Has Putin won?

Yep.

X (Twitter) has basically turned into 4chan.

I was watching the interview of lex Friedman to Tucker Carlson.

Carlson seemed genuinely disappointed that Putin never mentioned NATO as the reason for the invasion and simply kept claiming they considered Ukraine should be annexed to Russia.

He even complained Putin didn't know how to weave a tale.

It makes sense, it's a much easier sale to tell the USA population it was NATO (therefore usa) responsibility. But if you do that, how do you justify annexing and keeping territory?

@Jag85: But at least it's been fun watching Musk destroy his reputation in real time.

I listened to that as well. I think Tucker was just trying to salvage whatever he could from a failed interview where he was more or less rediculed by Putin.

Tucker might have seemed disappointed that Putin never mentioned NATO but honestly I think he was just disappointed he didn't have a nice chummy interview with someone he admires and thought would admire him back.

It really was just...odd. Both the Putin-Tucker interview, and Tucker doing damage control on the Lex Friedman podcast.

Can't say I'm a fan of Friedman for giving folks like Tucker a platform, but I think I'm going to keep listening to his podcast, the exposure does me good I think I've been in a bit of an echo chamber of late.

Don't tell me a dumpster fire can't be funny :P

But damn, it is surprisingly popular to lick Putins arse these days.

@mrbojangles25: I like lex, but I really wished he could have been tougher to Tucker. He really allowed him to get away with many false statements. The guy can be too soft.

Three Su-27 fighter jets - 70 - 95 million

1 Storm Shadow (UK) - £900,000

3 Russian Su-27 fighter jets destroyed and around 30 Russian soldiers killed in Crimea. Several Ukrainian Storm Shadow cruise missile hit the Belbek Airfield in occupied Crimea last night!

Ukrainian Storm Shadow cruise missiles hit & destroyed two 112-m-long large Ropucha-class landing ships in Crimea last night! Both “Azov” & “Yamal” were destroyed. They can be seen to the right on the 6th row from the top

According to Grant Shapp it's now "functionally inactive".

https://twitter.com/grantshapps/status/1771868590318240021

Putin's continued illegal occupation of Ukraine is exacting a massive cost on Russia's Black Sea Fleet which is now functionally inactive. Russia has sailed the Black Sea since 1783 but is now forced to constrain it's fleet to port. And even there Putin's ships are sinking!

Apparently Sacha Baron Cohen has been writing reality.

https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1773339760674709541

Interview with general Ben Hodges.

Territory has been lost, many killed thanks to MAGA. All avoidable.

Meanwhile NK, Iran and China are helping. And if Trump wins his amazing plan will be "let Russia win", which has been the same shit MAGAS have been chirping in a loop trying to phrase and wing it from different angles.

It's sad how there hasn't even been a compromise from EU and USA to create a joint fund to help Ukraine.

@nirgal: After Trump there's going to take a long time before any long term compromises when it comes to global security. I mean, for western nations.

Honestly this is going to take decades to "fix", if it can be fixed at all.

A Trump victory will put us so far behind. It's like losing weight; might take you a year to make 10 lb of progress, but you can put 20 pounds on in only a few months. It's why it is so important for international relations to not just progress, but to not regress, too.

Where was all that talk of Russia loosing and a paper tiger.

What happened to all your ghost of kviv propaganda

Thought Ukraine was whooping Russias ass so bad they were taking back crimera too...

Yeah blame MAGA. It's Trumps fault.

The guy who has no political power and is out of office and wasn't in office when the invasion started.

Lmao!...

@sargentd: dude, the guy openly blocked several military aid package, even when those packages where combined with border restrictions to placate his base.

He is obviously responsible.

If you believe that your dumb.

Trump wasn't even in office when Ukraine was being invaded

@sargentd: and whose base has been fervently opposing military aid all this time and whose political allies have been voting against it? Use your Head.

So just to be clear here, Ukraine has taken back tons of territory, in a war experts said they would lose in 3 days.

And now they are losing it again, because of MAGA specifically denying them support. Who 2 years ago, I already deemed traitors, and am being proven right unfortunately well beyond even what I expected.

