They said that the military buildup didn’t happen, that it was just the latest in a history of false alarms, that it was just the west warmongering, etc. and basically spent the last week calling people crazy for suspecting that any attack was on the table.

            Oops, just wrong about an impending war where the evidence was screamingly obvious. No biggie.

      • pingveno@lemmy.ml
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        3 years ago

        Same. I was hoping that it was all some big bluff to extract concessions without going all out.

    • gun@lemmy.ml
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      3 years ago

      There is still no invasion into Ukraine. Fake news.

        • gun@lemmy.ml
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          3 years ago

          A lot of these videos have been fact checked as false and out of context
          I mean, even twitter had this thing to debunk false claims
          https://twitter.com/i/events/1496815373936574469
          Not saying that Russians aren’t in Ukraine right now, they could very well be, but I object strongly to people jumping to conclusions about a full scale invasion, when it looks like the real narrative is Russia has done a one off attack for political leverage.
          You are from lemmygrad, so I assume you trust China at least somewhat. This was China’s stance.
          https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-calls-restraint-ukraine-rejects-term-invasion-2022-02-24/
          I wanted to post it, but lemmy wouldn’t do it for some reason

          • Hagels_Bagels
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            3 years ago

            Thanks for posting the link. I know that footage from other conflicts from different times are often circulated inappropriately and are used for misinformation. You’re correct in saying that I don’t know for certain whether or not any particular source is genuine.

            I am from Lemmygrad, and had not seen this exact response from China, however I don’t necessarily need to agree with everything the Chinese government says. In 1979 they didn’t like calling their own invasion of Vietnam an invasion, instead opting in favour of the term “the self-defensive counterattack against Vietnam”.

            I found a link to a similar article except it’s from an Indian media outlet and you don’t need to register an account to read the whole thing. Leaving this in case anyone is interested.

            https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/china-calls-for-restraint-in-ukraine-rejects-the-term-invasion-2786419

          • pingveno@lemmy.ml
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            3 years ago

            Let’s flip this. If the US was bombing Moscow’s airport and rolling tanks across the border, would you be calling for not being too hasty about calling it an invasion?

            • gun@lemmy.ml
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              3 years ago

              If I was living in a Russia dominated media and social media environment, and people were making false claims about the scale of USA’s actions for the purpose of warmongering, I absolutely would want people to be cautious

              • pingveno@lemmy.ml
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                3 years ago

                Russia has come out and said they did both of these things. It’s not under dispute.

                Edit: Or there is so much reporting from a variety of sources that it is not open to dispute. And no, the Russian media is not comparable to the Western media. Russian media is just way more under the thumb of the government.

                • gun@lemmy.ml
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                  3 years ago

                  I variety of sources such as Ukrainian officials, your cousin on twitter, some random farmer in Kharkov. Many of the more extreme claims are being fact checked now.

                  • ArchimedesTesseract@lemmy.ml
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                    3 years ago

                    The standard role call of disinformation, distortion, and denial. Weren’t you denying there were Russian troops on the border, just a few days ago?

      • gun@lemmy.ml
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        3 years ago

        Tonight, Ukrainian military invaded Luhansk, despite Russian recognition of LPR as independent
        Source

        Despite knowing Russia would defend what they recognize as a sovereign country, they poked the bear.

        Russia orchestrated a surgical strike to disable Ukraine’s military infrastructure and prevent them from killing any more people in Donbas. They succeeded completely in little over an hour. Reportedly the Azov Battalion headquarters has been destroyed as well, and leaders have fled to Poland. Too early to tell.

        From everything I’ve seen so far, Russia is not occupying Ukraine. They are not invading Ukraine. Striking infrastructure outside of major cities was their goal.

        • abbenm@lemmy.ml
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          3 years ago

          “Russia is not massing troops bombing invading occupying Ukraine.”

          • gun@lemmy.ml
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            3 years ago

            I’ve never denied the first two things when they actually happened. You imply that I’m moving the goalposts but you can go through my history if you want. I’ve stayed consistent.

