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‘We Cannot Win’ Says Top Russian Commander (www.kyivpost.com)

submitted 1 year ago by ATQ@lemm.ee to c/worldnews@lemmy.ml

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The Russian commander of the “Vostok” Battalion fighting in southern Ukraine said on Thursday that Ukraine will not be defeated and suggested that Russia freeze the war along current frontlines.

Alexander Khodakovsky made the candid concession yesterday on his Telegram channel after Russian forces, including his own troops, were devastatingly defeated by Ukrainian marines earlier this week at Urozhaine in the Zaporizhzhia-Donetsk regional border area.

“Can we bring down Ukraine militarily? Now and in the near future, no,” Khodakovsky, a former official of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, said yesterday.

“When I talk to myself about our destiny in this war, I mean that we will not crawl forward, like the [Ukrainians], turning everything into [destroyed] Bakhmuts in our path. And, I do not foresee the easy occupation of cities,” he said.

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[-] barsoap@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

It does: It dissuades the aggressor.

Germanic tribes, and this continues over to Ukraine culturally (because Rus), had the battle cry "better dead than slave". A village would fight down to the last woman, elderly, and child. Because even if the aggressor overcame them they'd be left with nothing but their own losses. Thus, they wouldn't even try.

If Russia is allowed to get away with this, Taiwan will be next. A gazillion of small-scale empires in unstable regions all around the world will say "well, seeing that noone cares our time to get away with it".

Millions if not billions of people more will be dead.

[-] brain_in_a_box@hexbear.net 47 points 1 year ago

If Russia is allowed to get away with this, Taiwan will be next. A gazillion of small-scale empires in unstable regions all around the world will say "well, seeing that noone cares our time to get away with it". Millions if not billions of people more will be dead.

Holy shit mate, stop watching Marvel movies and get some perspective; this isn't the first time one nation has invaded another. The world didn't end when America invaded Iraq.

[-] barsoap@lemm.ee -1 points 1 year ago

The Iraq war was wrong for a multitude of reasons, and many countries (including mine) wanted to do nothing to do with it, but one thing sets it apart very clearly from the current situation:

Iraq wasn't a war of conquest. Russia's war against Ukraine is. The US hasn't waged a war of conquest IIRC since Hawaii, it's always been foreign meddling instead but never out-right imposition of rule and they've gotten less and less bad at how they're doing it over time. I mean compare the Iraqi or Afghani government during occupation with the likes of Batista.

Then, and this (as well as that Marvel reference I couldn't give less of a fuck) makes me think you're American: It's the first war by a major power in Europe since WWII. We thought we had that shit behind us, that Yugoslavia was a regrettable exceptions caused by small-minded autocrats exploiting ethnic tensions for their own benefit. But, nope, actual full-scale war has come back to Europe because unlike the rest of Europe Russia hasn't gotten the memo that imperialism is soooo 18hundreds. As a yank you wouldn't understand.

[-] radiofreeval@hexbear.net 38 points 1 year ago

Iraq wasn't a war of conquest.

Well what the fuck is it then?

[-] barsoap@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

A war of avoiding national embarrassment and getting re-elected. The equivalent of starting a bar fight because someone picked up the gal you eyed through your whisky glass for two hours.

[-] ShimmeringKoi@hexbear.net 38 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Okay, so what you're saying is that our genocidal war in Iraq that killed a million people, displaced 30 million more, poisoned their soil and DNA with depleted uranium and created ISIS...You're saying all of that was done for even stupider reasons than the ones you think are driving the Russian Federation now.

Is that supposed to make the US look better, and not monstrous?

Or, more relevant question, why on Earth should the country that lied to start that war be trusted about anything, ever again?

Nobody has been able to give me a compelling answer that doesn't just boil down to "because other countries must be worse, have to be worse, for my worldview to make sense." And I get it, I've been there. I was a bit of an American chauvinist for a while. But the more familiar I became with history, especially in the 20th century, the more it became clear to me that America has no equivalent in the scale of it's evil.

Btw just curious, (and not the smug condescending internet kind of "curious", the real deal): Have you ever checked out Blowback? If you're a podcast person it's fantastic, season one is about the Iraq war and it really goes into depth on the history and context behind the war. Some of the reasons you mentioned, some others. Highly recommend.

[-] ImOnADiet@hexbear.net 17 points 1 year ago

America has no equivalent in the scale of it's evil.

I don't know the British Empire has to be pretty close lol

[-] barsoap@lemm.ee -3 points 1 year ago

Is that supposed to make the US look better, and not monstrous?

No. Yanks are idiots I said it before and I'm certainly willing to repeat it. The age of enlightenment by and large never reached them.

Have you ever checked out Blowback?

Nope and honestly I'm not particularly interested because I was already arguing with idiots back then that they're making a heap of mistakes, I'm sure there's details in there that I don't know but I'm well-versed in the overall gist of it all from back then.

If you're up for crying and laughing at the same time though I have something for you. The history of the USA ones, the subtitles are quite good.