And you're laughing and cheering this on? Proving my point further?

And yes, this is explicitly MAGAS fault. You are not only against them but actively attempting to help Russia win.

People, including children are dead because they cannot defend themselves, not just soldiers, on the field, civilian targets they are double tapping i.e. waiting for people to show up so they can kill more... Proper Lord Loving Christians.

So yea. Yay that. Big lols.

Getting exactly a taste of what you've been begging for with a barrage of "let Russia win" but refusing to take any responsibility.

And yes, in case you are unaware, Russia army is terrible. That hasn't changed at all, not sure why or how you have came to this conclusion, eager cheerleading.

The changing factor isn't them suddenly becoming awesome in your traitorous head canon that's being projected, it's Ukriane fighting with no support anymore, due to your party, who have repeatedly praised Russia, defended them said they would betray Europe and now actively attempting to allow them to win.

Ukraine has been given an obscene amount of military aid from my country.

But it is not infinite.

Maybe your country should fund thier war with Russia instead.

@sargentd: I do support more aid from my country to Ukraine.

It does not change the fact that the person responsible for blocking the aid is most definitely responsible for the current situation.

That is obvious.

Trump is not in office.... Meaning he can't block anything... Trump has been out of office since before Russia invaded Ukraine..

Glad you support giving your countries money to Ukraine.

We will stop paying and your country can make up the difference. Problem solved.

@sargentd: so you are just going to pretend not to know that he has enormous sway over a large part of the republic legislators?

And that those legislators voted against most of the military aid packages and successfully blocked the last few of them.

At this point you are just feigning ignorance.

Blame us then, the American people, because our representatives are being pressured by thier constituents.

Don't blame Trump

Blame me for not wanting to fund a proxy war with US tax dollars across the globe, a war that has nothing to do with us, a war Ukraine has no chance of winning, a war that is being artificially prolonged for the interests of elites while wiping out an entire generation of Ukranian men by doing so.

Not going to support sending billions to this proxy war while many of our own people struggle to get by every day.

Regular American here to say **** this proxy war. 🫡

@sargentd: you just don't want your hero to assume the well earned responsibility for what could be a humiliating defeat for the USA in geopolitics.

But he is the leader of the faction that has created all the opposition to the military aid.

He is obviously responsible for the consequences that the lack of military aids bring.

There is no logic in pushing to reduce the lifeline of Ukraine and then assigning the blame elsewhere when defeat happens.

This is on his hands.

@sargentd: I have previously wasted my time watching your sensationalist and shallow videos, it's not a good use of my time.

This kind of media only invalidates conservative opinions by associating them with unintelligent sources.

@sargentd: being officially at war or not doesn't make a difference. The USA would have lost a lot of influence in Europe if it's not longer reliably seen a counter weight for Russia military aggression. A lot of trade and political concessions are made from EU to the USA as a result of being a security guarantor.

This will apply as well to countries that rely on the USA as geopolitical balance for china in East Asia.

Therefore it will be perceived as a humiliating defeat and reduction of power projection ability.

Regarding the supposed lack of political power of Trump, that is simply not true, he is the defacto leader of the republican party and legislators with elected positions kowtow to his opinions.

Lacking a formal position in power is irrelevant when your influence is that high.

@nirgal: Why do you keep ignoring what the American people want???

Why put it all on orange man who's not even in power?

The general public doesn't want to send billions more to Ukraine.

Wrap your head around that.

@nirgal: https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-ukraine-russia-congress-white-house-2cd1be27f7f635e9a89fdbdb9eedb646

About half of the public (48%) endorses providing weapons to Ukraine (57% among Democrats, 42% among Republicans). About 4 in 10 favor sending government funds directly to Ukraine (54% for Democrats, 24% for Republicans).

Americans have grown slightly more likely to say the U.S. should take “a less active role” in solving the world’s problems, compared with a September poll from AP-NORC and Pearson. Slightly fewer than half (45%) now say the U.S. should be less involved, up from 33% in September. Just 16% of Democrats now say the U.S. should take a more active role, down from 29% in September.