      • wazowski@lemmy.ml
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        3 years ago

        ⠀⠀⠘⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡜⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠑⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡔⠁⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠢⢄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⠴⠊⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⠀⠀⠀⢀⣀⣀⣀⣀⣀⡀⠤⠄⠒⠈⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⣀⠄⠊⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡠⠔⠒⠒⠒⠒⠒⠢⠤⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡰⠉⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠑⢄⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⠄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠃⠀⢠⠂⠀⠀⠘⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⢤⡀⢂⠀⢨⠀⢀⡠⠈⢣⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⢀⡖⠒⠶⠤⠭⢽⣟⣗⠲⠖⠺⣖⣴⣆⡤⠤⠤⠼⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⡈⠃⠀⠀⠀⠘⣺⡟⢻⠻⡆⠀⡏⠀⡸⣿⢿⢞⠄⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢣⡀⠤⡀⡀⡔⠉⣏⡿⠛⠓⠊⠁⠀⢎⠛⡗⡗⢳⡏⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢱⠀⠨⡇⠃⠀⢻⠁⡔⢡⠒⢀⠀⠀⡅⢹⣿⢨⠇⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⠀⠠⢼⠀⠀⡎⡜⠒⢀⠭⡖⡤⢭⣱⢸⢙⠆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⡸⠀⠀⠸⢁⡀⠿⠈⠂⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡏⡍⡏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⠇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠸⢢⣫⢀⠘⣿⣿⡿⠏⣼⡏⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⣠⠊⠀⣀⠎⠁⠀⠀⠀⠙⠳⢴⡦⡴⢶⣞⣁⣀⣀⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠐⠒⠉⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠠⠀⢀⠤⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⠉⠀⠀⠀

      • pingveno@lemmy.ml
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        3 years ago

        The Russians literally have boots and bombs on the ground in several major cities including Kiev. In what universe is that not an invasion?

        • gun@lemmy.ml
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          3 years ago

          Boots on the ground in Kiev? Are you serious? I have to see this. Let’s see where you’re getting this from.

          • pingveno@lemmy.ml
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            3 years ago

            Looking a little further, they’re trying to get boots on the ground by taking the Kiev airport.

            • gun@lemmy.ml
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              3 years ago

              Yeah so you were wrong, weren’t you? But let’s keep going. How do you know they took Kiev airport? Or even what their intentions are?

                • gun@lemmy.ml
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                  3 years ago

                  Really? Again, let’s see where you are getting this from.

                • abbenm@lemmy.ml
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                  3 years ago

                  It’s hard to do a lot worse than literally being wrong about an invasion every step of the way in real time.

        • gun@lemmy.ml
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          3 years ago

          There was no full-scale invasion two days ago. I stand by what I said.

            • gun@lemmy.ml
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              3 years ago

              No it’s not. There’s not just peace and war. There’s in between. For example, in Syria, the US has never been in all at war with the Syrian government. They’ve used hybrid warfare and other methods. There was that one time as well where Trump ordered a tomahawk to destroy a Syrian air field. Still no all out war. And also when Trump ordered the assassination of Soleimani without engaging in warfare with Iran. Countries can engage in military attacks without invading or waging war.

              • ArchimedesTesseract@lemmy.ml
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                3 years ago

                You started by claiming this isn’t a “full scale invasion”, which if the goal is to “demilitarize” Ukraine will require that. Bolstering break-away provinces doesn’t require attacks on the capital. Russia has been using hybrid warfare in Ukraine since Crimea, but now this does begin to look like war and not some one-shot retaliatory strike.

                • gun@lemmy.ml
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                  3 years ago

                  Now it does, I agree. According to the Kremlin, the military operation was paused as it looked like Zelensky was willing to negotiate neutrality. Now that has fallen through, they have resumed the operation today, so it seems like tonight we will see a big escalation in military action now.

                  Demilitarization is just the reduction of armed forces. So yes you can demilitarize a country without a full scale invasion.