Peter Einsig, a Republican from Tulsa, Oklahoma, said he still believes the U.S. has a role to play abroad, but that he remains concerned about excessive government spending and federal debt.

Yet Einsig said he would be more inclined to support aid to Ukraine if there were more oversight into how the money was being used abroad, as well as a timeline of how much longer the U.S. would be providing support.

“We don’t have transparency on where the money is really, really going,” said Einsig, 40. “It’s a big lump sum.”

Four in 10 U.S. adults say Ukraine is an ally that shares U.S. interests and values. That view is most common among Democrats (53%), who are much more likely than independents (28%), Republicans (29%) and Americans overall to see Ukraine as a nation with similar values and needs. About half of Republicans say Ukraine is a partner that the U.S. should cooperate with, but say it is not a nation that shares U.S. values.

@sargentd: because it's not the case, it's a part of the electorade, led by donald trump.

https://globalaffairs.org/research/public-opinion-survey/americans-continue-support-military-and-economic-aid-ukraine#:~:text=Key%20Findings,of%20Republicans%20(53%25)%20oppose.

A poll from February of this year.

Key Findings

Six in 10 Americans favor providing both economic assistance to Ukraine and sending additional arms and military supplies to the Ukrainian government (58% each).

Majorities of Democrats (75%) and Independents (54%) favor providing military aid to Ukraine, which a majority of Republicans (53%) oppose.

Similarly, majorities of Democrats (78%) and Independents (54%) support providing economic assistance to Ukraine, while Republicans are opposed (58%).

Seven in 10 Americans (69%), including majorities across party lines, favor the United States supporting Ukraine’s admission to NATO.

A majority of Americans (60%) say that the US security relationship with Ukraine does more to strengthen US national security than it does to weaken it.

@nirgal: not much has shifted. Republicans and independents getting sick sending the money. Democrats falling in lock step to back biden admin.

2+ years of Russian propaganda in a loop.

Macgregor regularly contributes to Fox News and has appeared on the Russian state-funded channel RT His commentary has been noted for disparaging Ukraine, immigrants and refugees

Russian invasion of Ukraine

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Macgregor appeared on three Fox News programs in February and early March to speak in support of Russia's actions. Three days after the war began, he said "The battle in eastern Ukraine is really almost over," and predicted "If [Ukraine] don't surrender in the next 24 hours, I suspect Russia will ultimately annihilate them." Macgregor said he believed Russia should be allowed to seize whatever parts of Ukraine it wanted. In his second appearance, he revised his prediction: "The first five days Russian forces I think frankly were too gentle. They've now corrected that. So, I would say another 10 days this should be completely over... I think the most heroic thing he could do right now is come to terms with reality. Neutralize Ukraine." After one of his appearances, Macgregor's comments were characterized by veteran Fox News Pentagon correspondent Jennifer Griffin as "distorting" and "appeasement" and that he was being an "apologist" for Putin. After Griffin's remarks, Tucker Carlson — who hosted Macgregor on two successive nights — remarked, "Unlike many of the so-called reporters you see on television, he is not acting secretly as a flack for Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon. No, Doug Macgregor is an honest man." Trey Gowdy, another Fox News host who interviewed Macgregor, said his viewpoint was "stunning and disappointing".^{[9][55][56][57][10][58]}

Russian state television channels RT and VGTRK broadcast excerpts of Macgregor's second Carlson appearance, which included a characterization of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a "puppet," that Russian forces had been "too gentle" in the early days of the invasion and that Russian president Vladimir Putin was being "demonized" by the United States and NATO.^[9][59] His opinions on Russia and Ukraine have caused controversy, with some including Liz Cheney describing Macgregor as being a member of the "Putin wing of the GOP."^{[60][61][62][63][64]}

In a fourth appearance in early March, Macgregor said a ceasefire was close as Ukrainian forces had been "grounded to bits. There's no question about that despite what we report on our mainstream media".^[9] He also defended Russia's invasion in an interview on The Grayzone, saying Putin had taken great care with civilians and this was delaying his victory.^[65]

In July 2022, on Real America's Voice he told Charlie Kirk that: "The war, with the exception of Kharkiv and Odesa, as far as the Russians are concerned is largely over. There is no intention to do anything else because the Russians don’t have a very large army... This nonsense that Putin wants to conquer all of Ukraine was never true. All he ever did in the Minsk agreement was ask that Russian speakers, Russian citizens inside Ukraine be treated equally before the law. That they not be penalized for being Russians."^[66]

In September 2022, he again predicted on Carlson's show that “this war may be over soon”^[67] and later in the month "the Ukrainian army is bled white, tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops have been killed or wounded, Ukraine is really on the ropes". Liz Cheney tweeted in response: "Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch - Why do you continually put Douglas MacGregor on @FoxNews to spread Putin's propaganda and lies? This is absolutely not in America's interest.

@uninspiredcup: lol ignored everything I've said to hyper focus on the video.

Why waste your time?

@sargentd: even the stats you show, say a majority think they should support Ukraine, either by contributing similar amounts to the current support or greater.

It's important to take note what groups of voters shifted and by how much.

Ukraine just flat out does not have the bodies to beat Russia.

It's not picking sides.. it's not being mean... it's just numbers..

Ukraine does not have the bodies to push Russia out.. you could give Ukraine 100 trillion dollars.. doesn't matter.. that's not bodies. If Ukraine runs out of millitary age men that can fight.. it's over.

Russia knows this, war of arbitration, they just have to wait it out.

What's sad is even our secretary of state knows it.. blinken already said Ukraine can't win the war. But hey!! If we can get Ukraine to fight until the last Ukranian!! And it costs Russia.. benefits us I guess!! We got to use Ukraine to hurt russia!! No peace treaty ever!! Until the LAST Ukranian!! God Bless!!

@sargentd: which just furthers my previous point that it's a part of the electorade led by donald trump that blocks military aid making the current disastrous results his responsibility.

Even the data you posted shows a large majority of democrats supporting Ukraine and a simple majority of independents supporting Ukraine.

@nirgal:

Ukraine does not have the bodies to push Russia out.. you could give Ukraine 100 trillion dollars.. doesn't matter.. that's not bodies. If Ukraine runs out of millitary age men that can fight.. it's over.

Ukraine cant push Russia out. even our secretary of state knows it.. blinken already said Ukraine can't win the war. But hey!! If we can get Ukraine to fight until the last Ukranian!! And it costs Russia.. benefits us I guess!! We got to use Ukrainian lives to hurt russia!! No peace treaty ever!! Until the LAST Ukranian!! God Bless!!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/02/08/ukraine-soldiers-shortage-infantry-russia/

KRAMATORSK, Ukraine — The Ukrainian military is facing a critical shortage of infantry, leading to exhaustion and diminished morale on the front line, military personnel in the field said this week — a perilous new dynamic for Kyiv nearly two years into the grinding, bloody war with Russia.

In interviews across the front line in recent days, nearly a dozen soldiers and commanders told The Washington Post that personnel deficits were their most critical problem now, as Russia has regained the offensive initiative on the battlefield and is stepping up its attacks.

One battalion commander in a mechanized brigade fighting in eastern Ukraine said that his unit currently has fewer than 40 infantry troops — the soldiers deployed in front-line trenches who hold off Russian assaults. A fully equipped battalion would have more than 200, the commander said.

Another commander in an infantry battalion of a different brigade said his unit is similarly depleted.

The soldiers interviewed spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly and could face retribution for their comments.

Republicans and independents are idiots then, because US is sending old weapons valued at billions, not money.

@sargentd: dude, both sides are experiencing major infantry shortage. Ukraine more as it has a smaller population, but war is not simply a count of people, nor are you a military expert to assess probability of triumph.

Besides, this is changing the topic anyway.

@rmpumper: I would not lump or republicans and independents under the same position in respect to Ukraine, we can see in the stats only simple majorities among each group supporting one or another position.

"Got money for wars but can't feed the poor"

-Shakur